The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 24, 1917, Page 18

e -y ADVERTISEMENTS Cut Flowers and decorations of all kinds for Graduation and June Weddings Send for spring list, now ready. SHOTWELL FLORAL CO. FARGO, N. D. . planting THE BEST WAY Let us make you a suit if you want to be well dressed. We make them to fit you of fine material and in the latest style for $18.00 We guarantee a fit or money back. Other suits at $20 and $25 Come in and see us or write for particulars. We will please you. Hagen & Olson TAILORING FARGO, N. D. The Tenth Anniversary Car If you want a car for real service and that will give satisfaction you will appreciate a REGAL. The Regal is a strong, sturdy, staunch car. It combines style, comfort, power, reliability and economy in operation. 32 h. p. motor built in our own shop. Throttles from 3 miles per hour on high to 40 in 30 sec- onds. $745 F. O. B. DETROIT Some good territory open to agents. and see us—or write us Glide Automobile Company FARGO, N. D. Call get along without using Leader Classified Ads but you are doing yourself the big- gest injustice in doing so. Leader ‘“Classified” Ads Pay. Mention Leader when writing advertisers Why Not Cut Out Useless Offices? A Thoughtful County Official Proposes a Plan for Eff1c1ency and Economy by Ehmmatmg Political Speculatlon from Public Ofi"lce BY CHAS. E. BEST (County Audxtor, Ransom Co, N. D.) HE past two years I have watched with interest the frantic efforts of the state tax commission to devise ways and means to raise more REVENUE to carry on this “government of ours.’ I have not observed though, much activity in the way of REDUCING EXPENSES to meet our present revenue. It seems to be the theory of govern- ment to raise revenue and create offi- cials to spend it; and when it is all spent, create more officials to raise more money to spend, and when that is spent and no more in sight, then create a “commission” to find still more revenue and so on ad infinitum, until finally our government instead of being a help and protection to us becomes a burden and a menace. It seems never to have occurred to these men of brains that when the EX- PENSES become greater than the REVENUE, instead of creating more officials to raise more money to spend, they should reduce some of the offi- cials and cut the expenses to meet the revenue. THE MAN WHO IS WORTH THE MONEY 1 put in about twenty-five years working for corporations that were managed by the brainiest men that could be found in the country, and I wish to place before vour readers some of the observations and lessons I learned from them. The most impor- tant of these-lessons was that profits were in adverse relation to expenses. And to reduce the “overhead expense’” became the dream of every official of a corporation, and the president or general manager who could run his business with the least expense and maintain efficiency, was the man who could command the largest salary. Now I have-been a county auditor for two years and I have watched the workings of the different offices in the county, and to a corporation man it is a wonderful arrangement, a hugc joke. We have at least seven offices run by seven officials or managers where a corporation would have but one of- fice and one manager with easily double the efficiency. WASTE TAXES AND DOUBLE USELESS WORK We have offices in adjoining rooms keeping duplicate accounts making a double expense for records and clerk hire. Part of the year the business in one office is heavy and extra clerks are hired to do the work, while at the same time in the adjoining office the business “is light and the clerks idle. And the seven officials, ye Gods, where are they? Now listen, cut out six of these of- fices. Have just one office and one official, give him any title you like, call him the superintendent or man- ager—it makes no difference; but with the same clerical help that is employed now or even less you will get better work done and oh what a saving of cost. You will save the salaries of six officials, you will save the cost of a lot of expensive records that are now being duplicated. You will save one of those $100,000 or $200,000 court houses and the expense of maintain- ing it. HOW TO SAVE $20,000 FOR COUNTIES With the exception of the district judge and the court room, all the work of the county could be done in one office. There would be a saving of from $15,000 to $20,000 in every county and over a half million dollars in the state. Now some of these county of- ficials who think that you would all go out of business if it were not for them, will shriek with dismay and how! that it can not’ be done. But I say to you that there are men work- | ing for corporations for $2500 per year who can alone’ manage your whole county affairs outside of the district judge with double the efficiency with" which it is being done now. Now then I have not been to “Mecca’” (Bismarck) but there is no doubt in my own mind that the state officials can be reduced as materially a¥ the county. And I do not believe that it would be any more difficult for one man to manage the affairs of the state at Bismarck than it is for a division superintendent to manage his railroad. Now then if the county and the state were both put on a business basis there ‘ transportation companies. sumer isn't being gouged by the mid- - The first step toward getting high- tension e'ffibienév at ‘eut rate expense is to eliminate public office from the pohtlcal p1e counter. The Nonpartisan League® proposed ‘that first step’in IHouse Bill 44. It proposed to take state and county offices out'of political campaigns by giving the legislature the right to make them appointive. on that provision. The Old Guard refused to let the people vote The League proposed in House Bill 71 the “nonpartisan bal- lot bill,”” to remove public office from the realm of political prizes by wiping off party names and letting tlie people choose their officials on