The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-03-17
A Nefarious Business
New Depression Causes
Doctors Disagree
Investigations

Doctors Disagree
Investigations
Reformers, it would almost seem are
like the famous Irish socialist who was
willing to divide everything until pigs
were mentioned. He demumed at the
proposal to divide pigs He had pigs.
So with reformers. They are willing to
reform everything except themselves, or
at least some members of the legisla-
ture are beginning to wonder if that
is not true. Since the legislature be-
gan its 1888 sittings the subject of
salary reductions has been much
mooted, both within and without the
legislature. Members of the legisla-
ture were somewhat shocked one morn
ing to find in the ST. Paul papers a
vigorous declaration from Mayor Ma
honey to the effect that he would not
submit to the reduction of his $4,000
salary by so much as one jot or one
little. The mayor was earning every
penny of the five grand, it appeared,
and b'gosh and b'gorrah, the people, no
matter how hard up they were, were
going to pay him down to the last
farthing. Mayor Mahoney is a labor
mayor, reform mayor, he is lone of
the people" and elected to defend and
protect them. But not by slicing off to
them any portion of his quite COM
Portable salary!
A Nefarious Business
Both the house and the senate have
salaries. One hundred ninety-eight
members of the legislature are seldom
agreed, but upon the matter of reducing
the salaries of state employees, in order
to somewhat relieve the taxpayer, they
are pretty much of one mind. The
house appropriations committee has a
plan to make all state employees, from
the lowest to the highest, contribute
something toward tax relief The COM
mittee proposes a graduated scale OF
reductions running from five per cent
in the lower brackets to thirty pea
cent in the higher brackets. The
senate finance committee proposes to
disturb no salary of $1,000 per year Oh
less, but to cut all salaries above $1,000
a flat twenty per cent. The civil adj
ministration committees of both houses
are also working on plans for salary re-
auctions.
Disquieting rumors of these plans
reached the ears of the state employees
Most of them resigned themselves tt
what they felt was the inevitable, but
not so with some of the more resolute
souls. They got together and formed
flying wedge, moved in upon the house
appropriations committee and sought tx
divide and destroy its unanimity
Joseph A. Poirier, assistant attorney
general whose night attack upon the
rural credit bureau office to which hi
had been appointed, but access to which
he had been denied, proved so sue
cesSful, argued before the committee
against any salary cut. Mr.. Poirier wa!
known to the committee, not only fol-
his facility in getting into office, but
by the boldness with which he had de.
clared his determination to hang on tx
the flesh pots thereof, for it was HI
who defied an opinion of brother
attorney general to the effect that the
rural credit bureau could not legally
make any more loans; Mr.. Poiriel
fatty declared that the bureau would
continue to make loans just as lone
as it could lay its hands on any none!
to loan. So the committee was curiou!
to see and hear Mr.. Poirier They
heard him declare with vim and vigol
that salary reductions are uneconomit
and ought not to be attempted. Abou
thirty cents was all it would save The
taxpayer anyhow, Mr.. Poirier said.
1t was Knud Wefald, once a membel
of the legislature, once congressman
once secretary TO the Big Three, bu
now holding down $4,000 Office as {
member of the railroad and warehouse
commission, who really told the com
mittee where to get off at. Mr.. Wefalc
has been a reformer from the beginning
and it was as a reformer that he wa
elected by the farmer-labor party t.
the dignity and prequisites of member
ship on the railroad and warehouse
commission. But Mr.. Wefald vigorousl!
eschews any reform that involves ths
reduction of his salary or the salarie:
of other state employees. He scoret
the whole reduction scheme as me
| fariouS."
New Depression Causes
A good many have positively identified
the cause of the present economic un
pleasantness, but at 'fblue sky law
hearing some days ago new cause wa:
trotted out and given run arount
the legislative track A speaker pointed
out that the people in the few year.
last past have lost some seventy billion
dollars in stock swindles; he was firnl.
of the opinion that the blue sky law
of various states, including Minnesota
had caused this great loss, and tina
the loss in turn has mired us in tn,
present Slough Of Depression.
The historic debate in the lowe
house last week on the truck regula
tory bill developed another reason TO
the depression. The word historic" i
used advisedly, for seldom, if ever, ha.
any one bill been so long debated OF
the floor of either house of a Mime
sofa legislature. For -four afternoons ant
one evening the house examined ans
debated almost endless amendment
upon which roll cali after roll call wa.