GIFT OF 
 
 . 
 
GIFT 
 NOV 7 WI8' 
 
 War, Peace and 
 Reconstruction 
 
 BY JOHN S. CHAMBERS 
 STATE CONTROLLER 
 
 Sacramento, California 
 September, 1918 
 
Waiy . -Peace iand Reconstruction 
 
 By JOHN S. CHAMBERS, State Controller 
 
 
 The Legislature of California, which will assemble in Sac- 
 mento on the first Monday in January, 1919 the Forty-third 
 Session will face as vital problems, if not more vital, than 
 ever a preceding body of the kind, in this State, was called 
 upon to consider. 
 
 The first Legislature, which met at Pueblo de San Jose 
 in December, 1849, and the Legislatures that followed during 
 the next few years, sitting at San Jose, Vallejo, Benicia and 
 Sacramento, had grave questions to solve looking to the estab- 
 lishment of the State Government on a wise and permanent 
 basis. The Legislatures which met during the administrations 
 of Governors Leland Stanford and Frederick F. Low were con- 
 cerned with the issues* of the Civil War and the period imme- 
 diately succeeding the close of that great conflict. And in recent 
 years, the Legislatures of the Johnson incumbency were called 
 upon to inaugurate, in many ways, a new order of things, and 
 particularly to pass laws along enlarged humanitarian lines. 
 
 But none of these administrations or Legislatures had 
 matters before it of graver import to the people of California, 
 and, indeed of the nation, than will confront tfie Governor and 
 lawmakers before whom will come, in 1919, problems developed 
 by the world war and by the peace that will follow, whether 
 immediate or prospective. We must begin now to give earnest 
 thought not only to the present, but to the future. 
 
 THE TREND TO THE PEOPLE. 
 
 California and the other States of the Union, as well as 
 the Nation itself, are on the eve of great political, economic and 
 social changes. The President some months ago, in a letter 
 addressed to the leaders of his party in New Jersey, warned 
 them that they would have to get away from "old slogans and 
 traditions," and prepare to meet "vital issues" if they would 
 achieve victory; that the American soldier who has faced death 
 in Europe for his country would not be satisfied, on his return, 
 with "empty phrases," but would demand "sincere thinking" 
 and "genuine action." And not only the President, but many 
 others high up in the councils of the Nation, without reference 
 to party, have read the signs of the times, have visualized the 
 future and admonished their countrymen of the new order of 
 things even now under way. 
 
Paralleling a world made safe for democracy, will be the 
 strengthening of democratic government within each nation. 
 And this will mean the enlargement of "government of the 
 people, by the people, for the people"; greater power, more 
 privileges, and better opportunities for the masses. And I 
 doubt if there is a State in the Union as well prepared to 
 adjust itself to the new conditions as they develop as is Cali- 
 fornia. This is due to the advanced humanitarian legislation 
 already on our statute books. Upon such lines, if the signs of 
 the times be read aright, though more far reaching, more "rad- 
 ical," will the more important of our future laws be based, not 
 only here but in the other States and in the Nation at large. 
 The "radicalism" can best be tempered by recognizing the sig- 
 nificance of world events, the part our country is playing in 
 them, the effect upon our soldiers abroad and our people here 
 at home and a determination not to oppose, but to propose, to 
 recognize that we are facing a condition, not a theory, and, 
 within reasonable limits, to cheerfully accept it and assist it. 
 
 How far the States go will depend, in large part, upon 
 how far the Federal Government goes. As now constituted, the 
 Administration at Washington undoubtedly would go very far. 
 And while Federal laws have limited, or no, scope within a 
 State, they are supreme as between States, and the influence of 
 example would be very strong under such circumstances. 
 
 CALIFORNIA'S HUMANITARIAN RECORD. 
 
 How do we stand in California today? What has been 
 the legislation intended for the better welfare of and greater 
 rule by the people, especially in recent years? Among other 
 things, we have the initiative, the referendum and the recall, 
 the elimination of the judiciary from partisan politics, a direct 
 primary law in place of the old convention system, suffrage for 
 women, the direct election of United States Senators, strong 
 laws for the protection of women and children, and for the 
 safeguarding and advancement of labor, as indicated by the 
 Industrial Accident Commission, the Commission of Immigration 
 and Housing, the Industrial Welfare Commission, and so on. 
 We have, too, the State Water Commission, the alien land act, 
 the Land Settlement Act, as at the Durham Colony; the so- 
 called blue-sky law, affecting corporations; the State Commis- 
 sion Market, the weights-and-measures act, the Rural Credits 
 Commission and the Social Insurance Commission, both to 
 investigate and report, and many others, all pointing the same 
 way, some more effective than others, some more meritorious, 
 some misunderstood, some generally favored and some opposed. 
 
