The sun., 1919-10-15
PHONOGRAPH HELPS
SMITH BARE WASTE
Addresses Talking Record in
Drive to Reduce Boards
and Commissions.
ECONOMY PLANS URGED
Campaign to Lop Off Many
State Jobs Told to Up
town Club.

Complete reorganization of the State
Government, Capitalization of power in
the chief executive and a stoppage of
the waste occasioned annually by count
less boards and commissions was urged
yesterday noon by Gov. Smith in a
luncheon address delivered to members
of the Uptown Club.
To support his campaign for these
had Just visited the offices Of a large
concern where his views had
been recorded for dissemination through
out all the cities and towns up State.
He declared the help of such organiza-
tions as the Uptown Club was needed to
bring the proposed changes about.
The Governor particularly assailed the
waste Of State funds by various COM
missions and stated that the members
of these bodies who give their services
voluntarily are invariably the first to
ask for salaried help. always pointing
to the fact that they themselves are
receiving no financial return for their
labors.
"At the present time" he said, "there
are about 1877 different boards and COM
missions all operating Independently,
while most of their work should properly
be handled by the regularly established
State departments"
Many Unknown Boards.
By way of example he said: why,
only the other day a visitor at the Cap
itol informed me that there was a va
cancy on the board OF geographical
xxrha ha1 Nf a
existence of such a body. Upon looking
into the matter became convinced that
its work should properly be handled by
the Board of Education. Board of
Regents or some other branch of the
State service. We also have a board of
narcotic control, the duties of which
could well be assumed by the Depart
ment of Health. yet when I made a rec
ommendation to this effect the Legisla-
ture ignored It The land board last
week arranged for the purchase of
100000 worth of land for the Adiron-
dack preserve and knew nothing about
it until I read the reports in the daily
The reason for this, the Governor
said. Is that we are living In this State
under a system of government formed
so long ago that 1t Is wholly inadequate
for present needs, while our business
institutions have increased twentyfold OF
recent years." he said, "the State re-
mains where it was forty years ago"
In advocating GENERALIZATION of power
he pointed to the municipal government
and the appointments left to the discre-
tion of the Mayor. He said OF the offices
of State Engineer and State Treasurer
that while the occupants are selected by
popular vote hardly a citizen could name
those officers If asked to do so.
Also he urged that the Governor be
relieved from thousands of small duties
imposed upon his office in the days
when Governors hadn't very much to
do" and said that at the present time
he is obliged to spend several hours of
each day In signing papers that he has
no time to read and for which he must
accept the advice OF some subordinate.
On this point also he cited an exarnple
"A lawyer may bring an extradition
case before me-" he said, "and l am
obliged to spend much time listening to
his arguments as to why John Doe
should not be sent to some other State
to answer some criminal charge. Across
the way from my Office there are a
dozen Judges far better qualified to pass
upon the matter than I am. but / am
obliged to give up my time Just the
same"
Necessity for Economy.
In the State income tax. the Governor
said, he could foresee a way of bringing
home to the voters individually the ne
cessity OF economy In the administration
OF public affairs. He expressed the be-
lief that under a system Of indirect taxa
tion such as the state has been run on
the people at large could not have the
increased expenses of the State properly
impressed upon them.
Therefore, he said, the seriousness OF
a great less OF revenue was not thor
oughly realized, and he added, This is
true in the case of the $40.
100000 in revenues that the State loses
annually through the passage of the
amendment" In another
part of his talk the Governor touched on
the liquor question. remarking that he
had been referred to by prohibitionists
as "the worst enemy the State had
against prohibition" This brought
burst of applause from several tables.
He declared that the matter of reoI-
ganixation was not partisan question
and that business men desiring to see the
State brought abreast Of the times should
support the programme for bringing it
about, one feature OF this programme
being a constitutional amendment which
would prohibit the creation of new State
boards for the accomplishment of work
which could be handled by established
Although he did not wish to speak
egotistically. he told the diners, 1t was
only his many years of service In Albany
that enabled him to cut s5,00t,000 out OF
the last appropriation bill without inter-
fering In any way with the important
duties OF the state departments
Gov. Smith was introduced to the
diners by Lawrence b. Gilman, who
presided. Other speakers we're George
II. Wilson and Brig,-Gen. Coleman du
Pont. r. A. C. Smith, Robert Adamson,
Robert L Simon. Robert Greer Cooke
Roy s. Durstine and Dr. John A. Harriss,
Deputy Police Commissioner, and many
prominent uptown business men were
present. The luncheon was announced
as the first OF a series TO be given by the
members OF the Uptown Club at their
quarters, IL East Forty-fifth street,
Both Mr.. Wilson and Gen. du Pont spoke
h hghly OF the motive of the new orgdnl-
zation, which aims to be TO the business
men OF the upper part OF the city what
the Downtown Association Is to those Of
its own locality.
CROWN PRINCE WANTS CASTLE.
Dutch Paper Tells OF His Trying