Arizona silver belt., 1888-06-02
THE COURIER ON LEGISLATIVE ExPEN.
 DITTRE.

The Zulick organ, the Prescott
 Courier, has a peculiar aptitude for mystifying facts and figures, which in the instance of Its contrasting the ex. penditures of the 18th and 14th Iegia- latlve assemblies of the Territory. al- though wide of the mark, it supplies Ia present want," and, therefore, pal atable and appetizing to the Zuhrk contingent of the Arizora Demotracy. It harmonizeS with all the surround ings of that little squad and has as natural look of belonging there as has the flush upon a sunset cloud. Although deceptive, yet it is absolute ly necessary to peg out of the nine hole in which they had stuck, and in order to do It, the Courier charges as expenditures of the 18th Legislature $1o0,O0O for the building of the Terri torial Insane Asylum; 5000 for the erection of the Territorial University;  S12,0O0 for the construction of an Apache county wagon road; St5,0OO fer the erection of a bridge over the Gila river in Pinal county; S1O,O00 for the Arizona Exposition Association; Sll,000 for support of militia; $29,O00 for support of Territorial Prison !; Sl,0OO transportation of arms; $1,550 Supreme court reports; $3,650, New Orleans Exposition; s5.O0O Normal School; S3,50O Teacher of Normal school; $2,000 Commissioners to Den yer Exposition, and other sums not charges as legislative expenses, includ- ing salaries of officers and contingent expenses of Territorial government.
 The Couriers figures were infinite ly gratifying to the sage of Nacosari and the little brood that lowered un- der his wing, and were passed in re- view and accepted by the faithful of that ilk without thought that their comedy of errors was destined to re- turn, after inspection Tn the Courier columns, to harrass the politicians that blessed them and set them afoat as gospel truth, with no other view of relieving them from the mire Tn which their more than questionable acts had swamped them.
 After reading the above and cudgel- ing your brains for the reason why the 18th Legislature was so much i more expensive than the 14th, go over the tabulated figures of the Courier and see if you can not detect omis- sions which should he chargeable to the 14th,-notably the fuli sum for printing-you know that 2,5OO copies of the Code were printed, valued at ten dollars each, or in the aggregate S25 GOO and inasmuch as it is pre- sumed hat 'iere was ro job in It, as
 Is 5-a .o.ts.i si Gavfil4nierls D place the laws n tie hands of the people at the cheapest possible rate, we can not question but that the Saint Louis house which contracted with Marion to print and bind the 25OO volumes of the Code, received price approx mating ten dollars per copy. There must. or should be d correspond ing charge against the 14th for that particular class of printing, CT so much of It as is not chargeable to the United States; but as the Federal al. lowancs. if We are correctly informed, was more than absorbid by other jobs of printing during that session, it Is necessarily implied that the Territory is left with the bag to held and that when the next legislature meets, tax payers will be called upon to make good the deficit. An explanation. however, is in order, with a view of afording an insight to the printing of the Code. And now that we gre 'chock-a- block" inc matter referred . to must rest for the present, and for ever depending upon the versatile Courier for It's resurrection.