The Oskaloosa herald., 1913-01-16


hin TO the south. The grounds thu
acquired, lying south of Wslnu
street, should be parked and beauti
fed, and upon them should be places
the Allison monument and such othe
monuments as may be erected in th,
future, and when the state shall bulk
an executive mansion, it should b,
| placed upon the high point of grounC
to the southeast of the capitol build
ing. Upon the block Immediately cas-
of the state house and soEth of Capi
toll avenue should be located judi,
cial building. / would also suggest
| that when the time comes that it is
| necessary to make any considerable
improvement in the states power
| plant, it would be wise to consider
moving it to the foot of the hill
south and southwest of the state
house, where it could be reached by
switch, thereby saving the large
amount of money that is annually
paid for hauling coal with teams and
wagons, and also getting rid of the
dirt and smoke and the somewhat un-
slightly appearance of a heating plant
Immediately in front of the capitol
building. #-'
The demand for more room for the
accommodation of the various officers
and commissions of the state seems
imperative. We now have the dairy
and food commissioner and the state
veterinary surgeon quartered in the
old brick building across the street
cast from the state house, which
building is poorly equipped and
ought to be vacated. The state board
of education, the state fire marshal,
the commerce counsel, the rate de-
partment and the oil inspector have
been occupying committee rooms and
are now temporarily located-some
with other departments in this build
ing and some in the historical build
ing. ... ... te.. ..
Insurance. Banking, Etc.
Conditions in the state with refer
ence to insurance and banking havs
been quite satisfactory during the last
two years. There are now reporting
to the department 1,049 banks and
trust companies, as against $50 two
years ago, and the deposits have in
creased from S247,00O,0OO June 80,
1910, to S285 100000 September II,
1912.
There have been no great con-
fagrations during the year and the
mortality among our people has been
about normal.
The auditor of state in his biennial
report recently filed with me again
recommends that a system of e1am-
ination of county accounts and rec
ords be established, and to- this rec.
ommendation want TO give my sp-
proval. 1t seems to me that the num-
Der Of defalcations and irregularities
that have occurred during the last
few years will impress upon you the
Importance of the above suggestion.
Mining and Labor Departments.
The entire chapter of the code re-
lating to mines and mining in the
state was revised during the last ses-
sion of the general assembly and l
am pleased to say that under the new
law things have worked out in very
satisfactory manner. There have
been no serious disasters and the
merits of the statute enacted think
have fully justified the revision of the
law.
The labor department of the state
is in a most excellent condition and l
commend the commissioner upon his
faithful and wise administration Of
the affairs of the office. Some revis-
ion of the laws will be asked and re-
quest will be made for extending the
service of the department. One of
the most important matters with ref
erence thereto is that of changing the
law with regard to employment agen-
cies SO as to eliminate what is known
as the ''padrone" system.
In my opinion the power and au-
thority to inspect hotels should be
transferred to and made part of the
duty of the labor commissioner. It
is wholly unnecessary to have two
sets of men travelling over the state
when the work of inspection herein
referred to could be performed equal
ly as we'll and at much less ex-
pense by the labor commissioner and
his deputies, who of necessity must
visit all parts of the state in the
performance of other duties.
] recommend a careful considera-
ton of the matters herein referred to.
Health Department.
While the health department Of the
state seems to show more satisfsc-
tory condition than heretofore, / am
still of the opinion that the executive
head Of the department should be the
man in immediate charge of the Of
fee. Under system similar 10 that
now in vogue this, of course, would
be the secretary. The present in
cumbent in that Office has proven him.
self 10 be very capable and efficient
public servant. ! want again to rec
onmend that the members Of the
board be placed upon a salary and