Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1917-01-03
Institutions, and thus become more Ia
miliar with the purposes and ideals Of
American citizenship.

"ll1ar Win the purposes anu 1OssAA8 OF
American citizenship.
Appropriation for Administratfve De.
paftments.
The State Of Minnesota 10 a growing
state. More and more IL expected Of
would handle its business affairs in tho
manner in which a public institution,
such as Minnesota, has handled hers.
In some departments. on account of in
sufficient help, the work Of the officials
is necessarily delayed. There are some
boards and ofices that ought to BE-
abolished. but there are others, such
as the investment board, handling mil
lions of dollars in securities without
proper facilities and help for SO doing,
that are in need of greater appropriate
lions to transact their business as it
ought to be transacted. In litigation
involving enormous amounts tho state
meets tho opposition of men receiving
high salaries with expert knowledge of
the particular subjects of which they
have made speciality. If it pays pri-
vate corporations to be in a position to
acquire the service Of such men tho
Attorney Generals office should be
provided with sufficient funds so as to
be able to acquire such additional as
sistance that may be needed from time
to time. If the public examiners office
is to conduct efficiently all the exami-
udt4OIS OSINduUcU VI IuaI UeQdT
larger appropriations for it's work are
necessary. The timber board has not
sufficient authority or funds to proper
ly safeguard the particular state re-
sources. of which it has the manage
ment. It would be a very easy matter
for the state, because Of insufficient
help in certain departments, to lose
hundreds Of thousands of dollars in
the management of it's trust funds and
in the care of It's resources. It there
fore appears that. II the properties Of
Minnesota are to be properly handled
and protected, although expenditures
can be reduced In some departments, it
is impossible to reduce the total ex-
penditures Of all the departments,
which amount, as aforesaid, to nearly
| $1,500.000. AS this sum is less than
one-flfth of the total annual legislative
| appropriations it is clear that even If
a reduction in the cost Of running the
executive departments were made, such
reduction would scarcely have any
| effect on the tax rate. but II, on the
other hand, the Legislature should not
appropriate sufficient funds to secure
efficient management, through tho
proper equipment Of it, boards with
which to do the work demanded Of
them, 1t would be possible in the long
run for the state to sustain under such
conditions enormous losses. Through
the proposed reorganization Of state
departments 1t cannot be expected that
| you can lower to any considerable ex-
tent the direct cost Of government,
but the possibility of saving immense
sums for the state Indirectly through
the adequate safeguarding of its re-
sources and through the business-like
conduct Of its affairs by the right kind
it, various boards and ohlces il 50 evi-
dent as to show, most clearly, tho Inn
perative need of legislation which will
provide for such rearrangement Of
our civil administration.
| Budget System.
On or prior to tho first day Of next
| month, am required, under our pres.
| ent law, to submit to you the estimates
t for the next biennial period. You will
then be in = position to know how
much higher or lower than this years
expenditures. the estimated expendi-
lures for next year will be. This pro-
cedure has been made possible by rea-
son of theenactment by the last Legis-
lature Of what IL known a. the budget
system in appropriations Under said
law the Governor 10 required to pre-
pare forms to be sent to all the difrer-
emit departments and to the different
| state officials with the request that the
blanks therein be filled in for the puF-
pose Of getting Information Al to the
exact amount of the appropriation that
each department believes it will be
necessary for it to have during the next
biennial period and for. what the
II amounts asked for shall be used. Thu
Legislature will, therefore. on Febru-
airy hrst 81 this year. BE- In possession
Of facts pertaining to these appropria-
lions that 1t 10 now impossible for me-
to communicate to you and thereafter;
when the different departments and Of
ncials Of the different states1nstitu-