Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1878-01-15
MIR. HOBART'S REPLY TO THE GOV
ERNOR

Mr. Controller Hobart appears in Sundays
Enterprise III an exhaustive replication to the
Governors special pleadings and the Treasur
er's arithmetic. The statement of his side OF
the case is made with singular clearness and
with temperance of tone which is altogether
admirable. He stands by his figures and reit-
crates his estimates and predictions. He pro-
duces the figures to show, beyond all mere
guess-work or matters of opinion, that unless
there be some legislation to change the present
rate of tax there will be nigh a half million of
money in the Treasury year hence, Also
he completely upsets Schoolings sophistries
and exposes the transparent fallacy of the
Governors extraordinary attitude upon the
Building fund question. Indeed, it is diff
cult to comprehend the completeness of an in
fatuation such as manifests itself in the Gov
errors clutch upon his State Prison hobby.
For the Executive of the State to babble as
Bradley does of the 'sacredness" of fund for
the building of jail is to discover something
closely akin to lunacy 1t is new principle
in law that man or State may not do with
its moneys juat what its lawmakers may
choose. In the case of the School Fund the
State is one of two parties to a contract. The
trainers of our Constitution thinking to pre-
vent the State from playing the part of a
spendthrift with the moneys set apart for edu
eating the rising generation, made the school
fund ''inviolabe," There little doubt of
- 6 +l,,'i
able if it be good policy for the State thus to
tie its hands and deny itself the discretionary
disposal of SO important part of its financial
system. But in the prison building business
the State is on both sides of the contract, if
contract there be. According to the Govern
ors remarkable sophistries, if a man once
starts to build him new house he has no right
to change his mind, no discretion or choice
save to 90 straight ahead with the work, hit
or miss. The fact is, the Governor is SO very
solicitous for his own perpetuation in office
and so fully determined to continue in the
good graces of the Washoeites, that he over
states his case The ''inviolabjity" Of the
Building, Fund means the completion of the
preposterous project of spending hall mil
lion or So of money in the erection of a new
prison in Washoe county. Last winter, dur
ing some debate upon the question of title to
the present prison, a certain limb Of the law
who is said to have lent helping hand to the
Governors reply to Hobart, was of no little
assistance in furnishing the proofs of the per-
feet validity Of the States title to the Curry
prison-grounds. The statement which APP
peared in the Enterprise Cn a report of certain
proceedings upon the House Of Refuge BID
was in that lawyers hand writing. Is the
Governor content with such advisers as this b?
Does he feel satisfied with his own position in
view Of the proven validity of the States own
ership of the said grounds! Last spring, after
the adjournment Of the Legislature, General
Kittrell, in order to perfect the prison title
went to southern California and procured Al |
yah 1Iitchell's signature to the deed which he !
had given bonds to perfect. 1t is matter of
fact that Governor Bradley's law advisers
have told him time and again, as they have
also told the public, that the States title to
the prison grounds is absolutely perfect
Judge Sawyer decided that the judgment
against Slingerland had no binding
effect upon the State All of which
merely shows that to spend any more money
on the Reno prison is to squander the = invi-
olable' building fund. God knows there are
convicts and criminals enough in this tough
little, State of ours. In New Hampshire there
is one criminal in every $500; in 1Iassachu-
sets the proportion is as one to 1880; in
Texas it is one to every 900; in California one
in every 700; and in Nevada one in every 350
Last year we hanged as many men in Nevada
rs were hanged in New York The tide of
vice, infamy and crime, is frightful beyond
There is need of sweeping, radi-
;al reforms. Also there Is need of economy
n the pursuit Of our prison system. Especi-
,lly is this economy essential if, as the Gov {
,enor believes, the bonanzas are about ex- 1
nausted At all events, his Excellency will
10 well either to dispense with his present law
.dvisers or accept their opinions and abandon l
lis Washoe- prison hobby.
azralE=.n
Constantinople, January IA The Porte ,
las received telegram from the Grand Duke
Nicholas stain0 that the latter is ready to re- I