The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952, 1913-04-16


grave doubt. Aside from the econ
omy feature. which. after all. is
not the basic complaint. is the mt-
terly wanton determination to
find jobs for party parasites re-
gardless of public interests.
mere has been no real spirit oi
ecoromy evidenced in the iegisla-
ture. New commissions have Deen
created. there has beep a shifting
ABOUT OF some other 60mmissions,
(which has resulted in nttie. ii any
saving to the community. The idea
mas Deen that the jobs OF political
favorites must be saved at all ha4-
ard. The senate has carried Two
dozen more employees than the lin
it allowed by the state. the extras =
being Figured on the capitol board
payroll. Yet a great chow OF econ
oany was made when six employees
were dropped. In the bill fixing
the salaries OF all the smployes OIL
the capitol. 2O1 OUT OF 2s7 were
taken out of the civil earvice. The
employees OF the public Utilities COM
nilsson and other comaissons ere
ated by the Legislature will all fig
ure outside the civil service. This
has been done In order that polit-
ical favorites may be entrenched in
joLs which they could not secure
under civil service regulations A
Jest has been made OF civil service
and of public efficiency and econ
omy.
The Legislature could have fin
ished its actual business In thirty
days and then had time OF spare.
But 1t has lasted one Kindred and
five days. and hAs given much time
and serious confederation to. var
ious frivOlities and extravagances.
But the main thing has been to ere
ate new salaried positions. or to
entrench political fayorites In the
posts threatened by civil service.
Three hAs been misrspres snt~tion
In many things. The tubereulosis
bill became a law ON the represent
tation that it was not going to
cost anything. But Immediately af-
ter its passage there came de-
mand for funds for making the law
effective. The public utilities bill.
which was directed al the rail
roads. simply adds another member
to the railroad cOmmission-not to
speak Of the minor 'jobs' created
under that and other commissions,
There has been a juggling about
of several commissions. ostensibly
for purposes OF economy. Commis-
sioners and inspectorships have beer
switched about here and there. but
the people of the state save little
or nothing in the changes that
have been made, and the real ex-
travagances which the legislature
has hoped to hide by such grand
Stahu Woiks nave ocSh SoAsaS0 oh
beneath the surface.
The state institutions which have
really deserved generous support.
have been almost lost sight of in
the frenzied juggling TO make the
available funds cover the political
debts that were to be paid. Only
by the most strenuous work have
the friends of some of these fnsti-
tutions secured enough to carry
them through the biennial period.
Had the friends of the state
university not rallied to its sup
port that institution would have
had to close its doors unless mon
ey could have been borrowed.
Such a spirit in a legislature
is nothing short of deplorable.
and merely serves to increase the
public discussion of the advisibil-
ity of trying some other means of
making state laws. The governor
of Kansas has recommended the
of a commission for
the legislature, and most of the
Kansas newspapers have given the
idaa thar fudorsement The clum