The Sauk Centre herald., 1917-06-14
GOVERNOR LIKELY TO RUN UP
AGAINST SNAG IN CONSOL-
IDATION PROGRAM
175,OOO AUTOSIN STATE
VETO OF THE SCHOOL DEFI-
CIENCY BILL COST STEARNS
COUNTY $21,222.

ID CIldlSCu az CllllSC SllC oeCSS VA w
partmenl, state boiler inspection, state
hotel inspector and fire marshals Of
flee are anxiously awaiting the out
come of the governors consolidation
scheme by which, according to state
ment given out by his excellency some
weeks ago, the departments named
will be consolidated with the state
dairy and food divisions of the state
government. The governor hgureS
that he can save better than $4O,OOO
gear in salaries by the consolidation,
which is something. How his excel
lency in the face of laws creating the
departments named is going to bring
about the amalgamation mentioned is
not stated and theer are quite a few
who are of the opinion that he Will run
up against snag when the change
is attempted. Under the law both the
oil inspection and fire marshal's Of
flee is maintained entirely by fees and
there are those who will hold that if
they are wiped out to the extent OF
transferring their duties to other de-
partments that those who pay the
freight will refuse to settle. This IS
especially the case with the fire mar
shal's office which is financed by the
fire insurance companies operating IN
the state. The law creating the state
oil inspection department is very ex-
plicit and shippers of oil may refuse
to do business with any department
other than the one the law specifies.
The governors consolidation scheme
of number of the state departments
is the result of the failure of the lac
legislature to pass the efficiency bill
which he was interested in. These
bills provided for the consultations
named and he believes that even in
the face. of the fact that his wishes
were ignored that the consolidation
desired can be brought about. August
however, is some two months away
and the employees affected are still
drawing their pay. R1ey hope to con-
tinue to do So.
Z One of the duties of the office of
the secretary of state is the reglstra-
ton of automobiles and other power
vehicles and the examination and Ii
censing of chauffeurs. How this one
department of the state has grown in
ten years, the period of its exist
ence, is shown in the number of vehl-,
-cles now registered which is over 175,-
600. In 1907 when the department
was created by the legislature the
number registered was a trifle over
1000. Of motorcycles at the present
time there are 10000 and of register
ed drivers about the same number.
Each machine registered means fee
of $500 when 1913 rolls around. In
the majority of state departments
devoted to the registration of automo-
biles there are score or more OF
these employees, but Minnesota does
the work with less than five men. This
reduction in expense is due to the in
genuity of Secretary of State Schmahl
though he admits that the number en-
ployed is far under what he really
should have. To be brief Minnesota is
conducting it's automobile registration
department nearly fifty per cent un-
der what it costs other states. Dur
ing the next three years which is the
life of an automobile license, Mr..
Schnnahl expects a registration ex-
ceeding 225,0O0.
1t is rather early to speculate on
next years republican gubernatorial
possibilities, but the gossips persist in
advancing the name of Senator Frank
E. E. Putnam Of Blue Earth county.
Senator Putnam is the senior member
of the upper legislative body and the
nler,bers Of the Minnesota House of
parliament acknowledge him as lead
er. He does not say much, but when
it does it counts. He was not pro-
ltfic bill maker, but those that he
introduce counted and generally got
by. ,aa~~G'- =
C. M. Berdixen Of Redwood county
is understood to have designs on one
Of the coming vacancies on the state
railroad and warehouse commission
and his name in consequence is fre-
quently mentioned by the rural press.
Mr.. Bendixen as a member of the last
house devoted much of his time to
railroad legislation and while he was
active in way few of his reforms
prevailed. The travelling public best
know him as the author of bill pass
ed by the 1915 legislature that in
creased their travelling expenses and
it is more than probable that they
will keepin mind. Mr.. Bendixen it is
said has figured it out that the best
route to the state railroad commission
is via the non-partisan league and
may offer himself as league candi-
date. The league, it is understood,
has his candidacy under favorable
consideration.
What the various counties of the
state lost as result of the governors
veto of the legislative appropriation
covering the school apportionment de-
ficit of 1915 is herewith given. Ait
kin, s9,298.00; Anoka, $7,576; Becker,
S11.241. 90: Beltrami. S15. .94S.0O: Ben