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Show Our Multifarious Commissions Under tho nboo heading the San Francisco Chronlclo tnkes a swift ap at California's railroad commission. commis-sion. It says that tho state's multifarious multi-farious commissions "arc polltlcnl machines which arc consuming tho substnnco of tho people" Tho artlclo Is as follows: Whatever clso they arc, thero will bo none to deny that overy ono of our appointed State boards and commissions com-missions nro political machines whoso members spend prodigious amounts of tlmo paid for by tho taxpayers to say nothing of tho cost of '"olllclal" trips so planned as to put the right man In tho right place when needed and all to promote the political fortunes for-tunes of tho appointing power. Tow roalbe what thoso commissions cost. It appears that the Railroad Commission alone cost tho peoplo of the Stato ?G70,000 for tho last llscal tar. Its main work Is In settling quarrels quar-rels between localities anil Industiloi anil In furnishing imestors with Information In-formation which thoy woi'hl otherwise have to pay for thcmseles or go without. ' Why should the taxpayers pay nearly near-ly three quarters of a million dollars n year for thoso purposes? Tho number of Individuals who set any benefit whntoor from tho operations oper-ations of tho Railroad Commission Is Infinitesimal. Thev do not affect tho prlco which consumers pay for anything. any-thing. They do very little oxcept to gather data for Investors, which nould not get dono If there were no such commission and probably get done Just as well. And like all tho other commissions It Is a hotbod of politics. It docs not pay tho people to tax thcmscUcs so heavily to accomplish iiuch work as tho CommIss:on does. And, oen if thero were pecuniary gain It would bo faV outweighed by (ho moral Inlttry Involved In supporting support-ing such a powerful personal political machlno at tho taxpayers expense. Six hundred and seventy thousand dollars a enr Is a lot of money to spend for such a 'irpoic Doubtless, tho Railroad Commission costs tho peoplo moro than any other oth-er slnglo commission, but nil of tho others measuro up to tho full limit of their opportunities. We have a government of commissions and by commissions nnd for commissions. .and for.lmh.l- cmfwypcmfwycmfwym Tho Railroad Commission Is merely the most costly of tho lot. All that Is necessary or dcslrablo I to bo accomplished by all these com-mlislons com-mlislons can be done at a vastly smaller cost to the taxpayers. |