Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-04-10

The expenditures from the SchOoi fund
for 1910 were S437 .959.0l.
'It is landmark in Delaware history
that the State has adopted definite
policy of cooperation with counties and
communities to insure every child in
Delaware an education that will enable
him TO earn his living and develop his
citizenship. 1t is eminently fitting that the
financial increase which makes this pos
sible is brought about not by the revenue
from any group or class, but from the in
comes Of all Delaware citizens for this
most fundamental service of the State
Referring to the mounting expendi-
lures by the State, the booklet says:
I'm the first place, the actual cost of
governing the State is very small factor
IN the total sum expended by the State
for any given year. Any Delaware citizen
who will open volume of the Laws of
1919 and go carefully over the appropri-
ations made by the General Assembly for
the years 1919 and 1920 will find that
only a comparatively small part of the
total amount Is for the expenses of the
State government.
The chief reasons for progressive in
crease in the expenditures of any State
are these four: Cd greater interest in bet
tering the condition of the wards of the
State-the predetermined, the blind, the
deaf and dumb, the INDECENT aged; (2).
new conception of ''State aid to COM
munities for the education of the children
OF the State; (3). extension of State aid
to scientific charitable and benehcent
purposes; a.. efforts to render public
service more efficiently, by making the
salaries of public servants correspond
more nearly to the earnings of civil trades
and professions, and by enabling the
State to study and anslyze its own history
and conditions with n view to improving
administration.
These explain the situation in Della
ware, as in other States, except that (4)
an increase in the actual cost of govern
ment has not, rs we have said, been sig
nificant here.
The cost of holding the regular ses
sion of the Legislature has hovered around
$50, 600 for some years, with little change.
The recent advance, by constitutional
amendment. of the allowance 10 members
Of the General Assembly from s5 to $40
per diem. of course, is a factor IN q perman-
ent increase in the cost of government at
least every other year.
Salary increases throughout the State
servlce-a common cause for the higher
cost of government elsewhere-have not
been significant IN Delaware. Aside from
the judicial salaries, the $4,000 salaries
of the governor and the secretary OF State
are stall the top notch in Delaware State
service, and they have remained at this
figure for some years.
In spite of the changed value of the
dollar, Deaware's salaries for public
servants have changed little. Most of
the raise" have been within very recent
years, and they have been few and
moderate. The chief advances have been:
Chancellor and chief justice. from 5000
to 81 500 associates. from 81 800 10
81, $50: State Librarian, from 81 200 TO
81 500, State treasurer, from IS, 900 10
SS, 500; insurance commissioner, from
5000 TO 50, 500. The increases IN the in
surance commissioners salary in recent
years have marked discontinuance of the
old fee system IN lieu OF part OF the salary,
a system which In Delaware as elsewhere
is now, happily, almost extinct.
The following table gives brief review
of expenditures In given fields for the
yea - E5i7 al il9IS:
II