The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1914-08-20
ODD|F DISCUSSES
CAMPAIC ISSUES

At meeting of the Washoe County
Republican club, held in Reno Monday
night, Governor Tasker l.. Oddie was
the principal speaker. After his intro
ductory remarks and a brief resume
of the difference in cost of maintain
ing the state government now and 20
years ago, Governor Oddie spoke sub
stantially as follows:
Public's Attitude.
Now what is the general attitude
of the public, especially the tax
payer, regarding these trials of gov
ernment in the fields of public inter
est and welfaref 1t is precisely this:
That the man who has no water rights
and does not wish to acquire any, is
outraged because he is taxed to main
tain the office of state engineer, but
if his freight rates have been reduced
he may be an enthusiastic supporter
of the railroad commission and if an
angler he may take fall out of any
one that suggests that the fish com
mission is useless. So another is for
the state police and opposed to every
other board and commission because he
is benefited by that particular institu-
fall in line of any of the others. The
city dweller has no particular interest
in any work performed for the bene-
fit of agriculture, and roars at the ex-
pense, but may believe thoroughly in
the advantage of a public service
commission which may not benefit
the farmer in the least.
There you have the whole situation
as it shapes up to the executive. There
is not department of state govern
ment and probably not of any county
government or of any municipal gov
ernment that has not enthusiastic
supporters and equally enthusiastic
opponents who can see no good in it,
1t is human nature that we are for
what directly or indirectly benefits
MS and and the work of Importance of
which we know about, and are horest
ly and conscientiously opposed to ev
erything else that is outside our range
of interest or knowledge.
Take for example the state quaran-
tine board. Probably very few of you
know anything about its existence or
its work. 1t has only been in exist
ence about Is months, but it has kept
importations of hay from the alfalfa
weevil infected districts of Utah and
elsewhere from coming into this state;
il has stamped out several outbreaks
OF hog cholera until today the state is
practically clean of this dread dis
ease; it has stamped outbreaks of utir--
er diseases of cattle and last week its
machinery was set in motion to con-
troll the outbreak of dangerously in
fectious cattle disease in one of the
counties and which, if unchecked,
would cause very great loss to farm
ers and stockmen. To date, this
quarantine board has cost the state
about 81 900. + venture to say that
it has easily saved $4,000 loss in
livestock, if not more. Today farm
er can raise hogs or other livestock
with fair assurance that his herds
will not be swept away by some un-
known disease.
Now I am mentioning these things
to show roughly why everybody does
not agree on what is, and what is
not, good government, ami what is,
and what is not, beneficial expendi-
ture of public moneys.
On this point / am going to say
this, also, that I have no particular
hobby in regard to any Office or off
Ger, board or commission IN the state
government They all stand on thei,
own records for achievement or lacl
of achievement and on such records
they are to be judged from the stand
point of cost to the taxpayer. I viii
here state for the benefit of the pub
lie that according to the sworn report
of the state accountant, Mr.. Pau
CASTOR, the total expenditure of thu
state government for the years 191;
for all appointive offices, boards an'
commissions, including the state engi
neer's Office, the state police, the rail
road and public service commission
tax commission, bureau of industry
and agriculture, fish commission, banl
examiner and board of health, stat
quarantine, etc, was $103, ,451.S5, O..
11.2 per cent of the states total ex
penditures, the other SS.s per cent 60
ing for legislative, administrative, in
dicial, institutional and edueationa
purposes.
Now, in the issue of these board
and commissions, / trust the sound
Judgment of the people of the stat
when crystalized after impartial in
vestigation, to solve the same in &C
Wltu tuc stdbc . true 1utci
ests and welfare We used to run the
state government of Nevada for SOM
100000 or so annually where now il
costs about 1925, 900, in round nun
bers. BY eliminating the above mer
toned boards and commissions wip
ing out the university, eurtailing e.
penditures for public schools, ana
using the pruning knife on the stat
Offices, public buildings and improve
ments, we can return again to thos
good old days of simplicity when the
state tax rate was about twice what 7
is now. But, l don't think anybod,
seriously considers that kind of re
trenehment, although we hear it advc
Gated occasionally.
Taxes are high in this state-pe
Ihaps higher than they ought to be. !
sensible citizens we can address ou'
selves to the task of seeing whethe