Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-10-26
CONSOLIDATION PLAN
UNDEMOCRATIC SCHEME

l"htSl ACCtuttf ulduC pubAtC Ito ACpoitf
make the office Of Secretary of State
appointive by the governor, but it
would also deprive the voters of the
privilege of electing State Treas
urer. Superintendent of Public In
struction and an Attorney General.
The only offices which would be left
elective are those OF Governor and
State Auditor, new office to be Gre
ated. All others would be made ap-
pointive.
Before these changes could be made,
it is pointed out, the constitution
would have to be amended. But the
commission finds that the state con-
stitution is very much antiquated and
recommends that, in the near future,
constitutional convention should be
called 'in order that systematic over
hauling of the framework of the state
government may be made"
When all the elective offices are
abolished and the governor is given
power to fill them by appointment, the
commission also recommends that he
should have authority to remove any
official at his pleasure without cause.
This recommendation is made, the
commission points out, SO that the
governor might have political control
at all times.
Heads Of the principal state ad.
ministrative departments and possibly
one chief deputy in each department"
says the report, Should be subject to
political control through removal at
any time without cause, in accordance
with Oregon laws of 1916, Chapter
1884,"
The chief reason assigned for want
ing to make all the state offices ap-
pointive is given as follows: !
I 1T would relieve the voter of bur-
den which be is not qualified to bear"
Those who give the least thought to
the commissions recommendations
also see where, if they were adopted,
they would place in the hands of the
governor power to build the prettiest
political machine that was ever seen
in this state, which in the past has
had experience with some rather fancy
political machines. /
Other far reaching effects might be
expected to follow If all state officials
were made answerable to the governor
instead of to the people. The expert
ence Of Attorney-General Brown in
connection with the noted Utah water
power case is cited as an illustration. i
That case had been carried on appeal
to the United States supreme court.
The issue was clearly one in which the
great water power interests were on
one side and the rights of the public
on the other
Governor Withyconbe ordered At
torney-Genefai Brown to intervene in
behalf of tlies water power interests.
The attorney general did not approve
throwing the influence of his office
against the rights of the public and
in favor of a great water power mon
opoly But he had been ordered to in
tervene by the governor. So what did
he do? He merely filed in the United T
States supreme court the governors
letter to him directing him to inter-
yene. He filed no brief or petition
of his own writing, and the court and
the public knew the attorney general
was not in sympathy with the COVER
nor's stand.
But If the attorney general, as the
governors consolidation commission +
proposes, had been an appointive crea-
ture of the governor he would have
been compelled to resort to any tactics
the governor requested to aid the
water power monopoly and defeat the
interests of the public in the water
powers of the state.
The governor and attorney general
also were on opposite sides when the
governor stood with those who were
fight to recover the Oregon & Califor-
MIA rajlroad grant lands The attorney
general stood on the side of the peo-
pie and for recovering the millions of
acres which the railroad company had
held for years in violation of it's COW
enant with the government.
But If he had been an appointive
creature of the governor, subject to
removal at the pleasure of the chief
executive without cause or for political |
reasons, he could not be an independ-
ent legal adviser of the state.
Similar influence from a chief exec |
neff ftrn hn ,tr 10. -
power of his office for political pur-
poses or to serve private interests, |
would also have haleful effect upon I
other important state officials.
II the attorney general had been
subject to control by the governor, the I
Pacific Livestock Company land fraud |
case, in which 10000 acres are in I
volved, would undoubtedly have been&
ordered dismissed long ago. AS it is /
the attorney general feels confident !
that he will recover large body OF |
land which will enrich the state com
mon school fund. !
While the attorney general was
fighting for an appropriation TO pay
the expenses of the litigation and was
doing all he could to keep the case
from being squelched, the governor
was seeking TO have the case dis
missed. The governor sought to have
the state land board order the case
dismissed The boari declined to take
action. He then said he would order
1t dismissed if Secretary Of State Of
colt would join with State Treasurer
Kay in giving vote Of approval Oh
colt refused, and the case was not
dismissed.
Rrf IL Tho O ttnrnla.r cn,,nral hnA hoor,