Putnam patriot., 1924-02-08
Hartford, February 5, 1924


 Governor Templeton and the party with which he is affiliated, and to which he owes his nomination for the office of chief executive, are not more cordially friendly. There IS an es- arrangement between the executive chamber and the Republican head quarters. It would have been better if the estrangement had been avoid ed. Though Governor Templeton is on the record as having said many months since that in his opinion the state chairman of the Republican party did not boss enough" it is to be feared that he has had an impress sion which did not harmonize with this statement. No one doubts the honesty of the governors intentions nor questions his fearlessness in de- claring them. But he made serious mistake when he characterized mem bers of the general assembly as ants that follow leaders. His statement, as reported, was reflection on the independence of the members of the two houses. It was gratuitous in- suit and the explanations which fol- lowed did not satisfy. It left sting which ranked during the session. The situation which it created re- minded people of the unfortunate re- lations which existed at the session of 1907 when Governor Woodruff made a speech at New Haven reflect ing on the character of the general assembly with which he had to CO., operate at the session in the enact ment of legislation for the good of the state The two leaders of the general assembly-Senator James F. Walsh then senate, and Elmore :. Banksin, the house--replied to the governors speech. If the governor was critically censorious the leaders were irritatingly eaustic. Cordial re- lations were not restored during the session. There was radical difference between the chief executive and the legislature on legislation and il was shown in about twenty vetoes of measures each of which was prompt ly passed over the veto. Neither Governor Woodruff in 1907 nor Governor Tempieton in 1923 was jus tified in what he said about the iegis- lators. To say the least the two gov ernors, well-meaning men though they are. were wanting in tact. If they were in possession Of any concrete fact that would support a specific charge fl would have been their duty to prefer the charge and disclose the fact. But they spoke in general way and congratulations are never satisfactory as a basis for complaint. Governor Templeton has given it out that he is not a candidate for re- nomination. He shows wisdom in coming to that decision It. will save him from the ehagrin of disappoint- ment
 To Combine County Jails?
 The statement of Charles P Kellogg, the secretary of the state department of public welfare, that the two iails in New London county should he consolidated and that the consolidation would make for a sub stantial improvement in the manner of caring for prisoners. has received an attention that is not confied to the county directly interested. One of these iails is located in the city of New London and the other in the city of Norwich It is not merely county matter. The state pays the expenses for both institutions as II does for all the counties in the state If money could be saved and management im- proved at the same time there should be no objection to consolidation in case the matter is brought before the general assembly at the next ses- sion. The only aggrieved persons would be the deputies who would lose their positions but since they were mot appointed with any assurance of permanency their grievances would not be very substantial. There are only two considera- tions which are worthy mo- ment's thought One is the in- proyement in the jail system and the other is the saving of the money of the state. The statement has been made that it might be a good thing to appoint a commission at the next ses- sion to make a survey of the state to see where other consultations in jails could be made with advantage to the state generally. The question of the necessity of having three com missioners for each county might be considered at the same time. There has always been a doubt that a county needed three commissioners to attend to it's affairs. That doubt has been entertained and in influ- ential circles too But since prohibit tion put an end to liquor selling. thereby relieving county commits sioners of the duty of issuing licens- es, the doubt has grown in strength. In some counties the position of com missioners is as near an approach to a sinecure as it can possibly be with out being absolutely so. In Hartford county the practice is to elect chair man on whom devolves the routine of the office while his two colleagues do very little or no work. IL is not that they are unwilling to work. But there is no work to do. There is serious leakage in the system of county commissioners and it should be stopped. It is we'll understood that nothing but political necessity stands in the way of cutting down the county commissionerships from three to one for each county The duties do not require three commissioners for their efficient performance. There is barely enough for one person to att tend to. There is a real and pressing need for enforcement of a policy of strict economy in the spending of the peoples money in state and county affairs.
 Old System Deplorable