The Delta independent., 1911-06-16
Late Legislation Created
Many Political Places.
(By Alva Swain.)

H Hunters Delight" for the reason
that it created more places for poll
tical job hunters than any assembly
Colorado ever knew. 1t has often
been stated that it will be months
before the people of Colorado would
know what was rushed through dur
ing the four days that marked the
closing of the assembly.
A slight perusal of some of the
bills yet to be signed by Governor
Shafroth shows that for the most
part, those four days were given
over to the preparing of special sal
airy berths for Democratic politi-
clans.
The bills that were enacted will
provide places for at least 500 work.
ers, and probably more. The most
important places that were pre-
pared, were those on the court of
review. This bill provides for five
judges, five stenagraphers, one chief
clerk, one deputy and two baliffs,
a total of fourteen. Their salaries
range from $1,000 to $4,000 year.
The next berth that was made up
by the Colorado legislative Pullman
porter can be called the Colorado
tax commission. This is a commits
sion of three Democrats to be ap-
pointed by the governor and the
state treasurer, and they draw 49,
500 per year each. They have the
right to appoint a secretary, eXami-
ners, experts, clerks, accountants,
stenographers and all other assist
ance necessary. Their appointing
powers are unlimited.
This commission is given au-
thority to do all the work of the
state board of equalization and is
given power to review and change
all of the valuations of property
made by county assessors, boards
of county equalization or boards of
county commissioners. The commits
sion is directed to conduct personal
examination into the valuation of
local property in every county in
the state at least once every two
years and oftener if it deems it
necessary.
The lowest estimate that is placed
on the number OF persons who will
receive financial births under this
bill is fifty.
Then there is another bill equally
as important in that it provides for
the appointment of a salaried Of
fetal in every incorporated town in
the state. This is known as the
fire warden bill. The bill creates
state board of fire commissioners
composed of the governor, the sec
retary OF state and the auditor.
This commission can appoint one
/ q
deputy at 5000 per month and one
assistant deputy at $3.50 per month.
The chief commissioner shall ap-
point one assistant in every in
corporated town or city in the
state and the salary of this as
sistant. to be arranged by the chief
commissioner The duty of this
commission and these hundreds of
deputies is to investigate the cause
of fire where they think it resulted
from incendiarism. 1t took the
eighteenth general assembly to dis
cover that there was enough in
cendiarism in Colorado to warrant
the creation of such political ma
chine, for it is nothing more or
less than created machine for po-
litical purposes. The fire insurance
companies are assessed one-half of
one per cent of their gross income
and 1873 of them, by reason of their
prominence, are assessed $55 extra
each, annually for the maintenance
of this commission and this ma
chine.
| A peculiar feature of this bill is
that every insurance company is
fighting it and says there is absolute
ly no need for it.
Stripped of everything, the bill
is simply to put one man in each
town on the state pay roll for the
purpose of having him work for De-
mocracy.
incidentally, the coal mine in
spection bill, while it fell down in
it's object to protect the coal miner,
it did not fall down in it's attempt
to furnish jobs for. the members of
the Democratic family. In the first
place, 1t appoints a board of five
examiners at Sc per day each to
examine all applicants for positions
under the bill, the examining board
to sit whenever the members deem
1t necessary or whenever there are
applications for vacancies to fill
The bill also provides for one chief
inspector at $4,000 per year, one
clerk at $1,000 and five inspectors
at 400 per year each. No in
spector will be allowed to have more
than forty mines under his control
at any time and whenever the
number exceeds forty another in
spector shall be appointed.
The Moffat tunnel hill creates a