New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-06-11
Harvard President Would
Have Governor Pre-
pare Estimates.
EXPERTS NEEDED
IN GOVERNMENT
Would Bar Local Bills and Seat
Department Heads in
Legislature.
Prom s,s- Correspondent, O, n, Tribune

ron NiaT t"ifFNt''N'tFNN ~ 'i.' Ai''''tNtA
Albany. June 1O.--The superiority Of
the English method Of budget making
over the American was explained to-
day by A. Lawrence Lowell, president
OF Harvard University, 70 delegates to
the Constitutional Convention at a
Joint hearing Of the committees on
Finance and Governor and Other state
Oficers.
q do not think that any foreign sys-
TEN or institution can be transplanted
into new soil and the same results be
obtained from IT," said President Low
eli. before going into details. What
YOU can get at best from a foreign sys-
tenn is suggestions for improving your
own"
President Lowell then described the
mechanics Of budget making in Eng
land He told how early in the autumn
the various departments made their es-
Inmates. and men submitted them TO
the departmental heads, VINO in turn
presented them 10 the Chancellor OF
the EycheQucr, who. II he thought the
requests reasonable, presented them 10
Parliament early IN March which i'm
mediately gave the several departments
2 conditional appropriation to carry
them over until the whole amount
asked for was available.
In response 10 questions from Fred
erick (. Tanner. chairman of the Com
mittee on Governor and Other State
Officers. President Lowell said he be
heved constitutional provision should
be made for an auditor, similar 10 the
Office Of that name in England. whose
duties consist Of checking up ex-
penditures. to see that the moneys sp-
propriated were expended as provided
for by law.
Grilling Good for Legislators.
cover in England" said President
Lowell. they grill the ministry, which
is q very healthy thing TO DO. Grilling
IS the thing that friehtens them. Many
a bureaucrat is prevented from doing
what is wrong through fear that the
thing he might do would receive an
airing in the House Of Commons"
He told how log-rolling. which he
described as the Curse of our Ameri-
can Legislatures" was impossible in
England through a simple rule. In
1913 the House OF Commons decided
that no appropriation thereafter could
he made by motion of an individual
member.
President Lowell said that so scien-
tifc is the budget making in England
that seldom, except in war times, do
the budget and the revenues differ
more than ? or 8 per cent.
PARLIAMENT is not great leglsla-
tive making body said President Low.
ell at is rather a perpetual body OF
investigation u is the eyes OF the
English people. 1t is investigating all
the time. We investigate our govern,
through griling the ministry. We have
two grave defects-one is we use ex-
pertF too little. and the other is we
don't investigate enough. When we do
investigate We do il with hostility. We
ought to investigate 10 learn, rather,
why this or that particular thing has
been done.
Need More Experts.
I'VE ought 10 have a great corps OF
experts in our governmental depart
ments. We ought TO use trained ad-
ministrators in every branch of gov
eminent. CORPORATIONS have, and that
is why they can do things better than
states and municipalities here. OF
course, we are improving. You have
here at TIE head Of your State De-
partment e Education an eNpert-a
most admirable man-Dr. John H. FIN
ley. II you were appointing a man IN
his place thirty years ago you would
have appointed politician"
As tomorrow is the last day for
proposals 70 be introduced except
through committees by unanimous
consent or suspension of the rules,
scores Of them were offered to-day.
Harold j. Human. Republican leader
OF the Assembly last year and now
delegate TO the convention, purposes TO
carry his fight for a state institutional
board into that body. He failed to
obtain his desired reorganization by
legislative action last winter.
Human Proposes New Board.
Mr.. Human said to-day that his pro-
posal would create board of charities
and corrections and take over the
offices of Commissioner Of Charities,
Prison Commission and Superintendent
of Prisons. All of the work now done
by these Offices would be performed
by board of nine members selected TO
serve for nine years each.
A proposal looking TO prohibiting
the Legislature from passing any pri-
vate or local bills was introduced by
complishing this would be TO strike out
eli of Section IS of Article 3 of the
constitution. which provides every act
regarding private and local bills that
the Legislature may take.
Members Of the taxation committee
have drawn a proposal to make the tax
commission constitutional office. Mar
tin G.. SAKE, chairman of the commit
tee. is q member of the tax commission
recently appointed by Governor Whit
man. Il is proposed by the proposition
TO make the terms Of members six
years, but the present commission
would not necessarily be continued in
Office.
Limiting Civil Case Appeals.
The adjustment of appealing TO the
Court Of Appeals in civil cases as a
matter Of right was urged to-day be-
fore the judiciary committee of the
convention by Alton b. Parker and lrv-
ing ]. Vann. the former one-time chief
Judge Of the Court of Appeals and the