 382790 
 
In any event, a distinct start has been made in California: 
 the foundation has been laid upon which to build in accordance 
 with changes the world war is bringing to pass, as interpreted 
 by many of the nation's political and industrial leaders. Charles 
 M. Schwab, the great ironmaster, for instance, declares that 
 after the war there will be no aristocracy of wealth, but a new 
 order of things, the brotherhood of man. 
 
 FURTHER STEPS ADVOCATED. 
 
 The conscription of idle acres is being preached with 
 renewed vigor; the State Government is urged more strongly 
 than ever to assist producers and consumers in really getting 
 together that prices may be reduced; the public ownership of 
 all public utilities is demanded more forcibly than ever; the 
 farmer and the laborer, through various organizations more or 
 less representative of one or the other, are insisting upon rep- 
 resentation, as such, in various departments of the State Gov- 
 ernment; the "federation of all irrigation systems under State 
 auspices" has advocates; and so forth and so on, from partly 
 conservative to liberal, and from liberal to strongly socialistic. 
 
 We are face to face with adjustments of the gravest 
 import. "Sincere thinking" and "genuine action" certainly are 
 required, as the President has said; but that is not all. Intelli- 
 gence, honesty of purpose, courage and patriotism also are 
 essential. We are demanding enduring world peace and admit 
 such a peace can only come if based upon justice. And so, 
 too, we must proceed within the Nation and within the States, 
 if we are to have social, economic and political peace at home. 
 
 PROBLEMS OF WAR AND PEACE. 
 
 The greatest thing before the country today is the win- 
 ning of the war. To that end each State, as well as each citi- 
 zen, should contribute to the limit. No other issue can compare 
 with this. 
 
 And next to it in importance is to meet, here at home, as 
 they should be met, the problems the war has developed and 
 which peace will accentuate. Particularly pressing now, and 
 one that will become more so, is the problem of the medical 
 care and re-education along vocational lines of disabled sol- 
 diers men who cannot be made fit to fight again. And then 
 will come, with the end of the war, the great question of the 
 reabsorption into civil life of the millions of returned soldiers, 
 munition workers and others who were engaged in war indus- 
 tries. 
 
 Let us briefly review, as to the first of these problems, 
 what is being done in Europe, and then as to what is being 
 done and planned in the United States. 
 
EUROPE AND THE DISABLED GERMANY. 
 
 In Germany, as in all the nations engaged in the war, the 
 medical care of the disabled is distinctly a governmental func- 
 tion. Until the man is made as physically fit as possible and 
 is in a condition to be discharged, he remains in the army or 
 the navy, under military rule. If minus a leg or an arm, or both, 
 he is fully equipped with artificial limbs by the government 
 free of cost, and these appendages are kept in repair without 
 expense to him, and, likewise, replaced if necessary. 
 
 But, in Germany, with the discharge of the man, the 
 Imperial Government washes its hands of all financial respon- 
 sibility. The re-education, the vocational training of the ex- 
 soldier, is a burden thrown upon the people at large. Certain 
 of the states supervise the work and a few assist financially, 
 but in the main the various communities must meet the obliga- 
 tion. Likewise, the matter of placement, of securing employ- 
 ment, is not a governmental task. Yet despite this lack of 
 unity in system, or of central control, the work is well done. 
 Another illustration of the wisdom of preparedness. Out of her 
 industrial situation, Germany learned a great lesson. So came 
 hospital development and an adequate employment system. 
 
 ENGLAND'S WAY. 
 
 In England, the disabled soldier and his family are cared 
 for by the government, not only while he is under medical treat- 
 ment, but also during the period of occupational training. And 
 through a comprehensive national system of employment 
 bureaus the problem of placement is solved as far as prac- 
 ticable. 
 
 THE FRENCH METHOD. 
 
