The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-12-18
.$263.1so.99

Mir Hodges states that there is ur- gent need of more revenue, and either new taxes must be laid or those ar ready laid must be increased, or the state tax on the towns must be revived, or money must be borrowed to meet the expense of carrying on the govern ment, or else far greater economy must be practiced The general assembly should be asked to initiate some policy to make the receipts greater than the expenses, and to do this immediately, in order that the expense of govern ment may be met promptly and that the bonds may be at least partly paid in 1AA? when due, and that the credit of the state may remain second to none The funded debt, less civil list funds in the treasury, discloses an alarming increase for the last four years. The small balance of funds on hand makes 1t imperative to go very carefully or payment must stop for lack of funds.
 He calls attention to the loss sus- tained by the state and by various towns, caused by giving charters to corpora tions with a clause in such charter providing for some special rate or method of taxation. One or more of these charters allows nonresident stockholders to hold shares of stock free from state or local taxation, there by inflicting wrong on all taxpayers
 who are without such special privi- leges. He deems this matter worthy of constitutional amendment, remedy ing past and prohibiting future abuses in this line
 The state board of equalization has made an attempt during the two years past to equalize valuations in the va
 rious towns of the state in order that
 when taxes for state or county pur-
 poses are laid the amounts collected will be just and fair Last year the grand list of the state was increased over S30, ,000 coo, owing, in part at least, to such action, and future increase l this year is almost certain, showing 1 that a continuance of such work by the treasurer and comptroller will result | in a more equitable assessment of property than has been the rule for years past.
 | The amount of interest received by 1 the treasurer has been lessened by l drawing money for some of the de- partments a considerable time in ad- | vance of it's use. In several instance: | large sums have been thus drawn and
 in other instances money has not been
 promptly paid into the treasury. | Treasurer Hodges recommends, same as his predecessor, that the fiscal year l be changed to end June 30, instead ol 1 September 30 and says that the repea | of some of the laws relating to specific 1 appropriations, while others were con l tinued in force, makes a very unsatis- | factory condition. Whether it is best
 to go on without specific appropriations 1 for every purpose is an open question and is for the general assembly to de. | eide. If the decision is against sucl | appropriations then many sections o
 the law should be quickly repealed | He advises that the law requiring du | plicate vouchers for all payments bt
 repealed and that there be enacted leg.
 islation authorizing covering the in
 terest of the school fund into the civi list account on the first day of MarCl
 each year, and paying it to the vari
 ous towns by civil list orders issued b! | the comptroller.