Great Falls daily tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1895-1921, 1921-01-04

ECONOMY AT HELENA

Senator ON LaI son o. S1OtSaa
made a good beginning in the econ
omy campaign when he moved that
some twenty-five senate employe
positions which were filled at the
last legislative meeting be cut of
the list, and the Republican caucus
adopted his motion. 1t is not the
sum total saved by such economy
that counts so much as it is that It IS
an indication of the temper OF the
new legislature in its upper branch,
at least. IF the present legislature is
not willing to practice any economy
itself, then we have small hope that
it will apply such needed curtailment
to other departments of the public
service The multiplication Of en-
ployes by the house and senate has
come to be a state scandal. About
every legislature which has met in
Helena in the past has been equally
guilty in this respect, without regard
to the party in control. They have
yielded to the pressure for jobs from
constituents, friends and party poll
ticians and employed several times as
many clerks, stenograpflers, pages,
janitors, doorkeepers, and other al
legged servants, as they had any use
for. Mostly, this padding of the leg
islative pay roll was the result of
members trying to make good fell
lows Of themselves by connecting
some friend, or friends friend, with
the state treasury for the 90 days
life Of the legislature and without
much consideration for the need of
such services, or the nature or
amount of the service rendered in
return.
AS we said, the total saving eff
fected by policy Of rigid economy
in this regard is not SO great, but it
gives moral impetus toward greater
savings in other directions. When
the members of the house and SEN
ate can point to their own body and
affirm with straight face that they
have cut out every possible expense
and set the example of economy on
the expenditure of the taxpayers
money they can with better grace
insist that the same policy be OBJ
served in all the other departments
of the state government and its pay
rolls be kept down as much as is
possible There is no doubt but that
very large sum could be saved to
the state by program of drastic re-
form directed at the cutting down OF
the number Of employees paid by the
state TO the lowest number possible
to do the work needed in an efficient
manner. The present legislature is
going to have no easy task in hand
ling the finances Of the state. Our
state revenues have not increased as
fast as our population and our needs.
With the utmost economy it is going
to be rather hard task to keep ap-
preparations within the limits of our
probable revenue. And then the leg
islature will be besieged as usual
with good men who have pet idea,
and perhaps a good idea at that, but
cannot bring it into play without an
appropriation. II we are to avoid
the evils of over-appropriation the
legislature will have to turn a pretty
stern face toward every scheme, no
matter how plausible it may seem,
that calls for new appropriations
from the treasury to carry it into eff
feet. With proper economy there
may be enough revenue in sight to
meet the ordinary and usual expenses
of state government for the next two
years, but it is certain that there will
be no great surplus over and beyond
that amount.