Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-06-25

In Iowa also a sweeping consolida-
tion of all departments relating to agri
culture was achieved. Iowa now has
an elective state secretary of agricul
ture, with an equal voice in saate af-
fairs with the governor, state treas
urer, state auditor and secretary Of
state, and who is responsible for the
proper conduct of all state activities
relating to agriculture Under the new
plan it has been possible to dispense
with dozens of inspectors, and to save
hundreds of thousands OF dollars,
while efficiency has increased rather
than decreased. A similar consolida
tion has been perfected in the health
department, and a whole company of
boards, bureaus, officers and commits
sions has been done away with.
l cite these examples to indicate
what other states and the nation are
doing while Wisconsin is continuing
to increase public expenditures and
to add new burdens of taxation. What
is being done elsewhere will ultimate
ly be done in Wisconsin.
State departments will never be
consolidated, and budgets will not be
adopted by the action of state officials
themselves. 1t is not natural that men
should advocate reductions in the ex
penditures Of their own departments,
or the abolition or consolidation OF
their own jobs. Neither will factions
headed by ambitious politicians under
take work of this kind.
The system which has grown up in
Wisconsin whereby members of the
Assembly are also the holders of other
positions under the gift of the state
is bad one, and the whole state, gov
eminent has been affected by this evil
tendency to combine the executive and
legislative branches of government
The dominant faction of the present
Assembly has been, to all practical
purposes, simply an adjunct to the
free o~investigate from an unselfish
viewpoint needs for reform in state
government. The seeking of state ap
pointments by members of the Assem-.
bly, is well known, and it is not natural
for those who desire such appoint
ments to antagonize men who make
them
The very turmoil which has existed
in Madison this session is evidence
that something is wrong. The news
paper comment, which pictures the
Legislature as being engaged to a
great degree in squabbles over indiv
iduals who have political aspirations,
should give the public an idea of the
situation. An atmosphere exists in the
state capital which makes it difficult
or impossible for we'll meaning mem
bers to act intelligently, or to enact
common sense legislation in the inter
ests of the public
1t is too late 10 remedy the situation
at this session of the Legislature, and
little is to be gained by nonconstruc-
tive criticisms of activities of the pre-
sent session. The public can, however,
cure many of the evils, have refer
red to by returning to the next Assem-
bly, men who are first of all represen7
tatives of the people, and secondly poll
ticians, whether they be stalwarts,
progressives, democrats or socialists.
The state needs fewer politicians at
Madison and more men who are
free from alignments which cannot
but influence their legislative activi-
ties. 1t needs Senators and Represen.
tatives who can forget everything ex.
cept the public interest have thai
confidence in the people of Wisconsin