Laurel outlook., 1949-12-14
BURKE SPEAKS ON
STATES SPENDING

Nobody wants to kill Santa
Claus, so one a government or
an agency becomes p~aternal it cor
respondingly becomes a potential
threat to the liberty of the people
for whom it ~paternally provides.
A benign dictatorship can supply
" the most efficient form of govern
ment, but when it is not benign it
is a scourage, as history ancient
and modern has shown. Observa-
tions of this nature were included
in an address here Tuesday by
Senator Tom Burke of Billings
who had accepted an invitation to
speak at the weekly meeting of
the Rotary club and who chose to
concern himself principally with
finances and expenditures of the
state legislature. He has served
Yellowstone county 10 or IL years
as a member of the senate in Hell
ena and at the last session was
chairman of the important claims
and finance committee of the up
per house.
Comparing expenditures of the
1889 session with those of the
1949 session, he said the total
for the two-year period following
'3S was less than $40 million from
the general fund, while the total
for the two years after '49 is
something like $3S million from
the general fund. The grand total
OF the last session is in the vicin-
ity of 500 million. This, repre-
senting many funds, departments
and bureaus, probably will be con-
siderably increased at the 1851 ses-
sion.
The senator was reluctant to in
troduce a great amount of Stats
tics, but his topic made their use
almost obligatory. Some were IA
miliar to the Rotarians, while 9TH
ers were surprising. |,
The '49 session was confronted
by, and had at its disposal, $8.5
to SO million in an accumulated
surplus from the war years. The ,
temptation, as might be expected, .,
was to spend. Most of the money {
was appropriated for the ensuing !
two-year period, with perhaps $3.5
million remaining from the origi- ,
nal amount when the 1851 session 5
convenes. 1t may be back to So !
oc SO million at the end of the !
biennium, though, because the in ,
come is much greater. The tend !
expected at the next session
is for more spending, despite the
population not keeping pace and
even showing a decline.
Senator Burke touched briefly on
several departments of large
spending, informatively and ana
lytically. One required constantly
increasing amounts in public well
No one opposes care for the i
old people, but how much is be- +
ing spent? Apparently no one !,
exactly. 1t is known that 1
a few years ago there were only b
few welfare workers; today they t
are Welfare is becom- t
me influential also with votes. C
Heretofore, childless couples of 6
sufficient means, good reputation p
and proven compatibility could t
through the courts, adopt orphans n
and provide loving homes. At the
asst session of the legislature this G
vas removed from the hands of y
he district judges of the state, Il
men whom the senator respected o
'or their ability and integrity, and c
given to welfare. c
Organizations of women who b
lad never shown much interest in
;uch matters, wrote many letters
the legislature at its last ses- a
ion and asked for more money P
or the children. The ideal was W
,ommendable, but the interest ap- tt
,eared to have been engendered S
rom outside the ladies' organiza- v
ion. n
Senator Burke was introduced "
" p. A. Johnston of the months p
program committee, a former a
,eighbor of the speaker. Visitors b