Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-12-11
MUST WANT LESS OR PAY THE BILLS

The Oregonian has an editorial in it's Sunday number
dealing with the management of public financial and civic
affairs which is we'll calculated to make public spirited
citizens do some thinking. 1t notes the constantly IN
creasing taxes the efforts of the wellmeanng TO ma
some remedy and the utter failure to do 1t suggests
he continuing of agitation along the lines heretofore pu
sued and is far from degeneratng into pessmlsn and
vet fails to point out remedy The question naturally
arises lis there such thing or IS II IKE some .! te
diseases that afct mankind, incurabe? Last WlnCer
there was bevy Of attending the session OF the
legislature for the sole purpose OF euFtaAng state ana
county expenses through the consolidation OF depart
ments They worked hard and 50 did the members OF
tbn LEGISLATURE but what was the result? AS we remem-
her it the mountain abored and brought foftn mouse
The State Tax commission was reduced from TWO com
nissoners to one There may have been some otnef
small changes but If so do not remember them There
was apparenty an honest effort made by those back OF
the matter to eliminate waste and prevent dupcaon OF
work but it resulted in nothing SO FAR as the DONG
away with few offices was concerned the movement
would not have accomplished much in the way OF SAVING
unless at the same time there was reduction In tne eX
pense Of administration under the new arrangement.
Undoubtedly the expense OF conducCng all branches u
orr government from the Federal combination down to
the school or road districts is capable OF much improve
ment in the way of administering but the trouble TO
find out where This is what the lobby working for
change last winter discovered what the legislators found
out when they undertook to make consolidation Of OF
fees At the conclusion of their efforts they had found
that each and every department was an absolute neces
sty and that the state would surely go TO the DOW vows
soidated The Oregonian suggested no remedy, other
than that which those fighting tuberculosis and such
diseases have adopted and that is to keep on trying
However the fact should not be lost sight Of that
son for steadily mounting taxes is steadily increasing
demands of the public for more and better conditions
The cost of the schools has mounted steadily because the
range Of subjects taught has doubled and rebed along
with methods of more or less doubtful Improvement 4
Such as the teaching of German for instance The cost
Of roads has increased many times and still increasing
because instead of the old dirt roads have advanced
by steady growth through graveto Macadam, and now
it is hard surface we must have
Roads and schools the two greatest items OF eX-
pense but any attempt to reduce the quality OF either
meets quick and vigorous objection Another, and a
serious feature of the situation is that every department.
of all our governments from top to bottom is impressed
with its own Importance and Immediately when it is
created begins to develop" 1t where by adding
this or that increase its sphere of usefulness and
tries to manage to establish the feature This is
especially true of all matters educational from the public
schools to the great colleges 1t costs money and It'll
necessarily increases taxes to have these things and if
the taxpayers insist on permit them they should not
complain at the size Of the BILL
But few years ago the farmer hauled his crop to
town during the dry weather for the reason he could
travel the old dirt roads at any other The schools
taught readin Ftn and 'rithmetic" and this for per-
haps only six months of the year City streets either
swamped in mud on sm0thered with dust according to the
season At night occasional tallow dip in glass cage
at far severed street lighted the path for the
benighted pedestrian seeking his home The well in the
back yard provided each place of business with its drink
1T