The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1914-06-11
PRELIMINARY REPORT OUT
Commission for Recognizing State
Departments Will Recommend
Radical Changes.


presents to the people plan for re-
organizing the state government. Its
final report, including draft of xD-
propriate measures, will be submitted
in time for consideration at the next
session of the legislature.
Three features are included in the
report-unificatio OF administration,
the civil service system, and the bud
get system. All three are essential
to one another. Reorganization of the
executive service will bring about a
much better budget system than
would otherwise be possible. The bud
get system will enforce economy on
the reorganized departments-the
merit system will permit no possible
misuse of the centralized power.
Reorganization of the government
comes first. Instead of sixty or seven
ty independent governments, the COM
mission proposes one state admins
tration, divided into six great depart
ments. Associated with the governor
in general administration will be the
attorney general, as legal advisor for
all departments, the auditor as ac-
counting and auditing officer of all
departments, and the secretary of
state as general recording officer.
These are ministerial duties. The ex-
ecutive duties are thrown into the six
departments, each under a director.
Finance, of which the treasurer will
be ex-officio director.
Pubic Domain.
Public Welfare.
Education.
Labor and Commerce,
Agriculture.
In education a board of directors
is provided for the state school sys-
tenn on one hand and for the univer-
sity on the other. These two boards
will meet as an educational council to
discuss common problems and the ed
vocational budget, they will pretty
nearly have agreed on all the activi-
ties to be carried out under it. In
that way, while preserving the identi-
ty of the university as the constitu-
ton requires, the whole state system
kindergarten to the postgraduate
courses. For each of the other depart
ments there will be single director.
All the things that are now done
by the state are to be done under
these departments and by appropri-
ate units. The health department, the
labor department, the Forestry depart
ment, the highway department, the
insurance department, the banking
department and all the rest will
stand up as distinctly as now.
This is not plan to cut off heads,
but to head things ~. Jnser this
plan cooperation would take the
place of confusion-unity would ap-
pear in place of DIVERSITY. Only
executive boards are abolished. They
stand in the way of utility. They were
devised on purpose to decentralize the
administration. Executive authority
under this plan is to be brought to-
gether and made a unit. Non-execu-
tive boards remain. They have such
duties as those of the railroad and
warehouse commission to regulate
rates and service-such duties as
those of the minimum wage commits
sion to determine standard conditions
such duties as those Of the state
board of health to adopt police mea-
sures-they will in some cases make
decisions affecting personal rights as
a court makes decisions, or adopt or
dinances as legislative body adopts
ordinances. The executive depart
ments will carry out the orders and
ordinances. Not less important, these
advisory boards will keep the depart
ments in touch with public opinion in
their advisory capacity.
With such an organization the bud
get system follows as a matter of
course. Each officer will make his
estimates, each department will col
lect it's statements of needs and all
these after discussion by the cabinet
will be presented to the Legislature
as a state budget. This means sub
stitution of method for what is little
better than madness. It means care
full consideration of the expenditures
as whole. 1t means study of relative
needs instead of guesswork. The leg
is'ature will no longer be assailed by
the clamor of individual officers. 1t
will be in a position to consider the
states expenditures as unit made
up of related parts. Haphazard ex-
travagance will give place to syste-
matte consideration of appropriations.
AS to the merit system. There may
be discussion as to it's scope but there
seems to be unanimous agreement as