Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1894-08-25
That Million Dollars

Under this head the EiDorado Repub-
fcan cuts the claims of the populists
that they have saved the Taxpayers
much money, into utter nothingness.
The Republican says:
The first statement in this million dollar
article to attract our attention is the follow
ing
There has not been a tax levy made by
the board of equalization since 1890 for the
! completion of the state house.
Nobody but a baked pop could
make such a statement as the above.
The stupid declaration that the state
board of equalization can make tax
| levy, or that it can refuse to make a tax
levy, or that it has anything to do with
the making of laws of any kind, is pre-
posterous and carries its condemnation
on its face.
The next item answered by the Re
| publican is this:
! The readers should recollect that a reduc-
| ton of over $4,000 was made for the two
| years ending June 3Gth 1898, oyer the pre-
! vious two years, by virtue of a populist law
| and populist state printer.
| There has not been one word or line
of change in the law governing state
/ printing in ten years. The law is the
same and prices are the same, for the
simple reason that a stubborn, stupid
| populst house of representatives re-
/ fused to permit any change.
The republican senate of 1889 appoint
| ed committee of five to overhaul the laws
governing state printing and report a
bill at the session of 1891. This COM
mittee reported an entire revision of the
law. The republican senate promptly
passed the revision bill and it was mes
saged to the populist house weeks be-
fore adjournment; but the hypocritical
pop house would not touch it.
Later on the pop house appropriation
bill for state printing came over to the
republican senate and the writer arose
in his place ard offered the senate re-
vision bill as a rider to the house bill
and it unanimously carried. The bill
was messaged back to the house, with
this amendment, but the house killed it,
and conference committee was ordered
but it failed and a second conference,
after heated discussion, knocked out
everything proposed by the senate save
and except "that the executive council
should have charge of orders and esti-
mates for state printing!" and ''that the
secretary of state should first receive all
orders for state printing; that the attor-
new general and at least two other mem
bers of the executive council should APP
prove in writing all acquisitions for
state printing!" and that is all there is
to it. Simply rider on the state print
ing appropriation bill, first agreed to by
a republican senate and a pop house
conference committee, and afterwards
adopted by both houses. So, the money
saved on state printing is not saved by
pop law nor by pop state printer
but bv a republican senate rider to
pop. appropriation bill. At the next ses
sion of the legislature it will be founo
that there is a deficiency for the years
ending June Both, 80, and June Both
'94, and when this deficiency is pro
vided for it will then be proper to fig
ure on the saving, if any.
The next is the much boosted turning
over of fees by the secretary of state in
to the treasury. This the Republican
answers as follows:
A republican senate bill which passed
and became a law at the session of 1891
changed the old law concerning the fee
and salary of the secretary OF state Prl
or to 1891 the secretary of state receives
a salary of $4,000 per year and the fee
of the Office. Under the law of the 1879
he receives 81, 800 per annum salar.
and section 16 of the same chapter pro
vldes that all fees received by any stat
officer shall be turned into the treasury
So Populist Secretary of Stat
Osborne had to turn in the fees OF hi
Office or take his chances OF being al
rested for stealing.
This learnod pop fgurer forgot {
state that the salary of the secretary {
state was raised $500 per year by tt
act of 1891, and that this republica
law, instead Of saving $1.S94.40 for tt
year 1898, saved only 81, 394.4O.