The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-11-07

| meeting. as,rg s 5e
George Author opens Meeting.
George f. Authier, the governors
secretary, in the absence of Govern
or Eberhart, called the meeting to-
gether Letters were read from AL
fred Rustad of Wheaton, j. A. Hart
igan of st. Paul, Representative H.
H. Dunn of Albert Lea, John H.
Hohmann of Mankato, Senator F. e.
Putnam of Blue Earth and Joseph
Chapman of Minneapolis, regretting-
their inability to attend yesterdays
meeting, but expressing their hearty
sympathy with the movement. E.
S. Durment of st. Paul sent mes
sage saying he would be unable to
serve.
Craig Outlines the Program.
Chairman C. P. Craig, in outlining
the purposes of the commission, said
there is a restlessness in all states,
feeling that though We are de-
veloping, something is not right
about that development" This feel
ing, he said, finds expression in nu-
merous investigations into a multi
tude of departments. Those inves-
legations for the most part are
aimed at individuals who perhaps
are only the victims of a system.
with individuals we have moth
ing to do With malfeasance in Of
fee we have nothing to do said
Mr.. Craig. "Our present duty is not
to overturn the present order, but
to find out what, if anything, is
wrong with the present system, and
then suggest a remedy.
Reform Going Too Far.
"The most cursory glance over the
history of Anglo-Saxon government
will doubtless disclose that it has
been a struggle for decentralization;
of getting the power back to the
monarchial form with which it start
ed. Have we gone too far and set
up instead of the evil Of absolute
monarchy a system of government
by multitude of commissions so
complex, with so diveded a respon-
sibility, such lack of harmony, SO I'M
related, overlapping in departments,
that, whilst we have taken away
from our chief executive the power
to do direct wrong, we have at the
same time rendered him powerIess
to do any direct good? In short, we
have reached point in our develop
ment along lines of decentralization
where we have so scattered the pow
er that it cannot be efficiently or
economically administered and that
we must now bark back to a more
direct responsibility.
Idea of Constitution Trainers.
When the constitution of the state
was adopted, Mr. Craig said, clear
purpose was shown in the trainers
of the document not to multiply
boards, commissions or officers, and
it was thought necessary to provide
only a governor with a militia as
police power, an attorney general to
interpret the laws, a. secretary to
keep the funds and an auditor to
check up accounts.
AS the state grew, he said, new
public functions were created and in
response to varying demands the
has created nearly fifty
boards, commissions and bureaus
These have developed as apparent
needs developed without relation to
one another or reference to the ques-
tion of whether or not the purposes
of the new might not be attained
through the machinery of one or
more of those already existing.
Duty of Commission.
ut is the duty of this commission
to review carefully all of these and
if possible separate those that can
be co-selated or consolidated, into
groups" said Mr.. Craig. He thought
it possible the number of bureaus