The Topeka state journal., 1922-12-22
Junketing Expenses of Kansas
P. U. C. Cost $4,000 in Year.
State Auditor Turner Urges
Next Legislature TO Economic.
ASKS SINGLE COMMISSIONER
Would Eliminate Two Members
From Utilities Commission.
Recommends That Present In
dustriaI Court Be Retained.

JunkeLlng expenses OF the kansas
public utilities commission cost more
than $4,000 during the fiscal year
ending June 80. according to report
which Norton A. Turner is preparing
for the state legislature. Turner viii
urge the law makers to put all the
pubic service travelling in the name OF
enc person and cut down expenses He
asks the legislature 10 slash $2175-
312.76 from expenses of the utilities
cemmission and industrial court dur
ing the next biennum.
Turner joins Governor-elect Davis
in asking for single utilities commits
sioner instead of the present commits
sionN of three members. He recon-
r1lends. tho. that the present industrial
court with three Judges be retained as
q separate body
The Turner report gives some start
ling figures regarding travelling eX-
perses of the public utilities commits
sipn-pa rticulariy expenses of Clyde
AF. Reed. chairman. He also throws
light on the total cost of the commls-
sion as well as the heavy expense OF
the labor court
Urges slash in~Expenses.
During the last biennum direct ap-
preparations and reappropriated bal
anees of the industrial court are listed
in. the Turner report at a grand total
Of SSlS,529-SS- He recommends that
this appropriation be cut to a mini
1dun expense of S16O,2OO for the next
two years
commission that body is shown by the
Turner statement to have cost the tax
payers thru direct appropriations OF
the last legislature and unexpended
a total of S1s0,TS2-SS. He proposes TO
cut the expense of the commission
with a single commissioner to $132,0OO
for the next biennum.
- he
state auditor the Industrial court asked
additional direct appropriations Of
Ss1s.6O for the new biennum- For
the same period the Industrial court is
asking a tetal of s2i5.600. Turner's
recommendation is S21T.312-T6 below
the money actually available for the
court and commission during the pres
ent biennum-
Believes in Industrial Court.
iTuFrer believes the industrial court
should have two more years in which
to demonstrate its worth.
II believe in the principle of the IN
dustrial court law and believe most OF
the people in Kansas believe in II.
he said. But I would favor abolish
fng il entirely if in the next two years
IL proved TO be no more efficient than
it has shown itself to be- in the last
two years"
The auditor is going before the legis-
Iature with drastic demands to cut
down junket expenses. He has taken
zI,srfng and giittering example OF
waste Of public money in useless
travel
which TO fight cases before the inter-
state~eommerce commission has been
cut entirely from the state commits
sion's budget. IF the commissioner
or commission members want TO
iunket to Washington and if Kansas
taxpayers want to keep an expensive
IAbby before the interstate commerce
commission, then the commission
should pay the expense from its con-
tfngent fund" was Turner's remark
Travel in Kansas on Passes.
a-Au members of the public utilities
commission as well as attorneys, engl-
neers and other employees travel be
tween points in Kansas on rallroao
passes. Consequer tly there IS no
travel expense in handling utility cases
in Kansas. But when a member or
the state commission starts to WASH
iTzton the travel meter begins to spin
Usually two. three, four-somet1mes
half dozen state employes--make the
trip. 80
e0-s travel expenses OF the utilities
commission amounted to S10,144-5S.
OF this amount Clyde NJ. Reed. chair
man of the commission, turned in
Iersonal travel expense of S2,S1I-f9-
TTyIiis is more than five times the eN-
Dense of any other member of the
commission and more than ten tines
as great as the expense OF Judge "A. f.
Hem. who was rate counsel for the
commission before his death last fall. |
II. a. Russell, a second member OF
the utilities commission, turned in an
expense of S515.s5 for travel during |
the year. Travelling expenses of J w. !
Greenieaf. the third member OF the
commission. amounted to but SS44St
during the twelve months.
Judge Helm, who, WAS presumed to
represent the state in n legal capacity !
in all of the big hearings before the 1
interstate commerce commission, reg |
istered a travelling expense during the /
wear of S279.11. The expenses of /
Judge Reed are to draw several spe-
cfa1 paragraphs from the state audi !
tor when his final report to the legis- /
lature is completed.
81 don't believe the legislature or
the taxpayers of Kansas will approve 4
OF these junket trips" said Turner. 1
''and / hope they will be cut out /
They may be a fine thing for fellows /
who want to play politics. but they /
have been neither economical nor /
nrofftable for the state"