their records and on the issues of the day. The Old Guard killed the bill. - ,, At present every elective state or county office is a rallying point for some political leader—his reward if he can win the votes, a goal to struggle for, a step on the road to power. Make it appointive and it is no 101wer a rallying point. It is a job, like that of a bookkeeper or a mall clerk, a place for service, not for - political chess playing. Cut down the number ‘of elective offices, as Mr. Best suggests, and the number of purely political oppor- tunities is decreased. Efficiency takes their place. With House Bill 44 the constitution, and House Bill 71 a law, the chance to use the public service as political bait would vanish. The next step would be to cut down the number of useless offices; because the excuse for them had ceased to exist. would not be slow to take that step. would be a ‘saving of a million and a half in taxes at the first jump, and the: waste that would be indirectly abolish- ed would be as much or more. Instead of paying a tax commission $10,000 or $20,000 a year to run a detective agency to make you dig up more taxes, why not reduce tHese of- ficials who have proved themselves failures, (which may be the-fault of the system and not theirs) and reduce )our expenses to meet a legitimate revenue. Come on, you farmers, you have started out to make your government a help to you instead of a burden. You have found a large debt to start with and as admitted by your former Must Not The farmers of North Dakota, Min- nesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and-Montana have got the grain looters agoing, and it would not do now to let their feet slip. There is big opposition with lots of money and shrewd men and crooked politicians behind them and the farm- ers must move shrewdly and sternly and unitedly. State-owned elevators and gristmills are what ‘we want and we will never get them if the grain lords can pre- (Continued from page 12) Thay're leanin’ up to it liak a sick kit- ten to a hot brick. Do thay think the farmers can’'t see that? Them farm- ers iz not all fools ef thay do look it. At least thar’'s not az big a purcent- age uv fools among them az thar iz among us.” “Well, what do you want to do? that's what I want to know,” roared anuther voice. Thar wuz a moment uyv silence an’ I imagined he wuz scratchin’ hiz hed. “Az fur as I'm consurned,” it started in agin,' “I'm redy to quit, quit the whole blamed bizness. I'm redy to sell out an’ leve this stait. I know when I'm licked, I do.. Ef you fellers that thinks you're goin’ to kill off this Leeg want to stay an’ fite it out, you've got The people masters the expenses were greater than the revenue. Now which is best to tax yourselves more to-meet ex- travagance or reduce your - expenses within your income and at the same time have your business done in a more efficient manner? Now -this is not hot air from one on the outside trying to get in. It is from one on the inside who has been study- ing your government from a business standpoint, and you will find plenty of county officers who will admit the truth of my statements. If you like this information, I have some more points to give you where you can save more money and reduce your taxes still more. Stop Fight vent it. If the producers of Minne- sota shall unite they can elect every state officer in 1918, and if in that election they can also elect the legis- lative representatives they will have won their goal for the rightful enact- ment and enforcement of laws which will give them the rightful money they earn. Let Minnesota get into the game and get strong and move shrewdly. It is none too early to put the best foot forward right now.—THE ITASKA (MINN.) NEWS. A Visit to Lame Duck Roost my concent, but az fur me I'm dun. You think the Leeg'll be ded next year but that’s what we all thot last year but it's gittin’ liver ever day. Az fure me I can't stand the financial strane enny longer. I've got to do sumthin’ an’ do it quick or I'll be lookin’ fur a red card in the I. W. Ws, az I sed before.” This brot a storm of haw-haws an® I heerd cheers a-scrapin’ az tho the meetin’ wuz over, so I sed to the taf- fy-hedded gurl, “I beleeve I'll go down to the postoffice a minnit an’ then I'll cum back later on.” She smiled an’ sed, “alrite,” an’.so I ducked outen thar az quick as I cud, went over to the hotel, got into my room, shet the door, lade down on the bed an’ lafed an’ lafed till mi side hurt like the tuth ache. Yoors trooly, & RIP.” “SOCIALISTIC” SEATTLE Seattle is now rejoicing over the operation of her $6,000,000 public docks and warehouses. The producer isn’t now being robbed, as formerly, by the The con- dleman. It may be Socxalxstlc. bemghted and unholy not to submit to being robbed, but it’s sensible and economical. In our times the wise men are com- ing from the West. And they don’t care what they're called so long as they get there. Congratulations, Seattle! — PAUL DAILY NEWS. ST. AFTER TAGLESS AUTOS Better lose no time in getting auto- mobile licenses bearing an up-to-date number. The secretary of state has EIGHTEEN set to work to collect the several thousand dollars of -escaping motor license tax money and has a special officer in the field now making arrests. The last session of the legislature . authorized a special officer to be used in looking up such violations. In one place known t¢' the secretary of state, - one. license was serving - eight different auto owners last season. - A member of the legislature said that he had him- self loaned his tag to three- different neighbors for a half a day to a day at a time, because they did not wish to take out their own licenses. Special Officer William Meyer of ‘Driscoll, is now rounding up the of- fenders, and is hopping from place to place without advance notice. Farmers are warned that if they are still operating under old tags, or have not tags for all their machines, Mr. Meyer may find them.