Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-06-17
Tho dinner in honor Of Govsrno,

but the absence OF applause was due
to the profound earnestness OF the
speaker. himself and the deep i'm
precision which he made on his au-
heard nor attentively: and no ,ap-
piause could have been more hearty
any sincere than that which was given
1T the close Of the address.
The address was devoted to a con-
Of the importance of the
business dde OF government, IN view
Of the rapidly Increasing burden Of
has on the cost of living and the at
titude OF the citizens toward the gov
eminent OF his own country and gov
eminent in general. The speaker re:
ferred to some Of his own business
experiences, and ave the subject a
humorous touch when he said. II
have . different times been connect.
which the public became quite
thoroughly informed some little time
ago" But said he, IT thought It
was about time that somebody who
was familiar with the methods of big
business should undertake to apply
business methods to the work of gov
ernment-" This brought forth one Of
the hearty rounds Of applause.
Appeals to Business Men.
After giving q summary Of the
chaotic conditions in Illinois, with its
multiplicity Of boards and commits
nes 1i n which taS The The n eed' f aru .t ta1 ,1e
ton and reform was me-, and an
analysis Of the similar needs Of the
nation, Governor Lowden made an
impressive appeal to business men
who should be more familiar with the
need than any others. to take an ac-
tive interest in the affairs Of govern
ment, for he said. you can have
portant D the business Of citizen
ship"
He sounded a warning against the
assumption that nations are i'm
mortal. On the. contrary. he said.
they r very short-lived. We look
upon Jul own nation as young, as it
ts, in point of years. yet. with it's
a half. it has had a continuous exist
ence under m form of government
longer than that Of any other great
nation except Great Britain: Innu-
naArable nations, he said. have risen,
flourished, and died, and they have
died because Of the indifference OF
those who should have been their
ways be maintained if a nation IL to
live. This nation will perish, as
others have persisted, II there is not a
restoration OF the fnerSthtngS in life
to the place where they rightfully
belong.
IN his presentation Of the need for
reformation and reconstruction in
part:
Grows in Complexity.
During the last century every great
NN4rp0 \ a iNA,,H$,.xy - ha~ /, ApA Lr al
complete transformation. As civiliza-
ton has become more complex, the
machinery of business has changed
continuously to meet lite changing
needs. In the machinery OF govern
ment alone there has been little pro-
greas during all this time. Yet the bus
iness OF, government has grown in
completely and in the number OF sub
Jeots with which 1t deals quite as rap
failure has 6een due largely to the
fact that until recently the total ex-
pensee OF government wore 80 small,
relatively, as to influence but little
the general prosperity of the country.
Now, however, state and federal
taxes. by virtue Of their weight have
become directly related to all econom-
ic questions OF the day.
Business and industry generally in
making plAns for the future must
reckon first with the question Of tax
e. which have reached the point al
ready whore private initiative 10 dis
couraged and where enterprise In
some cases halts.
This does not promise we'll for either
capital or labor IN the coming years,
It meant a checking OF industry
through the disbursement OF tniti-
'ative in business by excessive burdens,
and when that sort OF situation
comes the people az a whole inyaria-
bly, suffer.
Even before the war men were I'M
pressed by the continued increase in
the expenses Of city, state and ma
tonal government The activities Of
during recent 5yean--nnor rapidly
than was warranted. When the state
or nation dectded to take on some
new function, instead OF fitting it into
some agency Of government salready,
established, 1t usually created some
enA4rely new body. Sometimes It was
an official, often It was . board or q
commission.
oommts5inn Form Became Popular.
The commission came to be q. very
popular form. It provided good
places for aspirants TO Office and, be-
Ing law unto itself, the menabars
cOQl0 tLCe@0S TO G10lf pr1HaIe A3YalrD
and give one or two days a month
usually about the time the payroals.
were made up-to the pubic service.
When once commissions we're created.
At ! Almost AnpoAsibls to aboMshs
them. There In nothtng o difficult
IN government than 20 gets rid Of a
l1ucrA&tve office ne established. The.
practice has become quite g~sner1Isand
Illinois was no exception.
When IS.become governor In Janu.s
AIRY, 1911. there were something over
i1E independent and unrelated aeen-
cies3 OF tho state government, s0nae-
times compoSed of boards, sometimes
commissions, and eomedms1 tndtvidUAl
I~officiAln. In fact, 70 confused was tnA'
situation that nostwo agreed on 1usf
Exactly how many Independent acttvt-
ties the stAteWa conducting. Naoee-
Artly, this resulAed m mnch overilp-
ping Of work. In purchases there was
lcompetitton between the diS&eFAnt'
agenciessof the governm~nt. and thSre
wass Of course needlesshs Sxnenae.
Above All, there wa greatly reduced
Iefftamcy.in thaory,Stheee various ~.
EficeS were SlpsFytseA BY the ecvernor,
but lnI fact 1EAhsolutely tnapoead-
bio Tor hAm to exArcise any adAauate
SUPERVISION ovsr than. ThAy Wets go