The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1917-01-25
OLD ORGANIZATION
ONCE MORE RULES
Finley-WOIte CIal Is Again in
Power as Result Of DEM
oCratiC Victory In Ohio.
COxS PLURALITY SMALLEST
Democrats In Eighty-seeond General
Assembly Of Buckeye state Deem
Economy an AffIiction to Be
Guarded Against.
BY Or. Clarence Maris.

enthusiastically 1.-The capital
had an eventful week. The Finley
Wolfe organization is again in power
as the result of wave of timidity
which in carrying the country for Will
son cast Cox upon Ohio as driftwood.
Let the people rule!
It's no use holding autopsys to de.
termine what mistakes were made by
the Republican managers, for there
will be new mistakes to make in the
next campaign. Could any group OF
managers, no matter how efficient and
adroit, have overcome a public senti.
ment which gave Wilson a plurality of
90,110? But bid byegones goodbye;
the present is interesting and the fu,
ture promising.
The cynosure Of every eye was
James M. Cox, and Columbus exalted
his self-appreciation by putting
around him wonderfully beautiful
frame at inauguration time. The Dem.
ocratic press alleges that it was the
grandest inaugural ever held in any
state, and that it cost $4,000 for TEN.
porary structures about the state.
house, the decorating of it and the in.
augural ball.
The stupendous preparation for at
tracing and dazzling the multitude
was not conceived in desire to divert
the mind Of the new executive from
the fact that his plurality was the
smallest ever given an Ohio governor,
nor the fact that he ran $4,000 behind
his ticket. No. The gentlemen who
fed from his bounty in 1894 now
with purposeful eagerness, made this
great display in order that a story OF
the tremendous popularity of the good
young governor, as shown by clamer
GUS outburst of enthusiasm when he
returned to power might be wired
throughout the country to give the i'm
preston that with Cox a candidate for
the presidency in 1920 Ohio certainly
would remain permanently a Demo
cratic state.
One Budget and Another.
Gov. Cox, when in Office in 1914, de
termined, wisely, to have appropria
Iions through a budget and hired Mr.
Heffernan Of New York city to pre-
pare it. Mr.. Heffernan brought with
him an expert budgeteer, Mr. Donald
son, at half as much salary.
They made the budget used by the
appropriation in the Republican leg
islature which came in with Willis
Mr.. Donaldson, the scientific budget
maker, was retained by Gov. Willis
and prepared the budget which Willis
presented to the present general as
sembly. But Gov. Cox says the sci
entic budget, prepared by the expert
he brought here for the purpose
won't do and will have another pre-
pared for the legislature.
Perhaps some of the Objectionable
features of the Willis budget may be
learned from news story in Dem
ocratic newspaper-really Democratic
and really a newspaper-which reads
in part, as follows:
"The budget is filled with sugges
tions that are far-reaching, the most
important perhaps being proposed
standardization of salaries to obviate
the present slipshod method. Agree
ment to adopt this refarm was
reached two years ago, but actua.
progress will be slow.
"By diligent use of the pruning
knife, the estimated disbursements
have been brought within the esti
mated outlay. The departmental re
quests were $44,30S, ,992.82, and the
budget commissioner has cut out
$10,935,S27.17, recommending $33,373,
1856.
There are items of $6,615,000 in ad
dition for support of common schools
irreducible debt and other schools, sc
that the total appropriations of the
budget are $S9,98S, 1856. AS Auditor
of State A. V. Donahey estimates that
the receipts will be 39,500,O0O for the
next two years, the state can live
within its income under the Willis
budget.
"The commissioner has eliminated
practically all of the requests of the
state board OF administration for new
buildings. The reason given that II
is not deemed to be wise to carry out
this program at this time, when
prices are high and when plans fol-
complete rehabilitation are not fol
mulated.
"'These improvements the report
says, should be made at time when
the price of materials is lower, prefer
ably during a time of depression
when the activities of the state along
this line will help to give employment
to the working men of Ohio
"The budget report has much tC
say about Standardization of salaries
Our present system Of compensation
and promotion for state employees is
unsatisfactory, unjust and discourag-
ing the report says. Merit is not
sure of reward and similar services
are unequally paid for 1t is strongly
urged that the measure for standard.
izing salaries he speedily enacted
The manner in which this is to be &C.
compllshed is by installing the stand.
ard salaries as present employees drop
out where there has been no stand.
ardization."