The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-11-04
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Edited This Week BY
FRANK OSTMAN
Editor, Duluth Pree Press.

Two Things IN particular impress
themselves upon Capitol City visitors
these days. The most outstanding is
the growing uneasineSS among state en-
ployeS resulting from the purge" that
Governor Benson is prosecuting with in
creasing vigor The other is the swarm
of people who are on the payrolls where
ever one looks throughout the Capitol
building.
In regard to the latter-we ran across
some rather Illuminating statistics on
Friday while rummaging around in
some of the departments. While wait
ing to interview certain official, we
saw man sitting at some new kind
of machine and feeding checks into it
with both hands in very busineSS-like
manner
Need Signing Machine
Our curiosity having been aroused,
we asked what he was doing and he
laconically replied: Signing checks"
While arranging new batch he in
formed us that with that machine he
could sign about $500 checks in half an
hour, task which used to take a man
with the old-faShioned signer several
hours to do.
This led to more questioning which
elected the information that more than
100000 pay checks had to be issued at
the State Capitol each year now, repre-
senting an increase of about 100000 In
the past three or four years. Nor was
that all-virtually all these checks now
represent increased amounts from what
they did before the present regime took
over the state government.
| This has become so apparent-greatly
enlarged Office personnels with general
boosts in pay-that even the most sin
cere and loyal Farmer-Laborites who
are following the trend of state affairs
are heard more and more frequently to
voice doubts as to the desire of the
state administration to carry out the
party's platform pledges of economy in
government.
"Payrollers" Increase.
| Talking about increased personnels-
here are some of the figures We OBJ
tanned from the Capitol records: In 1925
the total number of people employed by
the state government was $3.50. In 1881
this had increased to Hiss and in 1896
to some over 1900. This latter figure
does not include persons employed to
administer relief, but only regular state
employment.
But these figures do not present the
whole picture. Anyone visiting the state
Office building that is serving as an
annex to the Capitol these days will
notice crews of men at work rearranging
office space therein so as to afford more
spacious private offices for heads of de-
partments, the number having grown
steadily in recent years. This is said
to result in decreasing the number OF
employees Accommodated in this structure
and in necessitating renting of extra
office space in other buildings.
This situation seems to have COM
PEELED the administration to resort to
some rather drastic means in efforts
to get more Office room. For example:
Last week the local G. A. R. post, which
has held its meeting in the Van SAINT
room for the past 80 years, were ordered
to vacate forthwith. But while the
ranks of the G. A. R. are thinning out
fast, those who are left showed some OF
their old-time fighting spirit and with
such good effect that the order was
countermanded few days later and
the veterans continue to hold the fort
And while on the subject of state jobs
and office space-it became known early
last week that former Mayor Latimer OF
Minneapolis has been given a $275 90
per month job in the state highway de-
partment ito heal breach in the ranks
Of the Farmer-Labor party"
To revert to the purge" mentioned at
the outset of these remarks: The thing
which really worries conscientious
Farmer Labor leaders not under COM
mand of the Mexican generals" is the
way the latter are ignoring the rights of
the war veterans. The purge started
with the ousting of the Republican state
employees and those suspected of being
dominated by others than the "gen-
erals" Now all the old employees are
forced to walk the plank, even those ap-
pointed by the late Governor Olson.
Some Farmer-Laborites complain it is
getting so they no longer can tell
for the 1888 season. The material will
be needed, too, for nine of the eleven
men in the starting lineup are seniors
along with several others among the