 In France, after physical rehabilitation has been accom- 
 plished as far as it can be, the vocational re-education passes 
 into the hands of schools, either owned by individuals, cor- 
 porations or public bodies, but all under national supervision 
 and aided financially by the state. The family of the soldier, in 
 the meantime, continues to draw his governmental allowance, 
 or, if a pension has been granted, to live upon it, any loss as 
 between the pension and allowance being made up by the gov- 
 ernment. Placement, is fairly well looked after by a department 
 of the government which keeps in touch with employers and 
 laborers. 
 
 HOW IT IS DONE IN ITALY. 
 
 In Italy the system resembles that of France, but there 
 are not enough vocational schools or sufficient equipment in 
 many of them. The government has been lax in this regard, 
 
but is awakening to the necessity of action. Those who seek 
 re-education must remain under army control for a minimum 
 period of six months. In Italy re-education is an especially 
 serious problem, since eighty per cent of the soldiers are peas- 
 ants with no background of experience. 
 
 CANADA AND THE WOUNDED. 
 
 Up in Canada, our great neighbor on the north, the med- 
 ical care of disabled soldiers and sailors is in charge of a high- 
 class committee named by the government. Vocational educa- 
 tion Is left, largely, to the provinces and communities, while 
 the work of placement is practically entirely left to local effort. 
 Great consideration is shown the men by the Dominion Govern- 
 ment. When a soldier is discharged from the hospital, the com- 
 mittee at his home town is immediately notified, and if the 
 trip is a long one, committees along the route, at selected points, 
 are requested to show him every attention. 
 
 VOCATIONAL RE-EDUCATION. 
 
 In Germany, the vocational re-education of the disabled 
 soldier begins, where practicable, in the hospital while he is 
 still under medical treatment and military control. This is due 
 largely to the fact that the government refuses to bear any part 
 of the cost of occupational training after the man's discharge, 
 and so the communities seek to cut down this expense by begin- 
 ning instruction as soon as the military doctors permit. 
 
 In England, France and Italy this plan is not followed 
 generally. There is a difference of opinion as to the wisdom 
 of it Yet if not undertaken too soon, if held within bounds, the 
 policy would seem to be commendable as tending to hasten the 
 recovery of the patient by diverting his mind from his misfor- 
 tune, and likewise to hasten the time when he can again 
 become a useful member of the civil community. 
 
 The policy in Europe is to base a man's reeducation upon 
 his past occupation, as far as practicable, and to have him 
 return to his former community, among relatives, friends and 
 acquaintances. While a discharged soldier, free of military 
 lule, cannot be forced to undergo re-education, every induce- 
 ment in reason is held out to persuade him to do so. He is 
 urged not to be content to eke out an existence upon his pen- 
 sion, but to continue to play the part of a man; to produce as 
 well as consume. 
 
 OPPORTUNITY, NOT CHARITY. 
 
 The nations no longer follow the policies of the past. 
 They recognize their duty to the injured soldier, and the sol- 
 
dier's duty to them. The movement is all away from the old 
 soldiers' homes, inactivity, charity, the peddling of pencils and 
 shoestrings, and toward private homes, activity, self-respect, the 
 building up of man that he can do his part in building up the 
 nation. National pride and gratitude, as well as national econ- 
 omy, call for rehabilitation. The governments must stand pre- 
 pared to do their parts. And the American ex-soldier, despite 
 more or less disappointment to date in European countries, it 
 is believed, can be counted upon, very generally, to do his part 
 to recognize both his duty and his opportunity. 
 
 But the opportunity should be in evidence. Time should 
 not be lost between the ending of medical treatment and the 
 beginning of vocational re-education. Habits that might come 
 from idleness, pampering by the family and over-attention by 
 the local public should not be given a chance. The disabled 
 soldier is a hero now, but as time passes the glamour will go. 
 History and human nature tell us this. For his own sake as 
 well as the country's the returned soldier should be started 
 right without loss of time. 
 
 WHAT IS AMERICA DOING? 
 
 And how is America meeting or preparing to meet the 
 problems of medical treatment, vocational re-education and 
 placement? The Federal Government must lead and the State 
 Governments follow. We may rest assured that in the matter 
 of hospital care and medical attention nothing will be left 
 undone by our Government, that no nation in Europe will do 
 more for its disabled soldiers. Our State Governments, as such, 
 will take no direct part in this great work. The men will still 
 be under military rule. 
 
