The Alaska daily empire., 1921-05-12

boards of which he is a member In fact, very large number Of ap- propriations carry the following in ctruction: To be expended under the direction of the Governor. They are not expended under the direc- tion of an auditor.
 What would happen should an auditor, with unlimited powers over expenditures, disallow voucher which had been authorized by the Governor, say, for either suppre sion of inbuenza or relief of destitu~ tion? The Governor would simply serve notice that he would authorize no further expenditures from either of the funds, as it would be incon- GiGtent with the duties of his office to have the authorization given to hin by law subordnated to the ruling of lesser official. Any one having knowledge of the operating functions of auditors in states knows that an auditor cannot go behind the face of the voucher, when ex- pended in accordance with law.
 Election of Department Heads
 Proponents of the system of cleo tion of department heads claim:
 "(f) That the ideals of democ- racy are more properly subserved through the election of the public servants;
 1 "(2) That the electorate will take more direct interest in the type of people who direct their affairs;
 "(3) That officers appointed by Federal, or as more poppularly des- ignated 'carpet-bag' officials, may not be Alaskans in the true sense of the word;
 "(4 That an appointed govern ment gives rise to an oligarchy or political machine.
 ITO this the advocates of ap- pointive officials answer: "(D That good government con- sists in procuring the best persons possible to fill offices of trust and responsibility;
 "(2) That specialized departments require the services of specialists and that it is seldom that competent specialists will run for office, sub ject> themselves to the political at- tacks of heated campaigns and waste good share of their time, paid for by the Territory, in promoting their subsequent elections;
 "(3) That there is no assurance that suitable persons will go into the primaries and the elections and that it is usually the politician looking for job who will run for the office;
 "(4 That specialists must be sought for and carefully considered before being appointed;
 "(5) That through personal pop ularity or political weight the var ious offices might be filled by per- sons absolutely unfitted for the posi- tions;
 "(6) That there would exist no way by which an incompetent of- ticial could be dismissed.
 Reasons for Appointment.
 Take, for instance. the office Of Territorial Treasurer. Almost any good alert man might qualify as Treasurer, but caring for Territorial funds is a small part of the Treas urer's duties. It is not generally recognized that the most important function of the Treasurer is the SUD- ervision he must constantly exercise Ovnr thu Torritorio1 houLc Tho of fairs of every bank must be as care fully crutinized by him as though he himself were an officer of each bank. The Treasurer and the Bank ing Board must safeguard the de- posits of the people of the Territory. Not for one minute can. they relax their vigilance. Hence it is most essential that the Treasurer be a specialist in banking. Such an off cial would be hard to get by popular vote.
 The Commissioner of Education must be a specialist in school ad- ministration.
 The Mine Inspector must be of real technical benefit to the mining industry.
 During the last session of the Legislature there was a great deal of dissatisfaction expressed at the powers given to the federally ap- pointed Governor. The powers con ferrcd on him have not been of his own seeking. He has simply accept ed them as part of his duties. un- compensated and unappreciated. At each session new duties are imposed on the Governor until the breaking point has nearly been reached. If he performs his duties satisfactorily, the fact goes unnoticed; but if he| pursues policy which may not be entirely in accord with the ideas of party or class. he. is immed- tHteiy subjected to every possible form of abuse and persecution.
 "The Governor simply accepts the powers given him by the people. AsI tt is the will of the people that the Governor take these powers and per form the duties thereof. it also