Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1913-11-19
.c0MMIS SION 10 GET
AFTER Com ! 1 SSI0 J ! !
Coy. EbeIhaIt Says That State
Government Must Be
R!e-:lolIganlzel''dl.
ADVOCATES BUDGET SYSTEM
A Communication From Executive
Offices Outlines Reasons for the
i Appointment Of Committee Of
Thirty. -

form a tentative plan for the re-or-
ganization of the state government Of
Minnesota for submission to the next,
legislature. The purpose for which
this commission is appointed is to Sc
cure data and formulate plan which
will form a basis for work that has
long been regarded as important and
necessary. Al the request of the ex-
ecutive department we publish the:
following statement that our readers
may be fully informed as to Gov. Eb-
erhart's plan. q: &... ..':..,.... +.
"The time has arrived for. Mime
sofa to reorganize it's form OF state
government Greater economy and
increased efficiency demand it. The
appropriations made by the last legis-
lature for the conduct of the state
government for the present biennial
period prove conclusively that our
form of government should be rear
ranged and bettered, and that our
method of appropriations should be
based upon the budget system. =
Il have urged these changes before
the legislature in my previous mes
sages and laid especial stress and en-
phasis upon the subject in my last
message. The appointment of COM
mission to formulate plan OF reform
was discussed but failed of accom-
pnshment. In order that action may
be taken it has long been recognized
that the legislative body, upon which
must rest the final responsibility for
any such changes, should be furnished
with a concrete plan which would be
the result of the study of expert men.
'Tn order that the members of the
next legislature, as the representa-
tives of the people at large, may have
the benefit of some such concrete
plan, l have decided to appoint com:
mission made up of men whose abll.
ity, standing and patriotic. citizenship
will command the respect OF the legls.
lature and Of the public. Since no ap:
preparation was made for this pur-
pose by the legislature I shall have
to rely upon the patriotic Willingness
of these men to devote themselves to
the interests of the state without pay
Theirs will be a voluntary service
and a greater honor will attach should
they succeed in evolving plan which
will make the Minnesota government
a model of its kind in all the states
and relieve it of the archaic systems
which still prevail
"In urging a reform of state govern.
ment I am not advocating revolution
airy changes nor changes that will not
suggest themselves at once to men
who are familiar with the affairs OF
the state and who are not biased by
self-interest. Our government has
been the growth of fifty years of ex
perience. The system has been
enlarged and added to in piece
meal fashion with the result that we
have a system of interlocking boards
and a division of responsibility among
different departments not for the best
interests of the state. It is not my
purpose, in making this statement, tx
advocate any special system of reor
ganization-a duty that will be LEFT
to the men whom I am appointing or
the commission. It is evident, how
ever, that some reforms are so insist
emily necessary that they might be
mentioned as indicating the scope O.
work which the commission will have
to perform A department Of public
domain has been long recognized az
| an imperative necessity in the inter
| est of good government, and this ne
cessity has been increased by the nat
ural growth of the wealth of our won
derfully rich state. Property so valu
| able and so extensive as that owned
by the State of Minnesota should bt
| managed and directed by a respons
| ible department, and the work SHOULD
| not be thrown into a department de
signed to carry on another and yer,
| different function of government.
"A Department of Agriculture is an
| other reform we'll deserving Of thu
| most earnest attention that can bt
given it. This is a great agriculture
state and the basis Of our wealth ant
! prosperity is the farm. We have
realized this more fully as we have
gone along, and the result has beer
the up-springing of different organi
| cations for the purpose of increasing
the efficiency of agriculture, of con
| serving the values of the land, of in
creasing the output, for lettering thu
social conditions that surround farm
life, all designed for the purpose O
realizing, to it's fullest extent, thu
wonderful wealth that lies in the sol
of Minnesota. These department.
work separately, and while individ
ually effective there is necessarily :
waste of energy and lessening O
power which might be Obyiated b,
their coordination in one department
which should have strong and eff
fective man at it's head. Our system
of interlocking boards and disjointet
forms of state management SHOULD
either be eliminated or co-ordinate(
so that the entire state government
should present an harmonious whole
working with efficiency and with thu
best possible results. $.: s..s
In this idea of the reform of state
government the two ideas Of econom!
and efficiency should 60 hand In hand
That a proper re-alignment and reor
| ganization will have the result of in
creasing efficiency will be general!
acknowledged. twill not take NOR,
than a cursory glance to convince on,
that in. the matter of economy til.
most beneficial results can be obtain
ed by the same method
But it is not only by the rearrange
ment Of our state government tina
economy and the eliminate on Of vast.
is to be attained. Too great empha
sis cannot be placed upon the neces
sfty of reforming our method of max
ing appropriations These appropria
tons, involving millions sof, dollars O