 But with the discharge of the soldier as physically fit to 
 re-enter civil life, comes the question of his future. The oppor- 
 tunity then will fce presented to the states of working with the 
 Federal Government along re-educational and placement lines, 
 or of taking up the task where the latter lays it down. What 
 the soldier will seek, and what the people should be prepared 
 to give him, is not charity but opportunity. In Germany, the 
 government says: "There is no such thing as a cripple if the 
 will exists in the man to overcome his disability"; that soldiers 
 discharged from the army because no longer fit to fight must 
 be distributed among the people "as though nothing had hap- 
 pened." This policy is wise, economically. It is for the best 
 interest of society and the men themselves. But it should be 
 carried out in a humane manner and not with German ruth- 
 lessness 
 
TWO REHABILITATION ACTS. 
 
 Congress has passed two Important acts to provide for 
 the re-education and placement of disabled men of the military 
 and naval service. The laws are closely related, although one 
 includes civilians and was under consideration before we 
 entered the war. The first of these measures to be passed is 
 known as the Smith-Hughes Act, and the second as the Smith- 
 Sears Act. 
 
 The latter, which I will discuss more in detail further 
 along, is based on the theory that inasmuch as the number of 
 disabled men will not fall upon the various states proportion- 
 ately, according to the number of men enlisted or drafted from 
 each, therefore the Federal Government, in equity, should 
 assume, as far as practicable, the burden of rehabilitation, and 
 cover the cost by general taxation. 
 
 THE SMITH-HUGHES ACT. 
 
 Realizing, however, that this great work could best be 
 done in conjunction with the state governments, and, in fact, 
 that the latter are as much concerned in the task of social 
 re-establishment as is the Federal Government, Congress also 
 enacted, or, to be accurate, amplified, the Smith-Hughes law. 
 As far back as 1909. the theory underlying this measure was 
 approved, and a bill introduced in Congress. In 1913 legislation 
 was enacted as applied to agriculture. But it was not until 
 February, 1917, that the present law became effective, and not 
 until July of that year, after we had entered the war, that the 
 Vocational Education Board, charged with the administration of 
 the act, began operations. Originally intended to meet a dis- 
 quieting situation in the nation, then at peace, it now fits in 
 most encouragingly in working out the problem of the re-educa- 
 tion and placement of the men who have fought their country's 
 battles. 
 
 In brief, the Smith-Hughes Act provides a scheme of 
 co-operation between the Federal Government and the States 
 for the promotion of vocational education in fields of agricul- 
 ture, trade, home economics and industry along lines of com- 
 mon, wage-earning employment 
 
 The Federal Government does not undertake the organiza- 
 tion and immediate direction of vocational training in the states, 
 but will closely supervise the work and from year to year make 
 financial contributions for its support, giving dollar for dollar 
 as each state gives, within the limit of its own appropriation 
 as fixed by law. 
 
 The money set aside by Congress for this purpose is based 
 on a graduated scale, the amount increasing year by year up to 
 
1926, when the maximum will be reached. This maximum will 
 then become the annual appropriation by the Federal Govern- 
 ment thereafter, to continue indefinitely. The total grant for 
 the fiscal year of 1917-18 was $1,860,000 and for 1925-26 will be 
 $7,367,000. The contribution by the states will double this 
 amount, or a grand total of nearly $15,000,000, as of that year, 
 for example. The appropriation is solely for the salaries of 
 teachers, supervisors and directors, and it is obvious, therefore, 
 that other large sums of money will be required for buildings, 
 equipment and many other purposes. Each state which desires 
 to co-operate with the Federal Government, must name a Voca- 
 tional Education Board of three members to carry on the work. 
 
 THE SMITH-SEARS ACT. 
 
 The Smith-Sears Act provides for the "vocational rehabili- 
 tation and return to civil employment of disabled persons dis- 
 charged i'rom the military or naval forces of the United States." 
 This is applicable to any such person entitled, after discharge, 
 to compensation under the act creating the Bureau of War-Risk 
 Insurance. Any such person is entitled not only to free instruc- 
 tion but to "receive monthly compensation equal to the amount 
 of his monthly pay for the last month of his active service," or 
 equal to the compensation due him, "which ever amount is the 
 greater." The training is not compulsory. The soldier, sailor, 
 marine or aviator may "elect" to take it, or not, as he pleases. 
 
