The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-04-12

DRIVE OUT THE
OFFICIAL DRONES
Useful Suggestions from a Well
Posted Ocala Attorney


Editor Star: As you have intimat-
ed several times in your columns that
we ought to commence a plan of re-
trenchment, | desire to submit certain
figures to you. and suggest if it would
not be wise to commence by elimina-
ton lot of unnecessary offices, or
positions, under the state government.
| suggest that the following Offices
could be abrogated with the saving
of the following sums of money,
which are appropriated for the year
1920:
Secretary of state, three jan
1GOIS 1,4fO
Superintendent of public in
struction, salaries and trav-
cling expenses of two rural
school inspectors .......... $500
Commissioner of agriculture,
clerk in pure food and drugs,
stock, feed and fertilizer and
citrus fruit division .... 1000
Clerk in shell fish division. 1900
State chemist, entire appro-
priation :. :. .......... 22,43O
National guard, entire appro-
priation :. .............. 29,sOO
State auditor, entire appro-
priation :. .......... 1890
Salaries and expenses of rail-
way commission ...... $4,000
State marketing bureau. 49,. $4,000
This makes a total of $129, ,77O that
is, to my mind wholly useless.
Analysing these items, / call at
tention to the following:
Our old negro, Virgil, takes care of
ten times the floor space as the secre-
tary of states office, for $3.50 and in
addition to this. looks after the court
house grounds. There should be a
$1,000 saving here.
l may not be an authority upon the
question of rural school inspectors,
but it seems to me that each county
superintendent ought to be able to
look after the schools much better
than some one not knowing the condi-
tions, and who visits them once or
twice year. To my mind this is a
waste of money.
The next item properly falling un-
ist. l don't know. nor have l been
able to find out, after considerable in
vestigation any benefit that has re-
suited, or will ever result, from the
state chemist. If a person desires the
assistance of a chemist, he can with
much less expense, trouble and waste
of time, employ one, than he can go
through the red tape of having the
state chemist wait on him. To my
mind, this is an utterly useless de-
partment.
With reference to the national
guard, that is a complete joke, and |
have no doubt that the next legisla-
ture will not make an appropriation
for that purpose.
The state auditor is another use
less Office. The clerk of the court is
the county auditor, and it is the duty
of the comptroller, with the numerous
assistants allowed him, to take care
of the state affairs. think the bonds
men of the late John M. Graham can
testify to the uselessness of the au-
ditor's department. In other words,
they may be able to check up and find
where they money went, but / have
yet to find where they have ever been
abel to prevent the improper use of
the public funds. Just as an illustra-
tion, take the Rast case in Jackson
vile, or the Branch case in Tampa. 1t
is very much on the order of the
weather department. They can always
tell the next day afterwards what the
H11%
to forecasting, they usually allow
themselves great latitude. Therefore,
if any one can point out where the
state auditor has ever aided in pre-
ventin ga loss. would like to have
knowledge of it. Anyone can sit down
and figure out that so much money
has gone into the bank and there is
only part of it left; and this is all the
state auditing department does.
With reference to the railway COM
mission, submit as a just and reas-
enable proposition to the public that
it is as useless as any that we are
burdened with today. There has been
a time when the railroad commission
was a valuable asset to the state of
Florida, but for the past few years, it
has been of no practical utility, for
the reason that about 80 per cent of
the functions of this department have
been taken over by the interstate COM
merce commission. AS far as the
railroads and telegraph companies are
concerned, the railway commission is
absolutely nothing. Under the recent
decision of the supreme court. the
railway commission has authority to
deal with traction companies, and
likewise, they have supervision over
the telephone companies. But these
duties could easily be cast upon and
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