White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1931-03-26

nent to ask: Who is merely talking
about solving the tax problem and
who is really making an honest eff
fort to relieve the taxpayers of the
state and preserve our natural re-
sources for coming generations?
Another source of delay was the
lack of harmony between the house
and the senate. One incident will il
lustrate. At the beginning .ofSthe ses-
sion there seemed to be an honest at
tempt to accomplish results. The
speaker invited the lieutenant COVER
nor to appoint three senators to act
with three representatives as con-
tact committee. The house members
proposed that appropriations for de-
nartments be divided into two classes:
Class 1 to be salary and wage fund,
and class 2 to be an expense and OPP
Grafton fund. The purpose of this
was to keep them separate because
complaint had been made that during
the past under the lump fund money
had been taken from expense and OPP
erations and used during campaigns
to increase salaries or employ extra
officials. Your correspondent saw an
agreement to divide this fund into
two classes and keep each distinct
signed bv every one of the six men,
bers of this contact committee. House
members must have heard from de-
nartment heads, however, as during
the closing days of the session thew
refused to abide by their agreement
and insisted on lump sum in place
of two classes. This was one cause of
the 72-hour overtime wrangle. Another
cause was. the determination of the
senate that the road budget should
state definitely where each item of
appropriation for roads should be
spent and not leave large sums to be
spent at the discretion Of the state
engineer. Still another bone of con-
tention was the matter of a 100000
appropriation for bridge at Decep-
ton pass. 1t will be remembered that
the people of Island and Skagit coun-
ties requested permission to build and
nav for themselves a bridge at this
place in 1929. A bill was early passed
in the last session, but was vetoed be-
cause the i,aomber from Island coun-
tv had voted independently on mea-
sures according to their merits. The
veto was sustained in the same way
and for the same reason as the veto
of the egg bill was sustained during
the present session. During the cam
paign of 1890 promises were made
that the state would appropriate
100000 under certain circumstances.
To keen this promise the house in
sisted on this item and the senate
RIGHTLY opposed it. The senate won
ont on all these issues after r.
hour useless wrangle.
A special session has been sug-
gested by various people. This would
be futile under present conditions. AS
long as the threat of veto of mea-
sures regardless of merit continues,
as long as the road budget is held as
club over members, it is useless to
attempt ANYTHING constructive. A ma
iority of the members are both hon
est and anxious to serve their con-
stit,ents and the state. But too many
OF them lack the courage of their con-
victions and dare not consider nor
vote on measures from an unbiased
standpoint.
If the present system is to be con-
tinued. the rules committee should be
shorn of it's arbitrary power All bills
should be introduced before the 31st
dav and the road budget disposed of
before The 10th day. But it would be
far better to take the road program
entirely out of the hands of both the
governor and the legislature and
place it in the hands of an expert
commission, either appointed by dis