The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-07-09
ExTRAVAGANT APPROPRIATIONS
AND THE CASH BALANCE.

EXTRAVAGANT APPROPRIATIONS
AND THE CASH BALANCE.
The News answers the HERALD
on the disappearance of the
cash balance, the extravaganza of
the Eighteenth Legislature and
GOVERNOR IRELAND. Its structures
would be more fair if confined to the
Legislature, for according to the state
ment of the News itself the excess was
appropriated at the request and rec
concentrations of his eXcellency and the
heads Of departments. No Governor
could afford to veto an appropriation
bill coming to him the last days of a
lengthy session, unless its extravaganza
was very manifest. According to the
items Of the News in what did this eX-
travagance consist? So far as the cash
balance is concerned the most of
it was school money which has been
advantageously invested in county
bonds, and is yielding a much better in
terest than the school moneys invested
by previous administrations. If either
the cash balance or current revenues
realized since then have been improvi-
IDENTIFY expended, it is an easy matter to
show where it went, for every dollar is
accounted for on the books of the State
Treasurer. What if the Legislature did
appropriate one million dollars more
than asked for by the Governor and
heads of all departments? This addi-
tional appropriation was for matters
necessary in the legislative Judgment.
The Legislature deemed other asylums
necessary in order to relieve the
counties throughout the State
of an expense that more properly
belonged to the whole State
They deemed great many other things
necessary i'll the way of improveme ats
that were not contained in the recon-
mendations of heads of departments,
which furnished data not for the whole
appropriation BILL but merely for their
respective necessary expenditures. So
there can be nothing startling in the
fact that the Legislature in its Judgment
appropriated more than it was requested
to do by coordinate branches of the
Government, and for entirely different
purposes. Every Legislature does this.
This money, though appropriated, has
not all been expended, but merely set
aside for specific purposes, to be eX-
pended rs far as necessary. 1t is
merely an estimate, and may be moro OF
less than is necessary, and until used
constitutes part of the cash balance
When requested to furnish items of eX-
travagance charged on the Eighteenth
Legislature, the News enumerates the
following items, some of which had
when pending, the support of that and
nearly every other journal in the State
First, The New Orleans Exposition, $40,
600. This is one-fourth of the amount
appropriated by some other States Will
: less wealth and fewer advantages to bt
: gained yam exhibit. Second, Purchas,
of Alamo, $4,000. This appropriation
, so heartily commended by the New
} was unnecessary, but was small trih
l ute paid in spirit of patriotism an,
1 State pride by the living to the dead dc
: Tenders of Texas soil. This is the iten
e com planned Of by the News as a pur
l chase of "churches, cemeteries an,
$ monuments" a small portion of whicI
went to fence in the graves o
the dead mt San Jacintr
Third-Tho land frauds board, 5000. 4
present, il can't he estimated no,
: much land the board has su,
u ceeded in recovering, but ccrtainl
= more than enough to pay this en-
Z pense, if it recovered no more tina
; 5000 acres. Fourth, The members {
u the Land Board are heads of depart
J. ments and receive no additional paw fc
u their services, and with the same lcgi,
> lation, the additional clerk hire woul
Z, have been the same had the board n,
u been created. Fifth, TO pay for the car
ofpublic property, 5000. This item is fC
IN II salary of two years for some one
IA look after the valuable property Of I'll
a state and is moderate, when we COZ
: slider the value OF the property to be pr,
Il tectcd. Sixth, An auditorial boar,
- $4,000 This is not much to have to pa
~ in two years, for the auditiu
\ and careful examination of vouchers fC
~ over four millions dollars. But COZ
n ccde that all the above items are extra,
p. agant and useless, still the consolatio
* remains that in an appropriation bill
m over four million dollars, the critic
:. eye Of the News has only discovered q.
travaganccs to the amount of $4,000.
ajournal that is unfriendly to tho a,
% ministration can only show this mu,
rs extravaganza, the people are apt to col
ro cludc that the government is being vci
20 economically administered. The alta,
- of the News is not SO much ON the Go
- ernor as upon the Legislature whom
c. charges with having appropriated ov
ne one million more than asked for.
TO UNUSUAL COMPLIMENT.