The indicator., 1897-01-16

| fully and the governors reasons for sending
the milltln there explained.
Recommendations were made for changes
la the financial policy of the state, for II
| better method Of collecting the poll tax,
! and to provide some sort of employment for
| prisoners In the pcnltcntiary. All the state
4 Institutions except one were praised, and
the question of protecting game was touched.
The Legislature was asked to enact much
needed new laws, so as to prevent leaks that
| now occur
Below are given the more Important por-
tions of tho message:
Fellow Citizens Of the Eleventh General As
scmbly.
| Neither the people Of the state nor the
state Itself have escaped the effect of the
long business depression since the panic
! OF 1S3. Particularly has this effect been
fclt during the past two years. The hnan
cial crisis mentioned, resulting both In the
the lowering values Of the products of ngri-
culture, Of the mines and the mill and the
factory. and, In fact, of about every com,
mines mas NOT only diminished the In
comes Of the Individual members sf the
community; but of the state Itself. II Is
true that the phenomenal growth Of one of
our chief industries. the one last mentioned.
that of our gold mines. has In n great meas
urc preserved us from that degree of ad-
vcrsity which we hnd anticipated would be-
come our lot. Another factor In the amclio-
ration OF our condition must he considered.
of our agricultural products, including sheep
aud cattle. The people of Colorado. for
many years easily prosperous on account of
the development of our natural resources,
both of the mine and the field are little
accustomed to the scrlmping economies al
ways found necessary by the people of many
other regions. so that when .hard times"
came. 1t was not without difficulty that they
adjusted themselves TO the new conditions,
way to mnke ends meet where at first 1t
seemed wei nigh Impossible. In the end.
doubtless, they, win feel the beneficial eff
fects of this added virtue. ana times he.
come more prosperous through natural i'm
provement of business conditions. which
have been depressed below the normal. as
sisted toward prosperity by a rapid devel-
opment. first. Of the gold industry. and.
later on, through natural commercial sym.
rhthy. Of the other industries of the state,
they will see the blessing In disguise. So,
In state affairs restricted revenues first
create confusion and embarrassment, and
hhAiy systematic economy. Patience. self
denial and wisdom were necessary to enable
the individual to meet the condition confront
ing MIN. It Is not different with the body
polite. Wise and economical management
of the financial affairs of the state will un-
rnvel the tnnGlc. and good rather than evil
VIII he the hnal result II ls you. the law
making body of the state. who must possess
the patience, self.denial and wisdom in per.
In behalf Of the whole people, that they
may not have added to their already suf.
tclcnt burdens that Of nm unfair and undue
contribution for the maintenance of govern
ment. Sou will not obey the behcst of the
sovereign people who sent you here clothed,
as their representatives. with sovereign
power, nor will you lie true to your 0aths
N office. II you fall TO heed the lesson as
public servants which the people themselves
have been Obliged TO learn and practice
You viii have many wcghty matters to con-
slider. but none Of greater importance than
ne proper caring for and adjustment of the
finances of the state. In all good things you
VIII he sympathctlcnlly and ably assisted
by the wisdom and experience of him whom
the people have chosen to be their chief ex-
hnu
known intimately during the whole period
of hls manhood the people and their ways,
state; He has been tried and not found
wanting In the difficult place which he is
10Y, toW chosen to again occupy, and; however
Yolre upon him. the people can confidently
expect careful and successful manage
ment OF their affairs.
State Finances.
The assessed valuation of the state stead
ny insreased r aso M In amount from 1877, when 1t
S23s. 100000; in 1891 Its valuation dropped to
SSs; 900 900; IN 1893 the total was S3o2 ISL.
In this biennial period of 500. 49,, sos. 10 tho
lowest assessed valuation of any like period
since 1880, resulting In correspondinGly re.
duccd revenue to the state. which, however
mas been IN Il measure relieved by the eS.
traorhinary- receipts OF the secretary of
states ollicc.
The present state administration has
lived within It's income. besides paying ont
OF The revenues of the present two years
some Of the deficiencies Of past admln{strn.
tons, and Will have n balance left In the
treasury.
The surplus revenues of 1s959G. aftcr nil
warrants shall have been paid that have
been Issued against them, should be trans
ferrcd to the revenues of 1S93-94 for the
hurP|ose ts or taking up the warrants issued
better use could be made of this balance
than the payment of the warrants of these
years whicn remain unpaid on account of
the tremendous and unexpected failing OF
In the revenues caused by the panic which
occurred In those years.
The state auditor estimates the revenues
Tor tue years lS9l-9S. available for the gen
eral fund.that Is, for general state pnr.
derived from the tax of III mills and from
the miscellaneous receipts from other
sources, Out Of this sum must be met the
nave been estimated by the state auditor Mt
Sl,2Go' s'2IO. It would seem that this esti,
mate is less rather than greater than the
amount that will be found necessary. While
In some Items reduction may be made
there there are others which almost inevitably
lnEs may be made in certain directions bnt
these likewise will be almost certainly of.
set by the demands In other directions which
must be met. Most of the items going to
make up the last mentioned sum are fixed
mutton ~
The expenses must be kept within the In.
come. Therefore there must be either a cut
IN expenses or an Increase In revenue for tile
crease can In all human probability he de.
rived only, from the funds furnished hy
what Is called special mill leyics, which az
gregate I'D mills and are estimated by the
auditor to yield S73o, $50 in 1S07-0S. And
right here desire to call attention to the
fact that the Institutions, the capitol build
ing and interest on capitol building bonds
and stock Inspection, which are nlI support
sncco sn ~ inc speelai NH levy in addition to the
made TO some of them, receive 10 mills or
nineteen, ,l, fSrtieths Of the total revenues OF
twenty-onc-fo -fortleths for all departments Of
,r, Inc IKE sXeeG!iys, W., judicial and legislative
uohal appropriations made for the use OF
the benchciarlcs of the special mill lew
giving to the "instiutions' more than baif
of all the revenues derived from the state
tax. under the present law providing
special mill levies, In the event of a failure
of the Fl mills to provide sufficient revenue
to meet that deficiency must be taken from
the funds produced by the special mill leyics
In The inverse order Of the dates OF the acts
stltutions-nnd for convenience / will class
all of the beneflclarlcs of the special mill
tax as institutions the result thnt thc
institutions prior in date would receive the
full amount Of their income even when
more more thnn sufficient for their needs, and
those latest In order mentioned would be
Obliged TO close their doors.
In 1891 the income of the educational in.
stitutions, except the State University, was
reduced to oncsixth mill each by the Gen,
ernl Assembly by an act which has been
since declared unconstitutional by the su.
preme court. As result, the old special
dcpriving the state government of the dlfrer'
cnce In revenues, which. In the year ls9T.9S.
would amount to over $40 600. Moreover n
special fixed mill levy for the maIntcnnricc
OF state Institution, educational or penal
is wrong In principle. Bnsng the amount
of Its revenue. not upon Its needs, but upOn
the entirely extraneous and fortuitons cir.
cnmstance Of the amount of property In the
state In given year, and the valuation for
purpngps. I'M
by the proper oiicers and. further II gives
different institutions with widely different
needs equal incomes, and does not allow for
Increased needs nt special periods of such
institntlon's development. nor admit of saw