The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1876-01-13
Governors Message.
To ae General Assembly of.ohio.

| To 1e General Assembly Of Ohio:
You have assembled in your honorable
and important capacity of law-givers to the
people of the State. At the outstart of YOU
session, it may be well for you to consider
whether the public interests will not be besi
subserved by a prudent and determined
inquiry for means to reduce the expenses oi
the State and local governments, and relieve
| the people from as much of the burden oi
taxation that is now weighing them down az
possible, rather than by excessive legislation
with which former General Assemblies have
bewildered the people. Changing circun.
stances, Of course, require notifications in
| the laws, and new statutes are needed, from
time to time, to meet contingencies; but, in
my Judgment, the path of wisdom leads
away from wholesale legislation, in the
| direction of prudent and conservative
| course, which will not incumber our statute
| books with laws of doubtful necessity, or
add to the confusion of our people by changes
of doubtful utility. Statutes should be al.
lowed to stand until they are tested, and
slight imperfections are better borne than
the utter chaos and uncertainty into which
the public mind is thrown by constant
changing of the laws. A little law well un-
derstood and strictly executed will better
subserve the public good than tones oil
statutes which have been amended beyond
the comprehension of the people.
The last General Assembly proposed two
amendments to the Constitution of the
State for adoption or rejection by the
electors. One provides for a Commission
"to dispose of such part of the business on
the dockets of the Supreme Court as shall,
by arrangement between said Commission
and said Court, be transferred to such Com
mission" )" and the other was intended to
10 Co. apGn n
ments were voted upon at the election held
on the 18th day of October last. The former
was adopted, and has been declared part
of the Constitution of the State. The latter
was rejected.
The following is brief summary Of the
present financial condition of the State:
On the 18th day of November, 1874, the
public funded debt Of the State sSs 2o5 so
The redemptions during the year were
Loan OF 2O0 90
Loan of 2O,os5 IS -SS,2S5 Is
Outstanding November Is, 1s75...-"s7, ,s4s, $40 II
OF the amount outstanding on the 18th of
November, the sum of 81, ,16500 had ceased
to draw interest, the holders thereof having
been notified to surrender their stock for re-
| demption, so that the Understanding funded
debt of the State is 81 ,945, ,755.12.
On the 29th of November last Hon. Isaac
| Welsh, Treasurer of State, after lingering
illness, departed this life, leaving vacancy
which filled by the appointment of his son,
Leroy w. Welsh. Mr.. Welsh was near the
expiration of his second term in this respon.
sible and honorable Office, which he filled
with great efficiency and to the entire salts.
faction of all who had business with that
department. He was an unassuming: intel
hgent and honorable man, and won the re-
| nd oanHdapaa of oil yuhn Enpyv him
Our State benevolent, reformatory and
penal institutions are, in the main, in o
fiourishing condition, and fulfilling the wise
purposes of their creation.
The penitentiary is unusually crowded,
but the reports of the Warden and Directors
make a gratifying exhibit respecting the
general health, discipline and financial man
agement, showing surplus of earnings fol
the year of about twenty thousand dollar:
over and above its current expenses. Avery
considerable number of the convicts are
serving under sentences for offenses which
it seems to me, might be punished as well II
our county jails. Men are serving out sen
lenses for petty burglaries and forgeries
generally committed under the stress of ne
cessity, in which little items of clothing O
provisions, or small sums of money, only
are involved. 1t is question worthy o
your consideration, whether there could no
be grades in forgery and burglary, as ther,
are in larceny, so that petty offenders, whit
have not given evidence of being hardened
in crime, may be imprisoned in the count.
jails, instead of the penitentiary.
My immediate predecessor called the at
tention of the General Assembly to the mat
ter of inequality in sentence to Penitentiary
l fully indorse his views on the subject ant
invite you to consider the great injustice fire
uuently done to men and women who are NOR
unfortunate than criminal, by the unequa
sentence pronounced by the Courts. Tn
peculiar temperament or condition OF tn
Judge, or the attendals influences in com
munity, as frequently mold the character o
the sentence as the circumstances of the case
Men are serving under sentences OF thirt
years for precisely the same crimes TO
which other men are serving terms OF thre
years. There should be some mode o
amending the errors of Courts in this matter
OF course, the pardoning power can rectif
the irregularity; but it would be better t
remove, as far as possible, the necessity o
, the interposition of Executive clemenc,
1t is a matter worthy of your earnest consit
} Grafton.
The work of construction on the Centr,
Ohio Hospital for the Insane has progresse
/, satisfactorily during the past year, and
, now SO far advanced as to justify the opir
l ion that the edifce may be completed an
: made ready for the reception of patients b
the middle of November next. The Con
missioners of Construction estimate that, i
! addition to the unexpended balance on han
of former appropriations, which, on Noyen
/ ber 15, 1875, amounted to the sum Of Sill
1926, there will be required to be appr
T priated to pay reserves on contracts con
s pleted, finishing all existing contracts NJ
i completed, and to meet the demands II
a work yet to be placed under contract, IL
!, sum of $220,000. They also estimate tn
d the sum of 900 will be required to pr
n vide the necessary furniture for the bull
ing, including the fixtures and furniture I,
o the bakery, laundry and other domestic d
e partments, making the gross sum of $780,
t to finish and furnish the building. The a
|; tual amount paid out in the construction
d the hospital building from the commenc
3 81, ,001 ,276.05. Add the upexpended balan
of Sill ,232.95 to the $220,000 addition
n asked to complete the edifce, and the rest
s is the sum of 81 1882 500, as the total cost
e the structure when completed.
: Iseriously question the wisdom of bull
ing State institutions of such unwieldy pr
l. portions and at such enormous cost. 1t
'i one of the growing evils Of the day, whi
Is should be curbed by legislation. Consid'
'e ing its size and character, this is not an c
pensive building; but the same money G
'r pended on three or four smaller institution
le properly located, would, in my judgmel
n have much better subserved the interests
=, the insane. In appropriations for futu
II public buildings, this is matter worthy t
d. consideration of the General Assemb
:, The Board of Construction and the offic'
Us under them, have been faithful and emerge
o. and they have pushed the mammoth STR
=, ture toward completion at speed wort
W of hearty commendation.
y The Constitution places the power OF
n y pointment of Boards of State institutions
o.. the hands of the Executive. Although
Oh "adviee and consent" of the Senate is
tIe t.1e quired to confirm and make binding the
~, ton of the Governor, heis, nevertheless, h
ca responsible to the public for the offic
OF character of his appointees. He shou
therefore, have greater range to his power
70 removal. Under the laws as they exist
n et' Governor is utterly powerless to get rid
VI an incompetent or immoral appointee
on many of our institutions. The law geners
,aS authorizes removal "for cause" and Il
Sc specifies the cause to be financial turpitu
Oh He may be immoral, incompetent, or wa
70 full, but if some financial delinquency
es, not be prov ed against him, he can not