Rocky Ford enterprise., 1894-11-01
INFORMATION FOR VOTERS.

scheme Is the best that can be devised
to meet the emergency.
The state inherited a debt Of about
$50, 600 from the territory, and started
! in business without money. The con.
stitution failed to provide for any cash
resources with which the business OF
the state might be started, and the only
| way of operating the state machinery
was to anticipate an estimated revenue
and draw warrants against 1t. The
makers of the constitution did not
foresee the enormous growth OF the
state and the necessity for having ex
tensive public buildings, and the only
provision made for the same was by
direct taxation, with the one exception
of the capitol building bonds (SG0O ,OOO),
and that building alone has cost two
and half millions. The other institu.
tions of the state, namely, Insane Asy-
lum, Penitentiary, Mute and Blind In
stitutiou, School of Mines, Reform
School, Agricultural College, State Uni
versity, Normal School, Reformatoi'y
and Soldiers Home, have been built
and paid for by direct tax, and even
a part of this was done out of the gen
eral revenue. The total amount ex.
pended in putting up these various
buildings from direct taxation Is be-
tween three and four millions of dol
lars.
To answer the question as to how the
state debt occurred, we will state: First
"A debt was inherited from the terri
tory. Second-Some years an ever-eS-
timate of the revenues of the state was
made, resulting in the making of over
appropriations. Third-In cases where
the actual valuation agreed with the
estimated valuation, there was fail
ure to collect the entire tax. There
was always some shortage in this di-
rection. Fourth-From the accumull-
ton of interest, which, by the way, Is
the largest of all items. AS above stat
ed, the state started business without
funds and was obliged to issue war
rants in anticipation Of revenues and
to pay interest on all such warrants
when they were redeemed. No legisi:t-
ture ever took this interest into account
or made an appropriation to cover 1t.
The amount of interest paid by the
state on warrants up to and including
the year 1892, is about 1927, 900, or
nearly half the amount of the delin-
quent state debt.
The total amount of state warrants
and certificates outstanding, for which
there is no provision to pay, amounts to
about $646, 600 and with interest added
to the present time, $S62,500 These
warrants we've issued In 1SS7-SS-S9, and
the reason why they are outstanding
and unpaid is that the money, which,
from a strict construction of our laws,
should have been applied to the pay
ment of these warrants, was used to
pay those Of previous years. Up to
the year 1890, the state treasurer had
been calling all warrants in the order
of their registration, and the credit OF
the state was thereby maintained, but
during that year the attorney general
issued new orders and required the
treasurer to pay each years warrants
out of the revenues of that year. This
change Of policy left the unpaid war
rants of 1SS7-SS-S9 totally unprovided
for, except so far Us delinquent taxes
of those years came in, and the revenue
from this source has been small and is
now practically nothing.
The issue of 1880, 900, II made, will
not only take up the $780,, 600 warrants,
for which there is no provision made
to pay, burt all the balance Of the float
Ing debt Of the state, including the war.
rants already drawn against the reven-
ues Of 1S93-94, and will enable the state
to use the incoming revenue Of the year
1894 to pay the expenses Of 1895, thus
putting the state on q cash basis. The
proposed amendment to the constitu-
ton also provides, that in future, ap-
preparations shall be made upon the
actual revenue Of the past two years,
instead Of upon estimated revenues for
the future, which 1t is claimed will fur
nish an exact basis to work on and
avoid the chance of any over-appropria-
ton, and II the state can pay cash 1t
will stop the accumulation of interest
on the state warrants.
OF the $642, 900 outstanding, and for
which there is no provision to pay
$444, 900 are held by the school fund
and considerable amount by other
funds of the state. A careful analysis
of the warrants in the school fund has
been made, from which it Is apparent
that the warrants issued in this fund
are made up Of the following, in round
numbers:
Industrial School. 17,O0C