The Sauk Centre herald., 1925-11-12
BOILER INSPECTION
PROFITS Will STOP
GOVERNOR TAKES A DRASTIC
STAND TO END CONDITION
IN HENNEPIN COUNTY
SALARY GRAB EXPOSED
OFFICIAL SAID TO HAVE MADE
FOURTEEN THOUSAND DOL
LARS IN YEAR

LARS IN YEAR
In pursuance of his company pol
icy in state> administration, Gov.
Theodore Christianson has put the
office of Hennepin County boiler in
spector on salary basis, and by sc
doing will effect saving of $4,000
year.
In commenting thereon, The St.
Paul Daily News says in part:
The governor has disclosed a new
arrangement as to disposal of the in
spection fees to allow the new APP
pointee fairly substantial salary
but much less than the income of re-
cent years, which has reached as high
as $4,000 annually.
Mr.. F. A. Dickey chairman of
the Hennepin county Republican COM
mittee) wrote the governor urging
C. A. Stiehm's reappointment and
earnestly protesting against his re-
moval.
To Mr.. Dickey's letter Gov. Chris
tianson late Saturday replied an
nouncing appointment of C. F. Dwy-
er to succeed Mr.. Stiehm, effective
Dec 1.
He added that in his opinion Mr..
Stiehm had been well compensated
for his services as district boiler in
spector by receiving more than $14,-
900 during the year 1924.
Chairman Dickey's letter reads:
1t is rumored that you are
about to remove C.. A. Stiehm,
present boiler Inspector of Hem
ofxr II
protest against his removal.
"Mr. Stiehm was appointed in
1921 on the urgent recommends
tion of business men and en-
gineers of Minneapolis and he
is first class officer. To re-
move him for political reasons
is an outrage. Mr.. Stem
should be retained on the
grounds of merit alone"
Gov. Christianson's letter in reply
reads:
"I have your letter of the 5th
inst.
"You know, of course, that
Mr.. Stiehm's term expired on
July 1. C. F. Dwyer has been
appointed to succeed him, his ap-
pointment being effective as of
December L. Mr.. Dwyer served
as boiler Inspector for Henne-
pin county from 1911 until
1915; he is and for more than
20 years has been, member of
the International Union of
Steam and Operating Engineers;
for more than IL years he was
engineer in the court house and
city hall in your city, part of
that time as chief engineer; he
is well qualified for the duties
of the office to which he has
been appointed.
81 call your attention to the
fact that Mr.. Stiehm has been
well compensated for his SER
alone he collected $18,719.50
from the owners of boilers in
I your county, in excess of the
amounts he turned over into
the state treasury. 1t appears
that after paying all his ex-
penses he received for his ex-
penses more than $4,000 in one
year.
"You state that sto remove /
him is an outrage l reply
that to permit the boiler in
spector of Hennepin county to
receiver an income nearly twice
8 as large as the salary of the
Justice Of the Supreme Court,
and larger than that of any
other state official except the
President of the State Univer-
sity, is an outrage, and I have
taken steps to end it.
"Under the terms of his ap-
pointment, Mr.. Dwyer will, af-
ter paying office expenses, cler-
ical hire, and the salary of one
assistant, in an amount to be
approved by me, retain month
ly salary of $375, and turn the
balance over in the state treas
ury or deposit it in a bank to
be designated by me, to the cred-
it of the State of Minnesota.
While the appointment of Mr..
Dwyer to succeed Mr.. Stiehm was
nominally made by the State Indus
trial Commission, Gov. Christianso s |
letter indicates he is willing to as
sumo full responsibility for the
change.
The new arrangement as to salary |,
and the agreement that the Governor /
shall approve the expenditures of the |
office was made . by the executive |
alone, without participation by the
members of the industrial commits |
sion, under whose jurisdiction the
boiler inspection department was
placed by the 1925 legislature as part |
of the state reorganization law.