Rocky Ford enterprise., 1896-10-22
QUESTION AT ISSUE.
THE AMENDMENT MEANS MON.
EY FOR SCHOOLS.
Givsn for Asking People to Bee II
Settled.
Denver CorrcspondenccJ

Glvsn for Asking People To Bee u
Settled.
Denver Corrcspondcncc.)
The voters OF Colorado will be called
upon to decide most momentous Ques-
tions on November 3 next and the in
terest taken In the National and state
questions may have driven from the
minds Of n large proportion OF the vot-
ers one question of the supremest Inn
portance. Citizens will be called upon
to decide whether or not an amendment
to the constitution shall be adopted
which will release for the use OF the
schools large amount OF money now
tied up In state warrants and held by
the state treasurer rs an Investment.
The proposed amendment provides
for the Issuance of state bonds to the
amount OF S1,155.527.l3 and this
amount will wipe out the outstanding
warrants Of the state which are war
rants issued In the years 1887. 1888 and
1889. with the accrued interest upon
them.
| The average voter seems to not I'M
derstand how this large debt has been
piled up and very naturally the i'm
preston has gained ground that there
Is much fraud connected with 1t, and
that the bonding proposition Is simply
n scheme to pay fraudulent claims by
including them with others against
which nothing can be said. How the
debt has been created has been fire.
quently told, but 1t will bear brief
repetition. Until 1889 there was no at
tempt to limit the appropriations made
by the various General Assemblies.
While the constitution of the state con-
tained clause prohibiting appropria-
tions In excess of the anticipated rev.
enue, there was such need for the
expenditure Of large sums because of
the newness OF the commonwealth and
its many requirements that the legis.
lators naturally looked upon the future
as more promising than 1t proved and
anticipated a revenue which was new.
er realized. So every assembly with
the single exception of the third until
1889. made appropriations In excess Of
the revenue derived by the state. Tho
Constitutional limit was never thought
Of. the legislative acts were considered
mandatory and the successive state au
ditors issued the warrants which were
purchased by Investment companies
and also by the state treasurer be.
cause Of an act of the legislature pro-
viding that the school and other state
funds should be invested In state war.
rants.
The natural Inquiry is made II all the
Assemblies made excess appropriations
why 1t Is that only tile warrants OF
three years are outstanding? This
condition arises from t'r fac, thnt the
state treasurers were In the habit of
calling In warrants in the order in
which they We're registered whenever
money was on hand. without regard to
the year the warrant was issued. BY
this method the excess warrants Of pre-.
vious years We're paid out OF the rev.
enues Of 1887, 1855 and 1880. The de.
cision of the Supreme court in 1880
forbidding expenditures of any year
In excess Of the revenue of that year
alse pointed out that the warrants OF
one year could only be paid by the
revenues of that year. The revenues
of the three years mentioned had been
eaten up by paying warrants of pre-
vious years and the result is that with
out some provision such as this amend
ment the warrants of those years mus
always remain n debt against the state
and reproach to its fair name.
There are outstanding against the
state. certain warrants the legality OF
which have been questioned ever since
their issue. The Graham & Weber, Col.
lier & Cleveland and Lawrence & Co
warrants issued in 1889 and connected
with the Seventh General Assembly
have been the great stumbling block
in the way of reaching satisfactory
settlement Of the states financial ques
tion. People object to the payment OF
these, which amount to 100000, and IL
is through fear that they will be paid
should bonds be issued that the oppo.
sition to the pending amendment is
found. But 1t is a fact that these war
rants are not included in the warrants
carry. These warrants which arc
charged with being fraudulent are be.
fore the courts and the people of the
state and their officials have nothing to
do with them. When the matter of the
legality Of the warrants in question
was taken into the courts the attorney
general Of the state advised that suf.
ficient money be held in the state treas
ury to pay them should the courts de-
eide against the state. This money,
amounting to $164, 900, is on deposit
and with 1t the warrants will be met
should they be cleared of all imputa-
tion of fraud.
The warrants, which are outstanding
and which will be paid IL the voters see
fit to adopt the proposed amendment,
are without exception warrants with
no shadow of fraud upon them. The
| utmost that can be said against any of
them is that they are excess warrants
| and this is true of only a small proper
tion of them. The great bulk are strict
| " legal In nil rnsnactS md 40 NJ, ,,,,,