The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1921-05-27
Friday, May 9th, 1921
GOVERNOR RICHIE PREPARING
TO CONSOLIDATE STATE
DEPARTMENTS

The program of retrsnchment
and reform, which Governor
Richie is preparing is based on
the consolidation Of the several
dehartments of the State Gov
eminent, and will result in the
reduction of the large and I'M
wieldly force Of employees, and
in many instances in the reduc-
ton of salaries, will soon be
ready for publication. In this
plan it is proposed to prevent
the many Implications which now
exist in the cumbersome system
of commissions, which has grown
with a steady growth during the
last twenty years for this present
system of Government by COM
mission in Maryland, is growth
almost entirely of the period
since 1910. In the past twelve
years, the Legislature has Great
ed the good Roads Commission,
the Public Service Commission,
the State Tax Commission, the
State Accident Commission, the
Board of Prison Control, the Con-
servation Commission and has
enlarged the powers of the State
Health Commission, the Luaacy
Commission, besides creating
numerous boards of lesser impor-
lance, many of which really over
lap each other and result in no lit
tie confusion in the Administra-
ton of the functions of the State
Government and what at the
present time Of abnormally high
taxes is of special importance
and take large sums from the
State Treasury. All these bod
les, which together form a cum
bsrsoms and unwieldIy whole, are
to be reduced, according to the
Governors plan, to certain COM
pact and efficient boards, com
posed Of q few able and skillful
men, whose duties. and powers
are to be carefully defined and
limited, and whose expenses are
to be rigidly regulated. One COM
mi ssion after another has been
created by the. General Assembly
often more for the purpose of
making official positions for
hungry spoilsmen. than for any
real necessity to the State Gov
eminent. and usually the men
who were selected to hold the
jobs were on hand to help pass
tho bills through the law-mak-
ing body. AS a result, the tax
payers have had loaded upon the
Treasury an army of office holders
lin not few instances two or
three inefficient men are paid by
the public to do what one really
competent man ought to do.
Twenty years ago two or three
rooms in Baltimore were suffici-
ent to- accommodate all the
State officials whose duties are
performed away from the
State Capital. Now whole floors
in several Of the largest office
buildings in Baltimore are crowd
ed by Commissions of all sorts
and kinds, and their hundreds
of subordinates, literally making.
up a small army, and costing
hundreds of: thousands of dol
lars every year. And all these
Commissions are making for
more room, more money
and more people to aid
them in their work. That there
is much waste Of money, is ap-
parent to all who are familiar
with the way public work is done.
For nearly year the govern
or has been making an sx-
hausted and thorough examina-
ton of all these matters and has
reached certain definite conclus-
ions in regard to them. In q
short time therefore he proposes
to make certain recommends
tions as to what he thinks should
be done, in order to give the
people time to consider them Mt
their leisu re, and.on their merits.
Heretofore governors have re-
served their accommodations
until the opening Of the General
Assembly, when they have pres
snted their views and plans in
to the two Houses. The
plan of the present Governor
seems to be great improvement
over the old system. Making it