Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-02-02
SENATE COMMITTEE DISCOVERS
SEVERAL USELESS EMPLOYEES
AT STATE HOUSE.
GOVERNORS CONTENTION
is BEING SUSTAINED
Two Assistant File Clerks and Two
Employees Of Legislative Postoffiee
Found to Be Doing Little to Earn
Pay-commttee to Limit Inquiry
to Senate.


worth OF graft and several useless jobs
at the state house We're discovered
yesterday by the senate committee as
the net result of the first days in
vestigation into graft as charged by
Governor Clarke in the employment of
! extra help at the capitol
The graft of $1,000 consists of
employing two assistant file clerks, one
in the house and one in the senate
TO deliver copies of the bills fled in the
legislature to fifty-two offices and de-
partments around the state house. The
salaries Of the men amount 10 5000
during the session The cost of pro-
viding binders, printing bills and jour
malls is estimated at another $500.
The alleged useless jobs consist of
a mail carrier to carry the mail from
the basement to the legislative post
office on the second floor; and the
job of postmaster at the capitol The
committee discovered that the assist
ant postmaster employed by the ex-
ecutive council really does practically
all of the work in the state house post
office while the postmaster looks on.
Negro Dodees Questions.
The assistant postmaster. f R Hall,
a well educated and Intelligent negro,
appeared before the committee TO give
testimony. He furnished considerable
amusement to the committee in the
clever way in which he lodged the
questions which pertained to his SUI
perior officer and the executive coun-
ell He avoided criticism OF any per-
son.
Frank Shafer. file clerk at SO a
day. told the committee that he gets
paid for Sunday as well as week days
and that his work is to supply fifty
two state offices with copies of the
senate bills and journal. The house
has an assistant also who does the
same work. supplying the offices with
bills and journals OF the house. These
men apparently are busy at the work
but II was declared that the state
offices do not need these bills and
journals and that the whole proposi-
ton is graft
Roland Dyer. telephone operator,
appeared before the committee He
stated that he and James u. Leach
are employed by the telephone COM
pany in charge Of the telephone
DQDtnS
by the company, not the state.
Page Gets $45.
| Howard Nye. a son OF Senator Nye.
Is employed as page for the telephone
being paid s45 a month by the state
for the work. the witness said. The
telephone company pays its page s35
month.
George Morris. file clerk of the SEN
ate. said that ne does not need an as
sistant and can do all the work now
assigned TO two men, If necessary.
B. S Record, bill clerk. testified
He told of his duties, receiving SO a
day.
| Humphrey Richards, mail carrier
said he draws SO a day and that he
| carries mail five times day from the
/, ba sement to the second floor Of the
/ capitol. There he separates the house
/ from the senate mail. Owing to the
fact that the assistant postmistress
/ employed by the house is sick and has
| been off duty for several days and that
Miss a gnes Lee. assistant postmistress
employed by the senate, has recently
suffered a broken arm, Richards said
he is doing considerable work
| The members OF the committee have
been supplied with copy of the SEN
ate pay roll; giving the name of every
person in the employ of the senate
and the amount of wages each person
/ draws. The committee viii confine it,
self entirely TO investigating the al
legged graft in the employment of help
in the senate and will not inquire into
other departments of the state, unless
directed to do so by the state