The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-02-07
Do Your Talking Now

The republicans of the Legislature nav ing rather adroitly passed the buck on government reorganization to Governor Cross, he has picked up the gauntlet and hurled it right back at them. We rather thought he would. His hesitancy in not making specific recommendations that would result in large savings in the that he has been rebuked so many times by republican majorties in the Assembly that he thought there would be no change of heart this year.
 However, the republicans it seems, are willing if Barkis is. Even the Connecti- cut State Journal, which is not what 1t would seem to be by it's name, but is simply an out-and-out organ of the repub- lican party in Connecticut, admits that the republicans want departmental reorgani- Zation. It said in q recent issue, Republicans in the legislature are of the opinion that certain departments and agencies should be combined. Connecti- cut newspapers will be interested in this statement. It's true.
 And how we are interested! We'd be even more interested to learn, though, when the republicans of Connecticut in- clined towards anything that resembed changing the set-up of government that they had made as air-tight as was thought possible. If this was the first time that Governor Cross had come to the Legisla ture for such favor, it might not be so open to criticism, but when it taxes three such trips to bring about change of heart, we're naturally suspicious.
 We'll forget about our suspicious so that we can call on the state to hold re- publicans, democrats, and socialists to their voiced promises to do something about lowering costs of government. GoVc ernor Cross makes number of sugges- tiOns in the line of reforms. We don't agree with all of them Right now we say that elimination of the office of coroner will, to our way of thinking, simply inn pose his duties upon some other official. Ia the long run there will be no saving and time -hOnored official will be ruled out of existence.
 We wonder if those republican spokes- men who called upon Governor Cross to furnish them with concrete examples of what reforms he would make realized that they would have today full and complete list of just how far our many departments and branches of government overlap had they been as disposed towards reorganiZa- ton, say in 1881. Governor Cross then simply asked that commission be named to make study of our government and to supply the Legislature with recom- mendations. He renewed this demand in 1883. That was his plea again this year
 Now, however, the republican leaders want action right away without the necessary survey. They feel that if Gov ernor Cross foresaw in 1881 the need of governmental reforms by this time, four years later, he must have pretty good idea of what is wrong with our govern ment, where it is cumbersome, etc. He has obliged with & comparatively brief outline of what may be done. We agree with him whole-heartedly, save in the one instance mentioned above. We even sup port his plea against the Danbury traffic court, for we incline to the opinion that Connecticut must some day go in for the district court plan and do away with it's numerous and diverse minor courts.