Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1911-05-12


formed by Mr. Rainey that most of this
land is owned by the Southern Pacific
railroad, which alone can serve that
territory when 1t begins to be the
greatest citrus raising section Of the
continent.
The stake is big one. The Rainey
resolution is intended merely to find
out whether the government Or any Of
fetal is sitting in the game. The rep
resentative himself does not profess
to have any evidence, but like the man
who tired out the circumlOcution or
fee in one of Dickens novels, he just
wants to know, don't you know"
Investigations Are Endorsed.
Some people assert that the "soft
pedal Is to be put On the Democratic
plan to investigate one after the other
the executive departments Of the gov
eminent This is wholly without foun-
dation. The resolution for the inquiry
into the department Of justice is al
ready before the proper committee,
and probably at frequent intervals
resolutions affecting some coordinate
department will be presented.
Republican politicians of the lesser
sort resent these Investigations. But
such distinguished Republican publ
cists as Dr. Albert Shaw, editor of the
Review Of Reviews, welcome them,
and so also to my certain knowledge
would many of the subordinate chiefs
Of departments. AS DR.. Shaw puts 1t:
After sixteen years of uninterrupted
control Of the government, abuses III
executive departments are certain to
creep in. There is dead timber in eV-
cry department building. There are
places to be abolished and reforms to
be established The Republicans
should welcome these investigations
even though made by the opposing
party"
It is to be borne in mind, however,
that the immediate effect of such in
vest1gations will be little more than to
advance a Democratic agitation. Six
teen years, most of them under the op-
Grafton of the civil service law, have
pretty securely entrenched in office
the present employees in executive de-
partments. Nevertheless there is poll
teal capital to be made, if no political
patronage to be won, out of muckrak-
ing the departments and the task will
be undertaken with avidity by the
Democratic house.
Probe for Costly Commissions.
Late in the last session of con-
gress newspaper correspondent
went to Champ Clark, then only
the minority leader, with this
question, How can 1 find out how
many commissions, boards or bureaus
are there now in existence, created
either by legislative or executive &C
ton, and how much money are they
spending"
you will have to organize yourself
into a congressional committee to get
that information" said the present
speaker. 1--WE have been trying to
find out for some time how many of
these commissions there were, with
out success. | do not believe that any
mere unofficial investigator, even
though he represents a great news
paper, can secure the Information"
L
is now pending before the rules COM
mittee of the house of representatives
resolution asking that there shall
be appointed by the speaker a COM
mittee of five members to look into
this very question; to consider the
work and the expense of all these
commissions or boards, and particu-
larly to report to the house the names
Of the commissioners and of their
various employees.
Made Up of Beaten Men.
It is of course matter of common
notoriety that these commissions are
made up today of politicians who have
been discredited by their own con-
stituencies. l do not mean by that
that nationally they are discredited
For If you take ex-senator Aldrich at
the head of the monetary commission
or Tom Carter, who heads commits
sion, to determine the boundary line
between the United States and Can
ada, there will be none to decry the
ability of either But both have been
beaten. And if you take the long list
of men serving on these various CON-
missions you will find that whether
former senators or former representa-
tives, they have been repudiated by
their own constituencies only to re-
ce1ve vastly more profitable appoint
ments at the hands of the administra-
ton. The most glazing instances are
those of former Senator Carter of
Montana and former Representative
Tawney, appointed to the commission
to consider Canadian border lines at
salaries of $4,000 a year each In
the senate and the house they got
$500. There is absolutely no reason
why the United States geological sur
vey should not draw these lines with
out any aid from discredited states
men.
Many Similar Instances.
Probably there are many such in
stances Of the way in which the money
Of the country is being spent in taking
care Of politicians in their decrenitrde