Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-08-26
ASIAN AT OREGON VOTERS.

Governor Withycombe, probably due to his ancestry,
got the idea that the present form OF government in Ore
gon needed changing and fixing so as to make the gov
ern0r somewhat of an autOcrat. Pursuing this idea ne
imported from the prairies of Illinois a mountain of
state management information in the person of a gen
tleman who has devoted his life to fixing things political.
The mountain came to Oregon, labored, and brought forth
q whole barrel full Of mice for the governor to play with.
Apparently he knew what was expected of him, for he
recommended among other things that the governor
should receive the highest salary of any state official,
not even excepting President Kerr of the Oregon Agri-
cultural College whose salary is now $8,4O0 a year. The
commission led by the gentleman from Illinois recon-
mends that all state offices, save those made elective
by the constitution, be made appointive, and that the gov
ern0r be made the appointive officer. The reason the
commission gives for this is not at all flatterlng to the
intelligence of the Orgon voter, for It says such appoint
ments would relieve the voter OF a burden which he is
not qualified to bear" IL jwustifies this assertion by say
ing that on a number of offices the voter cannot remem-
Der for whom he voted, that he casts his ballot in a me-
chanical fashion This is expressed rather delicately,
for stated in plain, everyday English it means the Oregon
voter is not intelligent enough to do his own voting and
that for this reason the governor who Is selected by him
and elected by his vote should do his voting for him. 1t,
assumes the concentrated wisdom Of all the voters is as
sembled under the governors hat. 1t asserts that while
the people are intelligent enough to elect a governor, sec
rotary Of state and state treasurer, they are not well
enough informed to select other officials. We have not
had the time to analyze the report to the extent of dis
covering how many, If any, offices have been abolished
and how many new ones created. A cursory examination
however, indicates that while many changes have been
made the number of officers has not been reduced, at least
materially. The duties of this board are transferred to
that one, departments given authority over minor Off
ces that were before under some other head and some
new boards and commissions with salaried officials Gre
ated. The superintendent of education is made appoint
i've with q board of nine members to superintend him.
This board would not be under salary, but would have a
general manager and auditor who would be under salary
and who would have charge of the business affairs of all
the higher educational institutions.
When the full report Of the commission is available
we will undertake to analyze it for Capital hJournal
readers, so it will be shown just what reductions have
been made, what new offices created, and what there is
to the plan when the camouflage il removed. 1t will be
seen though, without any close examination, that the pro-
posed plan would make the governor the supreme IT of
the state. He would be given the power Of appointing all
but two state officials and also the power to remove them
il is not necessary to have any Of his appointments con-
firmed BY the senate" This would make the governor
the autocrat of the state. We have had an example Of
what the present governor would do with such power at
his command, in the removal Of superintendent Crawford
of the prison flax plant, and the governors refusal toI
keep the promise made Crawford to pay him a bonus
i he made good. The people Of Oregon viii not be de-
lighted to learn the rather eontemptuouS opinion held of
them by the gentleman from Illinois, for somehow they
have an idea they are of average intelligence and are rs
capable of managing the election of their officers as even
the present governor. We have no idea what the legisla-l
ture will do with the commissions plan, but we can make
a pretty good guess as 10 what the voters viii do TO the
legislators II they indorse the opinion of Che commission
as to the intelligence, or lack of il, of the Oregon voters.
and put the changes in effect by making them the law.