Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-05-05
WILL ELIMINATE
FEW SOFT JOBS
L. III. COOK SECRETARY OF
COMMITTEE TO ALTER
COMMISSIONS

In six state boards or commissions
two or three men who head them will
be elm mated in all probability. Louis
H. Cook, assemblyman from Marathon
county, told Pilot reporter when
home for visit recently. "Our
assembly and senate committee is well
at work on the commissions" Mr.
Cook declares. Senator Roethe is
chairman and / am at present acting
as secretary" That there are fifteen
to twenty boards and commissions
which should be re-organized is the
general belief of members of the le-
gislature at Madison.
Consultations
1.-THE functions of these various de-
partments may overlap in some cases."
Mr.. Cook continued, land where this
is found to be the case there are like
ly to be combinations. The state can
be saved a good deal of money and
the work the commissions are sup
posed to do, can be done just as eff
ficiently. Some of the members of
these departments who can be easily
done without, are now getting salaries
of $4,000. One of the principal planks
in Governor Blaines platform was re-
duction in number and size of COM
missions. Already the legislative COM
mittee has conferred with him."
During this week Assemblyman
Cook expects a lively fight over the
Teachers Retirement Fund, or pen
sion. Many educators in the state are
working for it but the support of
practical men of business seems to
be lacking 81 am utterly opposed to
the teachers pension in any form"
Mr.. Cook told The Pilot.
No More Than Farmer
Teachers have no more right to a
pension than the farmer who comes
into northern Wisconsin, works sixty
years and at the end of his career is
bent and worn out and has nothing
saved for his old age, nothing more
than farm which he has developed
perhaps at the expense of health
The salaries of teachers have been in
creased to such an extent that they
ought to be able to save as we'll as
the next person. They do not need
the assistance of the state. Many of
them are earning more now than the
average farmer can on an investment
of $4,000 or $4,000"
Along with other assemblymen and
senators, Mr.. Cook firmly believes that
the state assumed an obligation when
it started the retirement fund in the
first place and therefore, he says, all
money paid in by them should be re-
turned. Aside from this action, he
says he will oppose the pension.
Drastic Measure
The Market bill, passed last week,
was another matter upon which As
semblyman Cook touched. This is a
drastic measure" he declared at
permits the division of markets to ex-
anime all lines OF industry and manu-
facture in which the farmer may be
concerned and to determine whether
there are over-charges. Thus, for ex-
ample, the division could determine
what a fair price on plows should be-
/ worked hard for an amendment re-
strict.ng the authority of the division
to investigate and act on agricultural
supplies only, but this amendment lost
out by four or five votes.'
One of the interesting combinations
of commissions or departments, so nu-
merous at Madison that there has
been discussion of erecting another
official state building, will be that of
the Vocational School board, the