The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1914-04-10

Et-tct civil service rules.
Effective regulation Of all public
service corporations so as TO secure
rsssorabIe rates and adequate serv.
zee 'o- all.
lean and dienlfied campaign.
The governors statement follows:
The most important step taken In
is state to work out a practical
plan for the reorganization of all
state departments is the appointment
fthe efficiency commission. Dur
ing recent years, legislative appro.
DriaitiOns have increased with enor.
nous rapidity. The cause is largely
desire on the part of the legisla-
we members to supply the demands
~ their respective districts for state
rrds.
Under our present system the
appropriation of public funds, the
most important work of the legis-
lature, is placed in the hands of a
committee appointed by the presid-
ing officers of the two houses, and
this committee can be made the most
effective club in working out the poll.
cies of political organization. The
temptation to secure local appropria.
ton is often too strong for the pa.
triotic citizenship of the individual
member TO resist.
Grab-Bag Methods.
With the grab-bag method of OBJ
tanning appropriations now prevail.
ent, the member who does not get
his share OF the plumber is too FIRE.
quently held responsible by his CON-
munity. because II is reasonably as
sumed that IL the gates were thrown
wide for the distribution of appro-
priations, the individual member
could have obtained his share had
he been effective. His failure to do
so Is used by his enemies to prove
that he is not effective, and that &C.
cordingly he should be replaced by
another man. Thesystem results in
a log-rolling method. which, in bring.
ing the independence to the mem.
bers OF the legislature has opened
the public treasury to raids that are
unjustifed and are a crime against
the taxpayers.
But One Solution.
There Is only one solution, and
that is the budget system of making
preparation so that the rural needs
Of every sttae department and in.
'n''or can be presented to the
40 before being acted upon By
10 legislature. Instead OF people
.'"dtng al state preparation into
~" last two sessions OF the legisla.
'ur", they should be presented in
budget form TO the tax payer in ad.
vance OF the legislative session. No
"iiei viii come until the people
themselves are willing to study and
H"actice economy in handling the
.unds Of the state, and in order to
secure intelligent action on the part
~ the people, a budget showing In
detail all the needs Of the various
state departments and institutions
should be prepared and published for
general distribution.
Urges Budget System.
The opposition for political rea.
sons holds the governor responsible
TOR the Increase in appropriations. II
Is well-known fact that no one ex.
cept the legislature has authority TO
oraw out money, and that the only
FUNDS the governor can control Is his
10000 contingent fund. His only
authority TO control appropriations is
through the veto power. This power
he used at the last session by cut.
ting out of the appropriation bills
one-quarter of million dollars. and
would have reduced Il very much
more had he been allowed under our
constitution to reduce items as well
as strike them out altogether. II
the people could have a chance to
examine the appropriations In adj
vance, they could act through their
representative In the legislature, and
thus prevent unnecessary appropria-
tons and excessive taxation.
.. Rural Sections Favored.
In the distribution of state funds
now collected through taxation, the
rural sections Of the state are very
much favored as compared with the
large cities. AS this is not generally
known. the following counties are
cited as a means OF comparison:
Blue Earth county, tax paid in
1913. s54,97s.73; amount received from
the state In 1913, s5s.241.67; gain,
si.262.9i. Todd county, tax paid In
1913, s25,7i0.43 amount received
from the state in 1918, s55, .s5;
gain, s2s.556.42. Steele county. tax
paid in 1919. s27.s0Is7; amount paid
by state, s41.f2s.75; gain. s14,115.7s
Fillmore county, tax paid in 1913,
A5,20S,51; amount received from
state. s7P, .ss; gain, SOS, s65.42.
Thus Il will be seen that the three
large counties Of the state pay into
the state treasury in he aggregation