The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-12-15
Ottawa County Farmer Urges
Economy in State Expense.
In Intimate Touch With COndi-
lions in Kansas.
TOO MANY BOARDS, He SAYS
Taxes Have Exceeded All
Bounds, He Declares.
Farmers Are Now in Deep and
Serious Trouble.


takes are too high and the state
must begin to beat back on wanton
extravagances, useless boards and
commissions, unnecessary employees
and +rnket trips by men and women
in public service. If the Republican
par in Kansas needs wise counsel
next year it will make the policy OF
retrenchment the dominant plan IN
tn state platform
-nese are views expressed today by
James T. Brown, one of the large
farnle-- OF Ottawa county, who is in
terested in the banking business at
Delphos and is chairman of the Re
publican central committee Of Ottawa
county. Brown, who has an intimate
touch with conditions thru central and
western Kansas. has given warning
to his party to keep off the rocks of
eXtraVa gance. He declares there is
trouble ahead unless the taxpayers
are given assurances that the state
has reached the end of unwise use of
public money.
Too Many Boards, He Says.
Where are too many inspectors
abroad in the land" the farmer and
banker declares. "A business man or
farmer can't walk along the street in
any city in the state without humping
into T -deral Investigators or state in
spectors. There are too many surveys
and Investigations of things that are
really private business. Too many
people are holding jobs in an era of
supervision and regulation that only
place. al extra burden and expense
on the folks who pay the bills. Too
many presses in the state printing
plant are running capacity speed to
print bulletins and reports which no
one reads or cares about. There is
need for cutting off of useless boards,
commissions and employees as well as
practical consolidation of boards now
in existence which have a practical
public service to perform"
1t is rather likely that Kansas may
hear a good deal of the language eX-
terse statement Kansas property
owners are now paying their bills for
local and state government and public
expense is arousing concern.
Taxei Too High.
"Commelts on taxes this winter
won't leave much doubt as to the
course which the party or crowd in
politics must pursue if they hope to
succeed in the next campaign" said
Brown. Taxes are not only too high
but they have exceeded all bounds of
reason I dare say there are institu-
lions an perhaps state departments
where the work has grown faster than
appropriations and that extra money
is really needed. But that is not the
general case. We have gone too far
in creating new boards and commits
sions and we have put too many in
specters nd investigators on the pay
Toll and have had too many surveys
and too many reports on things that
are really matters of private business.
Merely because some body of men
or women go before a legislative COM
mittee doesn't mean there is a demand
to put a lot of new persons on the pay
roll and create a new state depart
ment to regulate or study some situa-
ton which has suddenly excited some
| individual Thru this system there
has been too much patronage Too
many member of the legislature faVa
been appointed to newly created JOBS
or vacancies when their services in
the house or senate expired or the
session adjourned. 1t has all had
tendency to vote for anything and
everything that would provide for
more places at the pie counter.
Farmers In Trouble.
Now the farmers are in deep and
| serious trouble. Prices of their pro-
/ ducts have slumped until hundreds of
/ them really do not know where they
| will get their money to pay their taxes.
| They have seen tax levies go skyward
while the bottom fell out of the prices
of the things they had to sell. A
bushSl of wheat doesn't pay the same
| taxes it did in previous years. Even
! if the wheat brought the same price,
! taxes have gone steadily upward and
! this year there is a 60 per cent in
crease in state taxes alone.
kansas simply must begin to beat
back. It can't be done without cutting
off a lot of these inspectors.
Taxes can't be cut down unless a
lot of folks at the public crib are sent
back to private life. 1t can't be done
with a horde of state employees and
officials rushing off to Washington
every few days to transact some
! vapory bit of business. 1t can't be
done when the presses at the state
printing plant are running full ca
pacity and eating up high priced paper
| to print thousands of bulletins and
reports that no one will ever read and
no one except the author and the peo-
pie supporting some fad or ism are
interested in.
4 81 believe I know something of the
sentiment out thru the big farming
counties. I believe 1 am rather ia
miliar with conditions. There isn't
question in the world but that we
have reached the end of public ex-
travagance and must begin to cut
down. That doesn't mean CONVERSE
ton. either. We have talked economy
in the past Now we are facing the
real thing.
Here is just y ord of warning to