Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1914-08-28
Object Is Efficient Service.

Object Is Efficient Service.
Many cities have resorted to the
survey as a means of determining
what steps should be taken to elimin.
ate waste and to ascertain in what
particulars the city government was
failing in its work or what necessary
work it was not equipped to perform.
But this is the first time a survey has
been made as a state, of a state gov.
eminent.
This survey is not made because II
Is expected to discover anything ap.
palling, but it is made for the same
reason that a merchant periodically
takes an inventory or a corporation
at regular intervals has appraisals
made of its property. Just as a cor
poration wants it's plant to produce
to the limit of it's capacity, and want.
it operated with the least possible
waste of power and time and at the
least cost consistent with effective
work, SO the state wants it's govern.
ment to give the best possible ser
WIG dI LllS lSctSL pOSSIUlC COot W tuS
people.
Government Is Patchwork.
The present state government OF
Wisconsin is a patchwork. Through
a long period of years, Legislature
after legislature has added to the
states activities, placing new duties
upon old established departments and
creating new departments with en-.
tirely new functions. Even the pur.
pose of government is not the same
today that it was Is years ago. Pres.
ent day government considers the de-
veloping Of men and women as the
first object of organized society. The
principle efforts and the heaviest ex
penditures of state and local govern
ments are for education and for pro
lection against disease and accident
From the vocational school maintain
ed for the children Of the city, to the
land mortgage association with its
loans to farmers on long time and
easy payments, from the awarding OF
compensation to injured workers on
to the establishing of sanitoria fol-
the care of tuberculosis patients,
considerable part of the government
tai machinery of the state is main
tanned and operated for the purpose
of giving boys and girls fair start in
life. These added functions have
changed the spirit of the state. That
oil thncn oh o13d c6ditinnc chO,II6
result in some confusion, duplication
of effort, overlapping of authority and
consequent waste of time and effort
Is to be expected.
Meeting Needs of People.
Realizing this, the Legislature OF
1911 created the State Board of Pub
lie Affairs to gather the facts regard
ing all departments and to recommend
such changes as would:
1. Make the state government
thoroughly responsive to the needs OF
the people.
2. Secure efficiency and economy.
The legislature gave the board pow
er, to supervise accounting in all de-
PAL jlll0uLS anu W ludhG SuCll
In the system of accounts as may
seem necessary to secure uniformity
and accuracy and to adequately dis
close the affairs of each department |
Also the legislature made it the
duty of the board to Investigate the |
resources of the state and to promote |
their highest development, respectfully |
farm ownership, cooperation. |
publicity, immigration and settle |
ment"
In this article there is not space to
do more than give the merest outline |
Of the work done up to this time. The |
board has designed one complete &C |
counting system for all departments
and institutions which already has
been installed in most of the branches
of the government. When completed
this system will be centralized in the
office of Secretary of State.
Other articles will follow telling in
detail what the Board of Public AT.
fairs has done IN encouraging the es
tablishing of cooperative associations
what it has done to encourage the or
ganization of land mortgage associa