The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-01-17

may have sufficient information on wh;cb
10 base an intelligent idea of the expenses
OF the government in all its details
submit herewith in tabulated form tbe
nnacIai operation of each and every de-
partment and institution for and dI,rinp
the four years ended November / 1saf
careful study of these tables will demon.
strate the economy practiced throughout
ese administration, except in the costs
OF felony prosecutions. A discussion Of
Inns SUBJECT appears under q suitable head
!urther on. So, turning to the question
Just asked, which the Legislature must
settie. respectfully beg to offer the fol-
lowing suggestions:
10 meet the deficiency tha Teo;sIo+,
must do one, and perhaps all. of three
thlngs IN the order named: First to en-
Iorce the collection of delin0uent taxaS.
second, to increase the pronertv voino
tions; and third, to raise the fax rate
should suitable measures he odont-
Ed TO enforce the collection of delin-
Huent ta,Xes, now amounting to abont
three million dollars, and to comnel tba
fair rendition of all taxable nrnnprt,, ne a
tne assessors on the lines hereinaftar sro ~
sesteu, the necessity for Increasing tbe tay
!ate may be temporarily avoided Eo;iN
ing 10 40 TINS at the present session Tho
luA rate must be raised immetliatelv anS
WIN TINS q prolonged deficiency cannot ha
GGs s Inc tax rate now is very low
n nts ,incr T cannot be avoided a great
vlsed to delay the inevitable. bnt II ~, ne
come:-the tax rate must be raisedi ne
constitution provides that no debt shall
oe created by or on behalf of the STATE
10 supply deficiencies in the reyenne re
ssaeee "a dhe aggregate at any one time of
sZUo9oO. If this amount should he bor-
in ohd hIon the permanent school fund.
w ,n ,HapStulence to precedent, the relief
would be quite inadequate. 1t the Iepisle-
ture refuses to pass laws to take Effect
hi nnI. LATELY, by which the collection of
t pnch t taxes may be promptly enforced
i lnen there Is no possible temporary re'
,.en, except to pass bill that ali war.
rants not paid within a given time from
piv roaao at the treasury shall bear
IN tfc CO. STATED interest until called
in Lor payment by the state. This should
keep the warrants at par. and Ma 90 nnn',
lne taxpayers the burdens they sbanjd
ileegltlmately bear. BY the rednot;nn out Oa
the tax rate they have retained in tho "
pockets over S1,300,000 during n severe
nllanclal depression. To them the inter-
est saved on this amount will much more
.l'in onset the interest that would aeon
th, on the registered warrants until
they are paid. ui''ii
GOOD SHOWING.
lt VIII be noted that with one excan-
' ne , the per capita expense of the inmates
w t1e several charitable institutions
named has been ANNUALLY decrnoSod 'i S,,,s
ing the four years. This has been done
Without harm or injury TO the snh;acts
Ut tne end of faithful, capable. uniiring
efforts upon the line of economy nv thee
very worthy superintendent and OFF,
Gals in charge. 'ii-
THE LUNATICS.
,hellable official information shows tbo+
OIL over 100 lunatics in the asvlnms
there are less than 300 who can he cnrai
or restored to mental soundness In
e eeiter words there are now about fonr.
nlths OF all the inmates of those institu-
.,ons met are incurable. A large Der
cent OF them are imbeciles, but strong
and harmless, fully capable of perfor,n;nSe.
valuable manual labor if the state nos.
sessed suitable quantities and 1uolities
OF agricultural lands about the asvlnms
TOR the purpose. According to the onin,
ION OF the superintendent of such inst;.
buttons, open. air exercise, and manual
l nn3 upon farms, by those physically
able to perform the work is not oniy
useful, but proper and necessary.
u would seem that the concentration
OF these harmless, incurable charges nj
some point within the state, suitable for
me purpose, to make room in the various
asyl!ims for the durable cases DEMANDING
ADMISSION, would be much better than
10 incur the expense of extending the
already commodious buildings A cheon
good. piece of agricultural land. wifi
comfortable but not costly houses. where
these unfortunates could be cared for
ana utilized so as to defray their own ex-
penses, without the harm that wonld
result from their absolute freedom wonld
9e practical solution of the question.
At all events, the space within the asy-
,umS, IN some way: should be occupied
by that class of patients who are incnra.
Die or require restraint.
OTHER CHARITABLE INSTITIr-
TIONS. $500
The blind asylum, the deaf and dnn,h
institute. the asylum for the deaf and
dumD and blind of the colored race. ali
at Austin; the orphans home. at Corsi-
cana, are each and all model institutions
clean, well kept, and ably and efficiently
operated. This may be said also of the
three lunatic asylums. These charita
PIE institutions are objects of pride
TO every patriotic; citizen, and should
never suffer for lack of moral. sympa-
thetlc, or financial support.
THE PENITENTIARIES.
An inspection of the penitentiary sta
| tistics, shown in the table, will disclose
some very interesting results. On No
vember LIST last, there were 1891 CON
yicts in penal seryitude. Up to that time
for the preceding four years there were
| appropriated $1526S7.65. During that
| period valuable permanent i'm
provements, consisting of a foun-
dry, machine shops, work houses.
two railroads about twelve miles long.
all amounted in the aggregate, at a rea
sonable valuation, to 1884 ,945; leaving
the improvements alone, over and above
appropriations $1S2,25735 The re-
celpts of the penitentiary from all
sources in the four years aggregated So
12S.513, while the expenses amounted
to S2,6S3, 4GS; or receipts over expenses
during that period. $45,045. The sum
of about S150,O00 will be realized for the
remaining unsold crop, which will 90
into the state treasury. This amount
added to the $4,000 of receipts over OK
penses, and the $4,000 of valuable i'm
proyements over appropriations, leaves
| the net amount of S37j000 as a result
| of the four years operation of the
penltentiary over and above the
expenses connected with its manage
ment. The very deficient penitentiary
board, the able superintendent and as
sistants, and the superior financial agent,
together with the excellent under keepers
and employees. have bent every energy.
and applied their skill and abilities sue
cessfully, not only to financial results
of ha inc I,,t - A. =