Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1915-01-06


lyery nounc Cd 81 osition, the AZ
al nrst and lld second ecommenda 1T ions. III
the Comm = i ission. There Is much SEN El
timent tor the doctrine no the vic
| tors belong the spoils. ''s B It IS urged
| t l1il' those who are active in politics
campaigns, who give Of their q time, e
and their means for the success 'fos
party candidates. deserve recognition
at the hands Of those. candidates
when successful, and that practical
recognition is the bestowal of public
oftice. It has been the practice to re
ward fidelity to party and campaign
activity with appointment to admin
lstrattve place. In the main we have
had good and efhdientt Ola ciaiseu der
that policy, and especially Is this true
IN the more conspicuous Of the aap.
po1ntfve Offices. But in many Of tho
less important places toward which
the scrutiny Of the public is not di,
rected the strongest and most eff
c1ent men have not been selected,
and often men who have developed
into excellent officers have been re-
moved, to the detriment of the public
service, for no other reason than their
political opinions. 1t is proposed that,
except the heads Of departments and
! few other Off GERS, those who desire
to enter the service of the state shalt
be examined by a nonpartisan board,
and their qualification for public sery-
Ice determined by that board Those
found to possess the necessary quail
fications shall be entitled to place
on list Of eligibles, the place upon
such list to be determined by the, rat
ings received in the examination.
Whenever vacancies occur this nom
partisan board will nominate from the
eligible list candidates, and the heads
of the departments select from them
to fill the vacancies. The appoint
ments will no longer be dependent
upon party service nor upon political
opinion. This will tend to bring to
the service of the state efficient and
well qualified employees who will feel
that they cannot rely upon influence
| or favoritism to hold their positions,
but must depend upon their industry,
efficiency and worth.
WOULD LIMIT OFFICE TERMS.
"The proposal will meet opposition:
first, from those who believe that
party service should be rewarded by
public place, and. secondly, from those
who believe it unwise to establish m
od1ceholding class. To the objection
Of the first, it can only be said that it
is an effort to promote the interest
of the state rather than the interest
of political organization. But to the
objection of the second, a further an
swer should be made. The merit
system has been adopted by the fed
eral government, and appointments
to the civil service Of the United
States are now made In the manner
in which it is proposed to make them
in Minnesota. Those in the federal
classified service are inclined to feel
that, once appointed, they have ouch
an interest to their positions that they
cannot be separated from them with
out their consent. Where there IL no
provision for retirement on pay or for
pensions many thoroughly inefncient
employees are retained in the service,
to the detriment of the work and the
discipline of the administrative corps.
l think, If the merit system is estab-
lished, the term of those appointed
should NOT be indefinite, but should
be made for fixed periods, say, for
six years, the efficient and worthy to
be eligible for reappointment. The
proposed scheme of reorganization
has not only the approval of thou
sands Of representative citizens, but
it has been commended by the press
and from the platform. It cannot be
disregarded. 1t must have your best
thought and your most careful con-
sideration. In the report lis included
form of bill for an act making ef-
fective the recommendations of tho
commission. The parts are so related
to one another that it. must receive
your sanction or your disapproval as
a whole. l recommend. this report to
your consideration. l believe if you
enact it's provisions into law you will
do the state great service.
INCREASE IN EXPENDITURES.
1T appears from a chart in the final
report of the commission that the
state expenditures in 1906 were be-
tween eight and nine millions of dol
lars; five years later, in 1910, they
were between eleven and twelve mil
lions of dollars, an increase of ap-
proximately three million dollars. In
1912, two years later, they were be-
tween fourteen and fifteen millions,
another increase of three millions,
and in 1913, eighteen and a half mil
lions: about the same increase. The