The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1914-07-01
MCCARTHY HAS one
CHIEF OBJECTION.
Man Who Assisted in Making Wis
consin Bureau Successful Favors
Continual Appropriations.
GIVES BOARD SUGGESTIONS
Commission. Regrets That Report Is
Not Given Unanimous Approval
But Sticks to Biennial Plan.

ST. Paul, Mimi, July 1.-(Special
to the Pioneer Wisconsin, refer
ence bureau and Minnesota's effic-
iency commission have engaged
in an edifying debate.
Your plan says~C. mccarthy,
who made,~the Wisconsin bureau
what it is, has one serious fault
so serious that it may offset all the
good you can do. You don't provide,
he says, for continuous appropria-
tons.
His point is this. The legislature
may decide on some campaign that
may take years to finish, for health
perhaps, or some social stunt. "a, The
next legislature may say nothing has
been accomplished and cut it off
before it has, a chance to prove it's
value. Dr. Mccarthy argues that
once the Legislature has adopted it,
the work should be continued until
results are shown or at least till the
legislature decides to discard it.
Any legislature has the right to turn
it down deliberately. But he says
it is not fair to let it be lost simply
by failure to provide for it. While
it is getting done it should take
positive action to dislodge it from
the program.
The efficiency commission admits
that the state may suffer in this way.
1T is one of the evils of popular gov
ernment,' says Dr.. John II. Gray.
"But there is no way Of avoiding it
without running into greater evils.
In the long run more mischief is to,
be feared from standing appropria-
tions than from failure to appropri-
ate for desirable things There is
more to be gained by holding the
Legislature responsible than by TAX
ing responsibility from it,
The commission holds to the same
view. The state has adopted the
policy of requiring new appropria-
lions biennially for every object pur-
sued by the state and the commits
Eslon will recommend that the state
adhere to this policy.
lit is pointed out that the Wiscon-
sin bureau has been able to-: do a
great many things for Wisconsin that
the people do not know that they
CT w,
this direction that it has provoked q
reaction. 1t is not impossible that the
people may throw away a number Of
very good things from sheer irrita-
ton
The public in general cannot be
led much faster than it goes of It's
own accord. Like the small boy
who had been vaccinated and bap-
tized but neither of them took 1t
would he very lovely if we had heav-
en- born government maintained by
appropriation granted by a heaven
sent legislature. We are likely to
get along better, however, if we de-
pend on the plain people and con-
fine the states activities to the
things wanted by the majority
even if the majority doesn't always
know what is good for it.
Anything else is government ars-
tocracy 1t may be a good aristo-
cracy or a very blind aristocracy. But
the worst plumbers of popular gov
eminent are more toleraIble than the
good intentions of an aristocracy.
y The Minnesota commission is sorry
not to have the unanimous approval
of it's report. But it advises the
state to stick to the rule of biennial
appropriations.