The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1915-07-27
BECOMING
IRRI7A7ED
Over General Criticism of
His Policy
Of Destruction And Decen-
tralization In State
Accuses Correspondents of
Being In League
Reference TO His Failure To
Abolish Commissions
And House Boards In Capi-
toll Is Very Calling

Columbus, o., July 24-Elected upon
as formidable an array of misrepresen-
tations as an Ohio campaign has ever
seen, Governor Frank B. Willis is
evincing signs of irritation because his
destructive, decentralizing policy is be-
ling literally criticized. His press as
sociation, included in which as spe-
cial writer is State Librarian Charles
Galbreath, has been accusing the news
paper correspondents of the capital
men of all political faiths and with
regulations for fairness and probity, of
being leagued against him. One of the
criticisms that gals is that relating to
Willis failure to abolish the swarm
of commissions" of which he talked in
his canvass and his neglect to bring all
the existing boards and commissions
from their respective quarters in sky
scraping Office buildings into the state
capitol. Inquiring newspaper men
have never been able to secure defin-
ite statement from the governor or his
representatives as to why neither of
these things were done.
From the alleged prejudice Of the
Columbus correspondents an appeal is
taken to that loyal and faithful adher-
ent of the state administration, Unit
ed States Senator Warren G. Hard
ing, in his capacity as newspaper edi-
tor. This is what he says about the
situation and in so doing he raises
welts on the soft back of the chief ex-
ecutive through showing that Cover
nor Gov left large surplus in the
state treasury; that the little red
book" which helped to defeat the
Democratic nominee was a tissue OF
falsehoods; and that the state boards
and commissions are here to stay, pro-
badly in greater numbers than ever:
another State Building! Ohio is
to have a new office building. The
general assemly appropriated all in
terest received on state deposits and
an additional sum equivalent to dis
bursements for office rentals, and the
state auditor has figured that these ap-
preparations will reach fully million
dollars in the next two years. With
such sum available, without dipping
into the treasury balance or issuing
bonds, the state is doing the sensible
thing in erecting a structure to house
it's scattered officials. A million dol
lars, even at the present high cost of
building, will erect a very consider
able structure, and the state will not
only cease paying rent, but it will
have it's various commissions and de-
partment heads where a citizen bent
on business with the state of Ohio may
go his way hopefully without carrying
business directory and map of the
capital city. The grief about it all is
that the growth of the state admins.
tration Is such that so much room is
needed. The little red booklet that
was circulated in the last campaign op-
ened the eyes of the public to the
growth of officialdom, and had lot to
do with the defeat of Governor Cox.
OF course, this growth was not all of
Cox culture, but the revelation came
through his machine building. We
shall not go far back. Most of the COM
missions and boards are here to stay.
We could do as we'll without some of
them, doubtless-we could do better
without some-but few are ever abol-
ished. When they are, something just
as expensive takes the vacated place.
We have accustomed ourselves to the
eXcessed government and its more eX
cessive cost, so we may as well pro-
ceed to house the excess, and cut out
paying rent while we go on paying tax
es. 1t is part of the modern system
"a part of the public management of
private business"
AS standpat as the New York Sun is
known to be, in recent days it has not
stinted it's praise of President Wilson
as the leader of the country in crisis
Even has it gone to the length of sug-
gesting that if the situation remains
the same Woodrow Wilson should be
nominated by the Republican party
and made the candidate of all the peo-
pie. And in Ohio the Willis legislature
took a crack at the administration by
passing the Sprague bill gerrymander-
ing the state so that President Wilson.