 In the matter of occupational re-education, it cannot "be 
 carried on in any hospital until the medical authorities certify 
 that the condition of the patient is such as to justify such 
 teaching." 
 
 Among the duties of the Federal Board of Vocational Edu- 
 cation the body charged with the duty of putting this law into 
 effect is the studying of employment problems, and "to pro- 
 vide for the placement of rehabilitated persons in suitable or 
 gainful occupations," to utilize the facilities of the Department 
 of Labor and otherwise avail itself of all agencies that will 
 assist to the end desired. 
 
 The act carries an appropriation of $2,000,000. Of this 
 sum, $250,000 may be used for renting and remodeling buildings, 
 repairing and equipping same; $545,000 for the preparation and 
 salaries of instructors, supervisors and other experts; $250,000 
 for the traveling expenses of disabled persons, subsistence and 
 so on; $545,000 for tuition; $45,000 for placement and super- 
 vision after placement; $55,000 for studies, investigations, 
 reports, etc.; $110,000 for miscellaneous contingencies, special 
 appliances and so on: and $200,000 for administrative expenses, 
 salaries, traveling, rent, equipment of offices, postage and so 
 forth and so on. 
 
THE STATES MUST HELP. 
 
 While the main idea underlying the enactment of the 
 Smith-Sears Act, as already pointed out, is that the Federal 
 Government, as a matter of equity, shall provide and pay for 
 the vocational education of the disabled men, it is clear that 
 the appropriation of $2,000,000 will not furnish sufficient money 
 for the purpose, and so it will have to be augmented from time 
 to time by Congress, or else the states must assist. 
 
 Since the Smith-Hughes Act merely calls for co-operation 
 in the matter of providing funds for the payment of salaries, a 
 very wide gap is left, and presumably the task of supplying 
 buildings, equipment and so on will fall upon the states. It 
 may be that along this line the states will find their best oppor- 
 tunity for endeavor and cooperation. In any event, it is 
 obvious that the states must aid, liberally and intelligently, in 
 the work of re-education and placement. The immediate prob- 
 lem is to ascertain how best this co-operation can be brought 
 about 
 
 The forty-eight states are now co-operating under the 
 terms of the Smith-Hughes Act. For the fiscal year 1918-19, 
 New York will receive the largest allotment, the amount being 
 $226,343.14, while California will receive $58,021.64. The total 
 of the government's allotment is $2,307,460.44. Multiply this by 
 two, and the grand total available will be obtained, on the 
 dollar-for-dollar basis, or $4,614.920.88. 
 
 In Massachusetts the legislative body has passed, or will 
 do so, a bill establishing a "Division of the Board of Education 
 for the Training and Instruction of Disabled Soldiers and Sailors 
 and to Authorize the Federal Government to use State Institu- 
 tions and Resources." That organization may be effected, $10,- 
 000 will be made immediately effective, and the General Court 
 is authorized to set aside further money for this work as the 
 needs arise. 
 
 CALIFORNIA TO DATE. 
 
 California is co-operating as far as practicable, but inas- 
 much as the Legislature of this State has not met since the 
 spring of 1917, nothing, of course, has been done along legisla- 
 tive lines. The State Board of Control and the State Controller, 
 who are in charge of the emergency fund, have met, as far as 
 legal and practicable, the war requests of the Federal Govern- 
 ment, as in the food control campaign, alien enemy work, and 
 so forth and so on. But nothing material has been done look- 
 ing to the re-education of soldiers and sailors and their place- 
 ment when ready to enter civil life again. 
 
The problem calls for the most earnest consideration by 
 the Governor and the Legislature of 1919. California must stand 
 ready, must be prepared, to do her part sanely and generously. 
 Legislation providing for the fullest co-operation with the Fed- 
 eral Government must be enacted, and also for placing the 
 State Government in a position to go beyond this joint action 
 in the care, education and placement of men disabled in the 
 service of their country. 
 
 MUST LOOK BEYOND 1919. 
 
