The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1858-09-30

long Democrat. How, then, will Dem
ocrats get political capital out of this
item? And as this extra appropriation
will account for one half Of the indebt-
edness created. under Republican rule,
we can likewise point to the expenditures
incident to the Constitutional Conven-
ton, S27 ,O00--to the appropriation to
Agricultural Societies, S5,OOO--to the
Blind Asylum, 7,0o0-to the Deaf and
Dumb institute, 7,0o0-to Special APP
preparations, SO, 5O0-to the Geological
Survey, O,00O--to the Iowa Supreme
Court Reports, $4,000 the removal
Of the Capital, and various other items
of extraordinary expenditure, voted by
Democrats and Republicans alike-we
say we can point to these items to show
where the other half of the appropria-
ton has gone. The exhibit does not
warrant the deductions of Mr.. BARKER,
for instead of the State debt being FIVE
or six hundred thousand dollars, it is
but $685., 900, and instead Of its accru-
ing entirely under Republican rule, near
ly one-half of it was entailed upon us by
the operations OF the Democracy.
Mr.. BARKER spent some time over the
accounts of Mr.. MoRIARTY, late State
Printer. The only point complained of,
was. that Mr.. Moriarty had printed an
Appendix to the Journal Of both Houses,
in 1855, and charged for the same book
twice. The facts are these The lower
House ordered Mr.. Moriarty to print the
Appendix, and he did so. The Senate,
however, refused to order him to print it,
but he nevertheless did SO, and the Aud
tor allowed the charge. This was doubt
less an illegal charge, but instead Of
amounting to $4,000, as Mr. BARKER
stated, only reached the sum of So,
1t was allowed upon the argument that
the Senate had no right to refuse to order
the documents printed. The constitu-
ton requires that each House shall keep
and publish a record of its proceedings.
1t was contended that any report which
was received by either House was part Of
its proceedings, and must therefore be
published. But even granting that this
position was wrong, and that Moriarty
received more than his due, it i'll becomes
the Democracy to raise all this ado about
it, after quietly allowing their own friends
to act in the same manner. When Ma
HoNY IL DoRR, of Dubuque, were State
Printers, they had no authority from
either House for printing an Appendix,
but yet they did SO, and charged each
House separately for the same book, just
as Mr.. Moriarty did, although all they
had to do was to alter word in the title
page. Their Appendix consisted of a
very lengthy Report in reference to the
Des Moines River improvement, which
no man would have the patience to read
through, and which was almost totally
valueless ; while the appendix which Mr..
Moriarty printed, consisted of the Cen
sus Report, document both valuable
and useful. If it was wrong for Mortar
ty to charge for one appendix not order
ed, it was wrong for Mahony d. Dorr
TO charge for two, and Democrats, in
holding Republican officers responsible
for this expenditure, place a double
weight of similar character upon them
selves.
Mr.. BARRIER did not mention, and we
think no other Democrat will probably
have the fairness to say, what is the fact,
that under Republican retrenchment as
exhibited in the reduction of taxes, the
item of Printing will be less this term
than at any previous one since l849,
notwithstanding the work is much great
er. Mr.. Teesdale reports the whole ex-
penses of printing from May 1857 to
May 1853, at $4,000, being $4,000
less than was received by Palmer and
Paul in i849-5l, and $4,000 less than
was paid Mahony q Dorr, in 1895.
Not a word shall we hear from them
about this, but when Republican off
Ger attempts to get what Democrat
procured unquestioned, a great hue and
cry is raised, and the dear people are
very dis'nterestedly warned against
thieves and plunderers.
The only other matter of any promi-
hence, upon which Mr. BARK ER, touched
was in reference to the reputed decrease
in State tax for the present year, and in
speaking of this. he tried very hard to
make the audience believe that while the
per centage of tax had been reduced, the
Board of Equalization had raised the as
sessmenti in the different counties sufficient