St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-28
THE STATE FINANCES.

The most serious question to engage
the attention of the legislature during
its present session will be to devise
some plan by which the state finances
can be brought out of their present cha
otic condition and established on sound
business principles. There is no state
in the Union, and probably no form of
organized society anywhere, where such
exceedingly loose methods in the man
agement of the public finances prevail
as right here in Minnesota. 1t is a mar
vel how such defective system should
have been established in the beginning,
and stranger still how it should have
been continued all these years without
some effort to reform it. The GLOBE
first called attention to this matter sew
eral months ago, but as heated polit-
ical campaign was then in progress,
our suggestions were not received
in the spirit they were offered. Since
then, however, the state treasurer and
the auditor have submitted their Off
cial reports, in which they call attention
to the very troubles the GLOBE pre-
viously mentioned. Gov. MCGILL took
occasion in his last annual message to
confirm what we had said, and to urge
upon the legislature the importance OF
Immediately applying remedy.
Now that the matter has been so di-
rectly presented to the attention of the
Legislature, there can be no excuse for
longer overlooking it. 1t can only be
by the most rigid economy and a cur
tailment of expenditures that the legis-
lature can bring the appropriations
within the limit of receipts for the next
two years, unless the rate of tax
alton is increased. There is no
lodging the fact that the expenditures
must be reduced OF the taxes raised.
Which shall it be? is question for the
legislature to solve. But this trouble is
only of a temporary nature. The really
great embarrassment is that defective
system which has brought the state
into the condition of being perpetual
borrower. All the available revenues
for this year are needed to pay off last
years Indebtedness. There is where
we are and just where we will always
he. unless there is change in our
financial management. The state is
continually paying interest Oh borrowed
money when it ought to be receiving
interest on its surplus revenues. Our
new governor has good business head
on him, and ought to suggest to the
legislature some plan by which the
state could square itself with the world,
and keep square.
We are satisfied that the usual appro-
priations will bear very material re-
duction. There is extravaganza in the
management of nearly all Of our state
institutions. There is room for economy
in almost every department of the state
government. We are confident that
within the last six years the legislature
has made an appropriation OF at least
S1,OOo,OO0 annually in excess of what
was actually required. With this sort
of extravaganza it is no wonder we are
getting behindhand in our finances.
The wise thing for the legislature to do
would be to cut down the appropria-
tons to the lowest notch, raise the taxes
for the next two years sufficiently to
pay off the indebtedness of the state,
then establish system of financial adj
ADMINISTRATION by which it would be i'm
possible for the state ever to become a
debtor AGAIN.