The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1912-01-18
IS CAUsTIC IN CRITICISM
Head Executive of State Defends Com
mission Government as Emphasized
in Wisconsin and Says Commissions
Have Done Great Good for State

slons IN solving Industrial and econom-
ic problems in Wisconsin, Gov. F. E.
McGovern made a hot reply to the
recent criticisms by State Supt. G. P.
Cary of the Wisconsin department of
education, in an address before the
City club in Chicago Tuesday night.
'tCensor of public morals,' and "patn-
official'' were terms applied
to the state official by the head of the
state government. Governor McGovern
spoke on |Recent Progressive Legis-
lation in Wisconsin," reviewing the
more important laws passed by the
l91l Legislature, which body, he said,
redeemed every pledge made by the Re-
publican party platform.
After paying much attention to the
public service rendered by the vari-
Gus state commissions and boards.
whose personnel is largely recruited
from university men and experts, the
governor said:
"Of course, there has been criticism.
There has been an cutlery against
government by commissions. To
most of these structures no reply has
been made, for none is needed. At
the. present time a persistent effort is
being put forth to discredit the prac-
tice of seeking aid from the Universe
ty of Wisconsin in solution of pub
lie problems. It is said that if the
present policy be continued we shall
have a university state instead of
state university How calamitous
this would be has not yet deeply i'm
pressed anyone in Wisconsin except
the author of the criticism. More re-
Gently this same pamphleteering Off
cial has deplored the Implicitly of poll
ticians who are EJeffersonians on the
stump, and 'Hamiltonians in the
closet Though this censor of public
morals may not know it, most of US
are perfectly willing to plead guilty to
this Indictment, with leave merely
to modify the charge so as to make
us followers of Hamilton and Jeffer-
son both on the stump and in the
closet.
81 presume there will be no objec
tion to this change las it makes the
charge look worse. The author of
this particular article Eliminates
against commissions because they are
appointive instead of elective, ignor-
ing the universal experience that ex-
pert skill and ability cannot be OBJ
tanned by the elective process. He
refers to the legislative reference Ii
brary at Madison, which was the first
of its kind in the country and has
introduced the methods Of science into
the business of legislation as 'bill
MILL and in this category | presume
he will soon also include the board
of public affairs. His special griev-,
ance, however, is the prominence Civ
en- to educated men, particularly uni
versity professors, in the service of
the state.
fFWho is this critic? From my de-
scription of him [ venture to say that
no one present could guess his iden
tity in hundred years. Let me save
you the effort of trying by saying that
he is the head of the educational sys-
tenn of Wisconsin, our state superin-
tendent of public instruction. What a
spectacle! Presumably an intelligent
educator, and the head of the school
system Of great state, whose bust
ness and training one would think
might cause him to exalt education
and its functions in the service of
democracy, petulantly railing because
men of learning and ability have been
drafted into the public service.
'|He would have us believe that
when Prof. Meyer, now member of
the interstate commerce commission,
gave up his place in the University
of Wisconsin to take a position on
the railroad commission of his native
state, the liberties of the people were
recklessly put in jeopardy, that when
Prof. Adams came from the UniveT,
sity Of st. Louis to accept member
ship on the tax commission because he
had made a speciality of the sub
iect of taxation, the rights Of the free
citizens of Wisconsin were wantonly
and grossly abused; and that when
Prof. John r. Commons resigned his
work on University hill to come to the
capitol and become a member of the
industrial commission, though few
men in America are better qualified
for the work, the very foundation
stones of true democracy began to
crumble away. So far as anyone has
ever heard, this learned educator has
no objection whatever to state en-
pIoyment Of any amount of stupidity
or Indifference; but he takes the adj
vent of an educated, original mind in
the public service almost as personal
affront. y