The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1911-11-10
ARMY OF PEOPLE
ON The PAYROLL
States Expenses Increase Enor.
mousIy in Ten Years.
BOB DUNN ISSUES WARNING
Declares the Time Is Near at Hand
When the Taxpayers Will Make
Vigorous Protest.

st. Paul, Nov. bob Dunn, he OF
many a hard fought battle and who
now proposes to add the word potato
to the title, Minnesota, the Bread and
Butter State" penned an editorial the
other day that may figure heavily in
the next campaign when, in language
that the Sage of Princeton alone is
master of, the argued that the govern.
mental machinery of the North Star
state was becoming top heavy. What
with new boards and departments, bi.
ennial additions to the payroll in the
shape of hundreds of employees and
salary increases running up into the
thousands, he declared that the whole
was reaching a stage that was we'll
nigh the bursting point and that soon
the voice of the taxpayers would be
heard in protest. When the Princeton
man wrote that editorial he perhaps
did not know that the Democratic
state leaders have had this same thing
In mind these many months. Like
Bob, they have seen this costly bit of
fabric grow, noted the expensive ad-
ditions and chuckled. And while they
chuckled, and l might add, helped
their Republican brethren in the work
of creating these additions, obedient
heutenants, with pencil and paper,
put it all down in cold figures and
filed the whole away. With these bits
Of penciled paper Democracy will
build its platform next year and un-
derstand the marching song of it's
army will be economy. Democracy,
too, is not the only one who hopes to
gain political power and some
sheckles from this swelling wave.
There are others politically ambitious
and I am told that the air will soon
ring with their cry of halt.
+ i. +
A little over six years ago the gov.
eminent machinery of the great state
Of Minnesota, now Boosting a popula-
ton of over 1900, 900 and an industrial
and agricultural output that has dis
tanced many of its much older neigh
bors, was housed in a building that
covered less than a half block of
ground. The force of janitors could
be counted on the figures of one hand
and the state auditors department
was regarded as having the largest
payroll in the building. On a hill to
the north the legislature was building
a great marble palace. 1t was neces-
sary, for the old building was burst
ing with life and the plan of govern
ment by boards was then getting it's
start and the opinion was that they
should be properly housed. In JAN
uary of 1905 the officers and depart
ments were moved to the marble pile.
The then attorney general had so
much room that he looked upon the
vastness Of his quarters as a joke.
The state treasurer had spare parlor
and he loaned it at times to the state
auditor. There was space galore and
departments We'd with each other in
adding to their holdings. The halls
were case of magnificent distances.
+ i. +
That was less than six years ago.
Today vault and living space is at a
premium and the old building, aban-
doned then it was presumed for good,
Is again bursting with life. All the
old offices in it are filed. Since the
transfer to the new building was
made has come into being an immi-
grafton board, state banking de-
partment, formerly connected with the
public examiners department, a new
forestry force, state highway COM
mission and department for the
testing OF weights and measures. l
could not begin to enumerate the
small boards which meet occasionally
and draw their per diem from the
states strong box. The last session
OF the legislature made fully three
hundred additions to the payroll, and
there are more to come. The other
morning, standing in front of the big
marble pile, l saw this great army
struggle In by twos and threes. From
o'clock until near the noon hour
they passed through it's massive
carved portals, and as watched them
thought of Bob Dunn's editorial. And
they told me, too, that fully seventy
five girls and women earned their
daily bread in this big building and
that their salaries ranged from 81 900
to $1,000 year. Enough, you say,
to keep bread winner and his six
kiddies in comfort. In the old state
capitol the activity was just as
marked. but the numbers were not SO
great.
+ 1. +
All this undoubtedly surprises you,
dear reader, but for your further in
formation will say that what I saw
was only fraction of that great army
employed in keeping the states ma
chinery running. 1t was the heads
and their assistants that were housed
in the two capitol buildings. The pri-
Yates were scattered over the state
and when Uncle Sans mails were in
adequate to the job a network Of
wires served to keep them in touch
With the powers that be. That the