 But this is by no means all. Inasmuch as the war may 
 be over before the legislative session of 1921, the Legislature 
 of 1919 must give thought, and must act, looking forward to the 
 time when the soldiers and sailors, not disabled, are discharged 
 from the military and naval service of the Nation, ready to 
 return to civil life, together with hundreds of thousands of 
 others who have been engaged in strictly war industries and 
 whose occupations, with the coming of peace, will be gone. 
 These men must be taken back into the ordinary walks of life 
 with as little disturbance of business and labor conditions as 
 possible. Undoubtedly, the process of disarmament will be slow, 
 and this delay will aid considerably in meeting the issue of 
 reabsorption. But at best, the problem will prove a tremendous 
 one. 
 
 Old positions have been filled, co-ordinated, or abolished. 
 The exigencies caused by war have developed new ways of 
 doing things, as the successful employment of women in many 
 lines of work heretofore thought to belong to men only; or 
 have shown that some things need not be done at all. In the 
 great majority of instances, the returned fighters must make a 
 new start, must begin all over again the "earning of livings" 
 for themselves and their families. 
 
 There will be two classes of people to reckon with after 
 the war, declared Lloyd George, recently. The millions who 
 faced death daily and those at home who were racked by 
 anxiety, will have their vision broadened, will be wiser and 
 better. But against them are the other millions who have 
 endured all sorts of wretchedness, pain and terror, and "who 
 have made up their minds to have a good time for the rest of 
 their lives when the war is over." The issue is not a local one, 
 although each State of the Union can and must aid, nor is it 
 wholly national; it is international. The entire civilized world 
 is involved. Not only must the world be made safe for democ- 
 racy, but democracy must be made safe for the world. To this 
 end, every governmental unit must strive. 
 
AMERICAN PROBLEMS. 
 
 We of America have been spared the horrors that have 
 come upon the people of Belgium, France, Russia, Servia, 
 Rumania, Poland and even England and Germany; but while 
 we face a different situation, and our problems may not be as 
 acute, still the readjustment that must take place in the United 
 States after the end of the war will be fraught with very grave 
 peril to the Nation and will call for the highest statesmanship. 
 
 The President, his advisers and others, with the good of 
 the country at heart, have given and are giving very earnest 
 thought to the future. Secretary of the Interior Lane is plan- 
 ning to ask legislation by which the arid lands of the West, the 
 cut-over lands of the Northwest and the swamp lands of the 
 Middle West and South can be reclaimed, and the returned sol- 
 dier, sailor and war industry worker be given a preferred status 
 in the allotment upon easy terms, with the opportunity to assist 
 in the construction of irrigation projects and so on, thus being 
 paid for his labor while developing his farm. Much of this land 
 is in private ownership, and non-productive at the present time, 
 from a variety of causes. Legislation not only upon the part 
 of the Federal Government will be required, but also by the 
 states, before the plan in view can be put into full execution. 
 Co-operation will be necessary between Washington, the states 
 and individual owners of land. And in addition, there are the 
 more fertile acres held in great tracts by wealthy owners, and 
 uncultivated. Will this be tolerated further in the face of a 
 crisis? 
 
 WHERE CALIFORNIA COULD HELP. 
 
 Under the terms of the Carey Act, government owned 
 desert lands, mostly in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, 
 so far as California is concerned, could be utilized, although 
 their utilization would involve the expenditure of a vast amount 
 of money. But there are numerous individual owners of large 
 desert tracts, who, unable to develop them because of the lack 
 of water and prohibitive cost of irrigation systems, would be 
 glad to make arrangements with the State whereby, for instance, 
 they would relinquish ownership of a certain proportion of their 
 holdings to the State if supplied with sufficient water to care 
 for the acreage they would retain. 
 
 We have in California, as already mentioned, a land settle- 
 ment project under State law, as represented in the colonization 
 work near Durham, in Butte County. Incidentally, Senator 
 Hiram W. Johnson is preparing a bill along similar lines for 
 introduction in Congress, to develop Federal colonization. This 
 State law, perhaps, could be amplified to meet the desert-land 
 
situation, or, if not, special legislation could be enacted, if 
 deemed wise. And we have, also, our school lands, the property 
 of the State. The best of these holdings are now in private 
 ownership, but perhaps a certain proportion of what remains 
 could be brought under water and made productive. 
 
 The development of idle acres would prove of double 
 service in helping to solve the problem of readjustment. It 
 would, first, materially relieve the strain in the matter of plac- 
 ing ex-soldiers, sailors and munition workers, and to that extent 
 minimize the disturbance to business and labor, and, second, it 
 also would increase production, lower the cost of living, 
 strengthen the Nation's available resources, increase its wealth, 
 and further guarantee the people against want and deprivation, 
 whether due to war, drouth or other causes. 
 
