Omaha daily bee., 1915-08-29
DEMOS IN BAD FIX
OYER FOOD RULING
Legislatures Failure to Appropriate
Funds for Department Likely
to Cause Shutdown.
I'D TO GO INTO THE COURTS
lFron a STAFF correspondent.)

From a staff Correspondent
LINCOLN NcD., Aug. 2s.--(Special.)-
The opinion OF Attorney General Reed
that the members OK the State Railway
commission have no right to their Off
oes. together with the fact that other
state officers under the same ruling
might also be holding against constitu-
tional requirements. has for q time taken
o back seat and the question which now
worries most of the democratic officials
and others interested in the payment OF
state warrants issued for payment of
salaries and expenses of the pure food
and fire commission departments.
Treasurer Hall has refused to follow
the opinion of the attorney general that
the fire commission warrants may be
paid by the state treasurer. and IL is
understood that after September / he will
also refuse to pay warrants OF the pure
food department, on the ground that the
legislature failed to make any specific
appropriation giving the department the
right to draw on the fees of the depart
ment paid over to the state treasurer.
Auditor Will Not Pay.
So far the state auditor has refused
to pay warrants of the State Railway
commission because the attorney general
has ruled that the commissioners are sit
ting without authority. Thus the people
are confronted with a set of state officers
who appear to adopt the ruling of the
attorney general If it happens to please
them and reject II II they do not like It.
In fact, the general opinion appears to
be that the state is going to have q DIFF
ficult time getting things fixed up. The
two Halls-Tom, the railway commits
EinnnR nj
who appear to have consolidated the two
departments as a sort of advisory affair
were closeted together this morning for
long time. After the conference, Hall.
the treasurer is understood to have said
he would not pay the food commission
warrants.
1t had been limited that tho auditor pro
posed to hold up Brother Toms warrants
from the railway commission In order to
force Brother George to pay the fire
commission and food commission war
rants. but according to Brother George
the scheme has not PANIED out 50 far
The brothers are standing pat on the
proposition and the only move that ap-
pears possible now IL the issuance of q
mandamus compelling the state treasurer
to pay the warrants
Fear Treasurer il Right.
One state officer said this morning that
he was in favor of all state officers go
ing in body to the governor and asking
him to go before the supreme court and
ask for ruling on the matter. but was
little afraid that maybe the supreme
court might uphold the treasurer and
then there would be trouble
The situation is a very interesting one
from the fact that with the closing down
Of the pure food department of the state
all Of the work which has been done
since Its installation viii have been for
naught. The thousands of dollars. yes
hundreds of thousands of dollars, which
have been spent to bring the department
UP to its present efficiency will have been
thrown away, for there will be no in
spectors to carry on the work and ef-
forts to keep up sanitary conditions will
have to be stopped with the result that
Nebraska will become a dumping ground
for impure food. harmful drugs, foul seed
and everything of that nature which the
department has cleaned up during the
last three years.
Hartman VIII stop.
Whether the state treasurer has suffi-
cient grounds to refuse the payment of
warrants and thus bring on such a de-
plorable condition and whether the last
legislature in its efforts to bring out an
economical condition in carrying on state
business, has tipped over the beans is
something which must be decided, but
how or when is the question. Next
Wednesday the pure food department
will close down unless assured that the
treasurer will allow Commissioner Har-
man TO draw on the fees paid in by him
to the state.
Commissioner Hartman has already noti-
fled the auditor that he desires his de-
partment checked out by the state &C
countant and his inspectors will turn in
their commissions on Tuesday.