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Show UTAH LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM Governor Bamberger and the legislators leg-islators elect seem to be of one mind, that Utah shall be dry as a powdermill after August, 1917. In matters of economy and tax reduction executives and law makers mak-ers are agreed that days of promise are past and days of performance are at hand. The governor believes that public business can be handled just as economically and capably as the business of a great railroad or mining min-ing corporation. The Kaysville Reflex says: "The people of Utah irrespective of party demand retrenchment all along the line." It predicts that when the legislature legisla-ture adjourns it will probably be found that the general expenses of the state government will have been increased. "While the people are talking against increased commissions the politicians are planning for increased increas-ed commissions with increased power. pow-er. The chances are that the politicians poli-ticians will get about what they are wanting. One of the laest causes for alarm is the report of the state superintendent of public instruction a synopsis of which has just been made public. "The report contains a recommendation recommen-dation to abolish the present office of superintendent of public instruction instruc-tion and appoint a state board of education, thereby creating more holes for salary drawing pegs, said board to have the rights and powers now held by the state superintendent superintend-ent of public instruction. namely: the general control and supervision of the public school system. In turn the board will itself elect a commissioner commis-sioner of education who will be the board's executive officer, who will practically fill the position now held by the state superintendent of public pub-lic instruction, which would cease to be an elective office, but one entirely en-tirely removed from state politics. ! From the aboye it will be seen that an attempt is being made to build up an arbitrary political machine in the form of a commission while decrying de-crying partisan politics." The school machine of the st;iie has been very busy getting up this ! report to create a lot of new ofliees and expand its power and revenues The Kaysville Reflex concludes that the people do not. want an additional ad-ditional commission with its numer- ! ous high salaried commissioners at this time. We are told that the schools of Utah are among the best in the nation and that the people are paying more school tax per capita cap-ita than any other state in the union. un-ion. If this is true,, why the need of a change? There seems to be one recommendation recommend-ation which the people should look into and that is the power to distribute distri-bute that state school tax on a basis other than prescribed in the constitution, consti-tution, "to the end that educational opportunity should be more nearly equalized throughout the state." Just what is meant by the recommendation recom-mendation is not perfectly clear but it seems to mean that the tax taken from the counties shall be thrown in a pool to be equalized all over the state. If such is the case it would seem that, the counties in the class of Davis would suffer while small counties and very large 'counties would profit thereby. The Reflex believes that the present pres-ent system is good enough until something more tangible than the above recommendations are offered. That the proposed change will lead to an increase of taxation is self evident evi-dent and it is questionable if any good will result. Almost all new legislation has resulted in increased expense without corresponding benefits bene-fits to the taxpayer. Why listen to the sbouters for reform re-form when so called reform Is always al-ways questionable and the prices are high? Industrial News Bureau. |
