Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1894-10-31

the three years of Democratic rule,
! 1928, are largely in excess of the
expenses for the last years of Repub-
lican rule, 188S-9-9O. That the state
tax is to be reduced this year is Who'll
! ly due to the fact that there is a large
amount of money in the treasury de-
rived from unusual sources. It is Ow-
ing entirely to this extraordinary in
come that the taxes are reduced. The
records, instead of showing economy
or good business management, show
the most wasteful extravaganza and
reckless methods. Had the present
! state officers been as economical as
their Republican predecessors, there
would have been no state tax this
! year, and there would have been a
| handsome sum left in the treasury.
And taxpayer can satisfy himself of
! the correctness of this statement by an
examination of the reports of the sec
rotary of state. Our opponents seek
! by the use of irrelevant figures, and
! statements Of expenditures over which
! the state officers can exercise no con-
Omy. They have as yet presented
nOcOmparative statements containing
I only such items of expense as are I'M
| der the control of the state officers.
Nor will they do this. Such state
ments, which are the only fair ones to
make, In all cases, show increased ex-
penses during the past three years.
| nytTs Al.
| present administration amounts to over
100000 in excess Of the amount re-
| ported as on hand. This $500, 900 rep
resents What has been expended in
| the last three years in excess of what
! was expended in the previous three
I years for precisely the same purposes.
| There has been collected from the ex-
| treasurers and applied to the reduction
of the state tax for this year 1927
| 9O2.55. The Democrats claim much
credit for this, and itmight be accord
ed them were it not for the fact that
| they have squandered in extravagant
| expenditures the entire amount, so
| that the taxpayers have not had the
benefit of a dollar of it. 1t has been
asserted and proved beyond cOntro-
| YerSy, that the present state officers
have in no direction shown good bust
ness management or practiced econom-
zeal methods. On the contrary, the
undisputed figures of the public rec
Ords show that their administration
has been characterized by extrava-
| gance and waste.
Il
1t is with the deepest chagrin that
we discharge the duty of calling the
attention of the citizens of our state to
the attempt to rob the treasury
| through the unlawful letting of the
| printing Of the roster of Wisconsin SOL
| dlers. The attempt was one of the
boldest, as it was one of the most STU
| pld, ever made to defraud the public
A contract was secretly made by the
governor, under the advice of the at
| tOrney-general, to let the printing, in
defiance Ofthe constitution of the state,
which declares that all printing shall
be let to the lowest bidder, at a price
nearly three times as great as it would
have cost had it been sent to the state
printer and been done under his con-
tract. Had not the existence of the con-
tract been Observation-Disclosures every
effort was made to keep it secret, in
utter defiance of the law which re-
quires that all contracts shall be
placed on file where they may be in
apected-the state would have lost
! very large sum. It was only after
the threat Of legal proceedings that the
governor was frightened into cancell-
ing the contract. Before its cancella-
| ton the governors private secretary
had sold an interest in it for a bonus
OF $50, eco, and 50, 800 of the money
sc received was used to pay
a note on which the governor was
an endOrSer and which had gone to
| protest. After the contract was can
celled, the parties purchasing the in
terest in it brought suit against the
governor, his private secretary, the
attorney general, assistant attorney
general, and other state officers, to
receive the money paid. The people
OF Wisconsin were then called upon to
witness the shameful spectacle of their
state officers elected to protect the
public interests and sworn to faithful
ly discharge the high duties imposed
upon them, arraigned before the bar
OF Justice for an attempt to loot the
treasury. The roster suit is now
pending before the supreme court, the
circuit court having held that, as the
complainants had a guilty knowledge
of the transaction, they couldnot come
into the court with clean hands, and
SO were not entitled to receive the
logic Of the decision which, while
non-suiting the plaintiffs, convicted
the defendants of an attempt to defraud
the state
How can honest men, who respect
themselves, haze pride in the good
name of the state, or desire to see pure
government vote for continuing in
power the officers implicated in the
roster conspiracy?
In state and nation have the Demo-
Gratis forfeited their claims upon the
confidence and support of the people
In the state they have engaged in un-
laWfu} and fraudulent mao o+iooC oo1