Arizona republican., 1919-05-13


 a series of conferences, the heads or the departments and institutions OI Inc state Of Arizona thai come direct " under the governors supervision aud direction.
 The object Of thee onference, briefly expressed was to find means Of giving to the people Of the state the best possible service al the least possible rEPsnse, by an iUter-change Of ide3s, a1 interchanEe Of equipment and ma.- lerial and of employees.
 Commenting upon the meeting, the governor said yesterday.
 A Get Toget5er Meeting
 One of the purposes in calling the heads Of the various institutions and departments together, that is those which are under my control and d'- rection, was to afford thcm the oppor- tIaity 10 collectively present their needs 10 me and the commission 05 siste institutions. and al the same time indulge in an interchange of ideas which might prove Of mutual advant- age in inc conduct Of these institutions and departments 1T viewed alone from this standpoint the conference was a success. but it's scope was not so circumscrfbed-
 The invitations ] issued 10 these men clearly set forth he objects of the meeting, VI hich were substantially as follows
 la) ITO discuss the problems con fronting those entrusted with Insu1u- tiouaI and departmental responsibiIi- tics and by united counsel ondeavor 10 solve them.
 tb) "To bring about closer harmony between the various departments and institutions to the end that they may moro effectively coordinate in the in- tcrests of those we serve-thc people lf Arizona
 Co ITO indulge in frank discussion md constructive criticism of the vari- pus activities In which We are engaged with the view of adopting more eff .ient methods.
 td) TO calmly and dispassiOnately consider the faults and mistakes charged against us by the public, de tide # they are well foundated, and if SO, recdfy them.
 To Give Better Service
 Tn other words. it was a gathering of my official family at the round table, where, by examination and criticism of couferees, it could be as certained whether or not my adninis traton was making good; and by he latter term l mean giving the peO- ple better service than they have here tOfore receivd and the kind Of ser vice for which they pay us and to which they are entitled. As well said by one speaker during the course of the lengthy discussion. We have no land marks to guide us, nothing to act as n precedent, no beacon light by which we can steer the ship of state. What previous administrations did or did not do is no criterion for our official conduct. It is by reason of what they did that We are here today. The peO- pie expect, an dhave a right to ex- pect something different from us and what is more we are going to give 1t O them. If We do not measure up to the higher standard then we must per force confess that we have failed
 Tt was very gratifying to learn from the verbal reports submitted, and as to their veTity I can testify from personal investigation that all the in stituious under my dicertion are be- ing most eEcellently conducted, both from the standpoint of economy and the well-being of the inmates. Not able progress in the direction indicated has been made al the state hospital for the insane, the state industrial school at Fort Grant and the state prison, while I have yet to hear the first complaint fro mthe guests of the Pioneers Home. The commission of state institutions has its work well in hand and will be ready to go out of existence with it's affairs in order the 30th day of June of this year In the departments everything is going along wrinkles vet in evidence hui these, l smoothly. Of course there are some am confident will soon be satisfactorily ad 1trf ha gT fa' be remembered. were not in the best of condition when my administration took hold of them. and it must not be ex- pected that perfection will be attained in a day: but if honest, intelligent, con scientious endeayor and constructive efforts will bring results, I am not ap prehensive concerning the verdict when we lay our tasks aside and give way 70 others.
 Outspoken On Affairs
 The affairs of each institution and department were taken up in turn and when the spokesman or head of each institution had given an account Of his stewardship he was bombarded with questions and in many cases criticised not criticism of carping character but criticism designed to be of benefit 10 the individual, against whom it was directed. and for the betterment of the states affairs with which he is en- trusted. As an example, the state en- gineer was told certain things concern ing the highway department which he frankly admitted could be and would be corrected In turn MT. Maddock, who has a reputation for being outspoken, turned his verbal batteries on another department, and while on his feet stated that his office had paid nearly S350. 900 worth of bills from a previous administration. but was in financial position to match dollar for dollar all federal road aid money and the high way program for the next two years would be of greater magniture than if Senate Bill No. IT, the storm center of the late legislature, had not met with my disapproval and been vetoed.
 Permit me to say there was abso- lutely nothing mysterious surrounding this conference. and it was not political in the generally accepted definition of that word. I want the public to know exactly what transpired. for the meeting was in object and reality for it's benefit. There will be others in the future. the next being fixed by unanimous consent of all those in at ~-~-----------------------