The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-07-19
Political Tax Levied by Democrats on
State House Employees 5000 per Month

$4,000 for it's own use. Each session
lasted 60 days. There were few
more representatives and senators in
1917 than in 1915, but the bulk of the
extra expense incurred resulted from
the heavy payroll made necessary
from the number of attaches.
| Since March the administration has
been creating new positions and rails
ing salaries, and since May it has been
| forcing the state house employees to
pay 3 per cent of their salaries into
the campaign fund.
Senate Bill No. 1903.
The legislature appropriated $4,000
for an investigation of the land de-
partment and the creation of a spe-
cial set of books for that department
The work. is under the direction of
Clarence Van Deusen, state auditor,
but the state land board has a voice
in the spending of the money in the
fund. The fund is known as Senate
Bill No 10S."
Some weeks ago the state auditor
rut four stenographers on the books
in the land department copying rec
ords. Later he will put some account
ants, and perhaps some craftsmen at
work~on the books.
The legislature made an appropria-
ton of sufficient size in the land de-
partment for the salary of the drafts
man employed under the direction of
the land commissioner, but the drafts
man is being paid out of the fund APP
months ago the land board added a
lean agent to the land department
His salary, too, is being paid out Of
the senate bill fund.
Attorney Paid From Fund.
The attorney general has three as
sistants, but early in the year he had
only two. For time one was paid
out of the 1-per- cent fund" in the
land department. But after three
months the administration started to
pay that assistant from the senate
bill fund. The assistant attends to
the abstracts presented to the land
department when loan is made from
the permanent school fund In the
past the work was scattered about
among the attorneys in private prac-
tice. They were paid IS for each alb
stract gone over out of the 1-per-cent
fund.
In making room for the loan agent.
the land board took over work that
has been done in the past by the state
treasurer and put it in the land de-
partment. The state treasurer has
bookkeeper and a stenographer to
handle the collections. The same
force must be kept by him now as be-
fore, and the legislature gave him an
appropriation for that express pur-
pose. But the land board has made
room for another democrat and has
increased the payroll by $175 month.
Another Clerk Added.
The legislature also made a speci-
fic appropriation for craftsman in
the land department. But the salary
set aside for him goes to pay another
clerk that has been added since the
first of the year and the craftsman
Is paid out of the senate bill fund.
A total of $S45 is being paid in sal
aries at the present time out of the
senate bill appropriation. Three per
cent Of, that amount, or $685.
month, Is then demanded of the EN-
ployes that are paid out of it for the
campaign fund.
Chance for More Democrats.
More money has been earned and
collected by the state from January
to July from the interest on loans
made out of the permanent school
fund than ever before in like period
of time. The state treasurer made
that fact public some days ago A
week ago the governor, the secretary
of state and the state auditor, sitting
as members Of the land board, made
1t plain that the collections would
soon be taken from the state treasur-