Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-08-02
THE CASE OF THE STATE TREASURER

THE CASE OF THE STATE TREASURER
Our local columns recite that the Secre-
tary of State has notified the Superintend-
ent of State Printing that he must no more
use the Capitol building as storage ware
house and boxing and shipping shop.
The building has been seriously injured by
the immense weight placed upon one cor
ner of the foundation by the storage Of
school books, its floors are damaged by
running heavy trucks over them, and the
walls and fittings suffer by the boxing pro-
cess and the work of the carpenters and
packers. This beautiful architectural Pile
was never intended for such uses, and it is
simply shameful that it should be thus de-
based.
But what is the Superintendent of State
Printing to do ? The Legislature, which
expresses the will Of the people, by law
duly made directed that a storage ware
house should be erected for the State
Printers use; it determined what It's cost
should be, and set aside the money to meet
1t. To these judgments no man has any
right whichever to take exception. They
are in the nature Of ultimate and irrevos-
able determinations. But the law re-
quires that three persons, naming them,
shall pass upon the plans and specifications
for such a building-of course for the pur-
pose Of protecting the State against mis-
use of the appropriation, and to insure its
application to the ends declared necessary
by the Legislature.
No man with an ounce of brains will
contend that anyone has the right to re-
verse this Judgment of the Legislature
and the Executive approving the bill
Yet that stubborn and misadvised official,
the Treasurer, who is one of the three per-
sons to approve the printers plans for the
warehouse, deliberately puts himself in
the way of the Legislature, exercises veto
power, usurps the functions of the chief
authority in a republic and reverses the
deliberate determination of the people
themselves. His defense is:
/. "The building ordered would be of
inadequate size
.. "It will cost too little; a $4,000
building is needed"
3. When the Legislature meets we
viii have 4 new printins-ofice erected,
and in it inelude the storage and shipping
department"
1t is necessary to point out to no one
else but this stubborn and short-sighted
official, whose oath to obey the laws ap-
pears to little influence his action, that he
has no right to pass upon the adequacy of
that which the Legislature has judged
that he has no warrant for forecasting
what the next Legislature will do. That
by his action he is rot discharging the
duty of requiring the plans to conform to
the intention of the Legislature, but is OBJ
strueting the execution of solemnly-
enacted statute, and assuming functions
that not even the Chief Executive would
venture upon.
1t may be suggested that this new excuse
and recently proposed scheme of Mr..
Herold, to have a new printing Office
erected, may possibly be advanced for the
purpose of securing the removal of the
institution from Sacramento. Since the
Treasurer docs not offer specific objection
to Superintendent Ioung's plan for the
warehouse, and has proved himself so in
sensible to the requirements of duty, il is
lustihable also to associate him with this
possible motive Of the proposition he ad-
vanees. The man ought to be proceeded
against; his obstinacy now takes the form
of deliberate and willful design. If the
school-book rings wish 10 further asssil
the new textbook system of the State,
and add to the cost of the books,
they cannot do better than encourage
Treasurer Herold to continue to persist in
his obstinate and unlawful course. For
the Superintendent of Printing must now
do one of two things, either discharge the
force at the printing Office and bindery.
and refuse to make more books, and thus
At the outset prevent the school-book plan
Fom being put into full operation, or at
the risk of being called upon to foot the
bills himself, rent at heavy expense the
necessary buildings in which to store
books and their paper stock, and pay the
heavy insurance that would be necessary.
These extra costs, il repaid to him, must
be charged upon the textbooks, and
footed by the buyers, and the "cheap-
ness" of the books be THIS endangered.
Ordinary prudence would dictate to the
Superintendent to pursue the course first
indicated. The State must furnish him
working tools; falling to do so he cannot
be expected to do the work the State has
ordered the tools, but self-willed, obsti-
nate officer, insensible to his duty aud
usurping legislative functions, prohibits
the OUTLAY necessary to procure the work
ing implements.
OF course, it is well understood that the
real motive of the Treasurer's contunacy
is animoslty to the action of the Governor
in putting night shifts at work in the
prison iute mills. The Governor did, it is
true, prevent the purchase of new ma
chinery for the mills, for which the Legis-
ature made an appropriation, and thus
;aved the State over sl50,oo0, and the
Prison Commission agreed with and con-