 THE INDUSTRIAL ASPECT. 
 
 Along industrial lines the problem of replacement is more 
 complicated. What will be the attitude of employers? What 
 will be the attitude of Union Labor? In several of the Euro- 
 pean countries, labor is looking with apprehension, even now, 
 upon the vocationally educated ex-soldier, who, though no 
 longer able to fight, is sufficiently rehabilitated physically to 
 earn his living by the sweat of his brow. Employers as a class 
 are reported to be less concerned, but perturbed, nevertheless, 
 over such phases of the labor problem as industrial accidents, 
 workmen's compensation, and so on, fearing higher insurance 
 rates, lower efficiency and added expense. 
 
 And if these questions are now arising, with only the dis- 
 abled to be reckoned with, how acute will the situation become 
 when the war is over and millions of men soldiers, sailors and 
 war industry workers clamor for employment, for the means 
 of livelihood? 
 
 And what of those who will want anything but work, the 
 element Lloyd George fears? 
 
 HIGH STATESMANSHIP REQUIRED. 
 
 To repeat, the highest qualities of patriotism, statesman- 
 ship and humanity must be called into play to meet the issue. 
 The civilized world is concerned. So, too, each nation, and 
 each part of each nation. In the United States, while the issue 
 primarily is for the Federal Government to meet, yet each state 
 must do its part. California faces a great task. No Legisla- 
 ture which has preceded the body that will assemble on the 
 first Monday in January, 1919 to repeat and force home this 
 point ever had a greater responsibility resting upon it or a 
 greater opportunity. Justice must be done to the returned fight- 
 
ers and those who labored in the munition plants and in other 
 work. But injustice must not be done to those not of these 
 classes. The problem of readjustment will prove exceedingly 
 delicate. 
 
 WAR AND THE TAX BURDEN. 
 
 It should be obvious to all that the cost of government 
 in the United States, Federal and state, has been heavily 
 increased by the war, and it is equally obvious this trend .will 
 continue while the readjustments that must take place after 
 the coming of peace, are whipped into shape. In fact, insofar 
 as the states are concerned, they will feel the burden more 
 heavily and directly under peace than under war. 
 
 That there has been a tremendous advance in the cost of 
 government, Federal and state, during the past two decades, 
 particularly the last, is beyond dispute an advance out of pro- 
 portion to the increase in population or wealth, and probably 
 income. This has been due, in large measure, to the assump- 
 tion of new functions, particularly along social welfare lines. 
 
 But it also has been due, in very large part, to the lack 
 of business efficiency in the conduct of government. Our 
 various forms of government have not been developed along 
 well-defined lines. They have "just growed," like Topsy. No 
 vision-inspired man, or group of men, at the National Capital 
 or in any of the states, in the beginning saw far enough ahead 
 to appreciate the necessity of a comprehensive scheme that 
 could be worked out with time and added to as the necessity 
 arose, each part being in harmony with the others and all 
 responding to the central idea, thus avoiding overlapping, unnec- 
 essary cost, waste of time and effort, and bringing about, 
 instead, clearness, promptness and efficiency. 
 
 HOW IT HAPPENED HERE. 
 
 And so it has been in the State of California. During 
 the sixty-eight years of the government's existence there has 
 been little effort to eliminate or co-ordinate as the years went 
 by, bringing with them new developments and new responsibili- 
 ties. We have met each new situation more as a thing apart 
 than as related to the governmental structure as a whole. And 
 as a result, we have an edifice out of proportion, lacking unity 
 of design, far too extensive, duplicating purposes, and unneces- 
 sarily costly in construction and maintenance. 
 
 It is very unfortunate, although natural enough, that the 
 moment discussion is started as to the cost of government, the 
 political factor is brought forward. This has been conspicu- 
 ously so in California in recent years. 
 
THE COMMISSIONS. 
 
 The cry against "commissions and more commissions" 
 has been so loud and persistent, on the one hand, and so vocif- 
 erously responded to, on the other, that the truth of the situa* 
 tion as to this particular development not only has become 
 obscured, but attention has been diverted almost entirely from 
 the fact that the State Government as an institution, as a 
 whole, is urgently in need of very extended reorganization, 
 affecting not only newly created units, but many old ones. 
 
