Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-03-18
GOVERNOR CLARKE AND AIDES
START CLEANING UP WITHOUT
EFFICIENCY ENGINEERS.
MEMBERS BASE BILLS ON
WORK INSTEAD OF PER DIEM
Schedule Of Pay Established Contrary
to law-Executive Council Rejects
Some Of Bills and Attention of Lees-
Iature is Called to Matter-Stipe Bill
Drastic.
Special to inaes-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, March Ex-Governor
, Clarke and his new state administra-
ton show ability to do q pretty good
job of cleaning up the state house
without the aid of any $50 a day EFF
ticiency engineers or other appurten-
anceS.
\ new species of irregularity, if
nothing more, was turned up recently,
with evidence it has been going on for
a long time; and the whole record was
passed up TO the committee on re-
trencnment and reform to be deal with
according to what is needed. Incl
dentally some bills have been held up
and will not be audited and paid by
the new administration until they are
modified
The "irregularity' is in connection
with the per diem for work of members
of the state board of medical exanlin-
ers. and it was formally sanctioned by
The board and made of record so as TO
relieve any subordinates of response
bility
bill was rendered the executive
council for the service of one of the
doctor members of the board in con-
nection with examination of nurses for
certificates, The bill showed SIS per
diem, or II days at IS day. It SO
happened that the bill of one of the
young women engaged on the same ex-
animation was presented for 49,, or
four days at IS a day. Futher investi-
cation showed that the questions pre-
pared by the woman, which related to
practical nursing, involved a great deal
more labor and time in preparation and
reading the answers than those relat-
! ing 10 the medical phases Of the ex-
animation as prepared by the doctor
Why the difference in pay under one
statute?
Investigation showed that. contrary
to instructions given, the board had
established a schedule of pay which
does not mean actual DAYS OF service
/ but constructive days This was arbi-
trarily fixed so that doctor in prepar-
ing questions counted two days work
for preparing ten questions and three
days for fifteen, or five questions to
make a days work. In marking an
iswers it was arbitrarily determined that
reading answers to eighty questions
| should be regarded as days work. In
that way the doctor figured out eleven
| days work on a job which took the
nurse only four days to do-and she
reckoned only six hours as a days
work. It seems the arbitrary schedule
| applies only to the men and not to the
| women.
| Hence this bill was discarded. the
state accountant made a report show
! ing the system has been in vogue some
time. and the committee on retrench-
ntent and reform now has the facts.
! The Stipe bill which passed the house
yesterday is a somewhat drastic meas
ure. and if the house agrees to it, there
will be some lodging on the part of
men in business to avoid the pains and
! penalties thereof. 1t undertakes to
define unfair discrimination" and TO
/ give it wide scope. 1t strikes at ANY
person, firm, company, association or
incorporation" either foreign or do
nestle engaged in the production,
manufacture. sale or distribution of any
commodity of commerce" that shall
For the purpose of destroying the
| business of competitor in any locality
or creating monopoly, discriminate
| between sections, localities. communi-
ties, cities or towns Of this state by
| selling such commodity at lower
price or rate in one section, locality,
community, city or town than such
commodity is sold for by said person.
! firm. association, corporation or COM
/ panl. in another section. locality, COM
munity. city or town, after making due
| allowance for the difference If any In
| the grade or quality and in the actual
| cost of transportation from the point of
production OF purchase, Il "a" pro
duct or from the point of manufacture.
| if a manufactured product. to a place
of sale. storage or distribution, shall be
deemed guilty of unfair discrimination.
which is hereby prohibited and declared
I to be unlawful: provided, however, that
prices made to meet competition in
such section. locality. community. city
or town shall not be in violation of this
| act"
! The latter provision is one which a
delegation of large dealers in standard
commodities had placed on the bill,
| without which some companies would
| be almost helpless against competition.
| The failure of the bill to- authorize
school boards in the large cities to con-
| tract for a school superintendent for a
! three-year term seems to have met
with the misfortune Of not being made
to mean just what was intended. There
was no objection whatever to ac-
complishing this result; but as the bill
was framed it, for the first time, gave
authority to employ school superin-
tendent of consolidated rural district
and Of any independent district. If the
bill had been limited in its operations
to employment of a school superintend :
emit for a term of years in any district
which is within the limits OF an in
corporated city it would have passed.
The senate rejected it, but may recon-
slider and amend.
The Wilson bill to compel all coun-
ties of the state to adopt the commits
sion Of three for the board Of super
,visors and to abandon the election IN
isome counties of county supervisors by
districts. came up yesterday and Kim
hall altered an amendment which con-