 The functions assumed during recent years by the State 
 Government of California are being discharged in the main by 
 new commissions, of which there has been so much said in 
 criticism as well as praise. These commissions were put on 
 one at a time, much after the manner of the State Government's 
 development from its beginning, and consequently there has 
 been duplication, here and there, and other evils. But the legis- 
 lation underlying them, even if not always put into effect along 
 the wisest lines, has been largely humanitarian in purpose; 
 intended for the advancement and safeguarding of the social 
 welfare. And the result is that California today is better pre- 
 pared to meet the situation that will come upon the country 
 with peace than probably any other state in the Union. 
 
 But it is also true that the more efficiently this work is 
 conducted the better will be the result. And there is no doubt 
 that room exists, insofar as the new commissions are con- 
 cerned, for co-ordination and elimination. The tendency to 
 create new boards and commissions for the handling of new 
 functions or the enlargement of old ones, as against the assign- 
 ment of these duties to related existing agencies of government, 
 has been very pronounced. Thus has come waste of time, 
 energy and money. There has been a measure of truth in the 
 attacks upon the commissions, and a measure of truth in their 
 defense. Each side has been partly right, but not willing to 
 admit it as to the other. So much because of the political con- 
 siderations involved. 
 
 BUSINESS METHODS THE NEED. 
 
 What is required is an administration and a Legislature 
 that will approach the matter not only as to the new commis- 
 sions but the entire organization of the State Government in 
 a broad, businesslike manner, free of partisanship, and with a 
 desire to bring about real economies insofar as it can be done 
 without loss of real efficiency, always bearing in mind the safe- 
 guarding and advancement of humanitarian legislation. And 
 this will involve, to repeat and emphasize, not only much done 
 in the last eight years, but much done in the preceding sixty. 
 
A NEW CONSTITUTION. 
 
 What the State Government is in need of is a new conl 
 stitution a constitution brief and to the point, covering tin 
 fundamentals, and leaving other things to statutory enactment! 
 But this, if ever brought to pass, will require years. There \\il[ 
 be need of much preliminary work along educational lines, 
 say nothing of the time required to comply with the law reiat 
 ing to the submission of such a scheme to the people. 
 
 WHAT CAN BE DONE NOW. 
 
 In the meantime, however, there is nothing to preven| 
 action by the Legislature as to co-ordination and eliminatioi 
 insofar as statutory enactments are concerned. There shoul< 
 be first, however, an investigation by trained men and a repoi 
 made by them for the guidance of the lawmakers. And mat 
 much as this situation has been made a political issue, such 
 report should have been laid before the public in the priniar 
 campaign, that the various candidates might have been pu| 
 definitely on record. There has been too great an indulgence 
 generalities. 
 
 Our first duty, let it be emphasized, is to strain everj 
 effort to win the war, and as speedily as possible; our secom 
 to make provision for the care of the returned fighters and wa| 
 industry workers; and our third, to reduce the excessive cos 
 of government, state, county and city to curtail to the limi| 
 consistent with efficiency. 
 
 THE SITUATION IS ACUTE. 
 
 And if the necessity existed before America becamj 
 involved in the war, how tremendously more necessary it 
 now : 
 
 To the unnecessarily heavy tax burdens we have brougl 
 upon ourselves, must be added those that have come with tt 
 war and which peace will intensify; in addition to the pre-wi 
 encroachments by the Federal Government upon several of tl 
 main sources of state revenue, and the only too obvious fa< 
 that these encroachments are increasing and will continue 
 increase during years to come. On the one hand, to emphasi: 
 the gravity of the case, the cost has been running up and wi 
 continue to do so even more rapidly from now on, while, on tl 
 other, valuable sources of revenue are endangered. There is 
 limit even to taxation. A source of governmental revenue ci 
 stand so much and no more. It is not necessary to reach tl 
 point of confiscation. 
 
 So we are in trouble, serious trouble, coming and goinj 
 The situation was bad enough before 1917; it is now acut 
 Patriotism demands that we meet it promptly and intelligentl 
 
Cayford Broac, 
 
 Maker* 
 Syracuse, N. Y. 
 PAT.JM.2t, 190ft 
 
 
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