Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-10-12

CRESCO. IOWA, v
we rely to establish the charges made
against the party and officials promi-
nent therein.
State Expenditures
On the sth day of February, 1897,
on motion of Mr.. Funk, of Hardin
county, the house of representatives
committee of five to en-
quire into the expenditures and re-
ceipts of the state government in it's
various departments. On April 18th,
the committee, I. FL. Funk, j. w. Laud-
er. NJ. j. Davis, Geo. L. Baker and
Chas. Voolker, made report as follows:
"Your committee at once proceeded
to make the required investigation, so
far as their other duties would per-
init. The accounts and quality of
work of the state printer and binder
were, at the request of this committee.
subsequently transferred to another
committee by this house, as this COM
mittee felt that its members were not
possessed of the practical and techni-
cal knowledge necessary to a thorough
investigation of the business and work
done by these two officers. In no de-
partment has our examination been
as thorough as we would wish, but we
must plead press of other duties as
our excuse for not going thoroughly
into all departments. But so far as
we have gone this report can be re-
lied upon as being strictly accurate, as
will be seen by transcript of the tes-
timony which is transmitted herewith.
ITO make the investigation full and
complete, as contemplated by the reso-
luton under which your committee
was organized, we have found it neces-
sary to review the relation of the ex-
ecutive council to the various state
officers and state offices.
eve have no desire to impugn the
integrity of any of the present or past
members of that council, except where
the facts and our duty to the state
absolutely demand it, but we have dis
covered and desire to make prominent
in this report serious defect in the
law, under which the executive council
acts, and we believe the state will find
ample compensation for the investiga-
ton in the discovery of a practice,
which although construed to be legal,
is not, we believe, consistent with the
policy and best interests of the state
of Iowa.
"Fer many years there has existed a
law known as section 100 of the code
and which is as follows: The execu-
tive council shall have the charge, care
and custody of the property of the
state, when no other provision is made,
and shall procure for the several Off
GERS of the governor, secretary of state,
auditor and treasurer of state, register
of land Office, superintendent of public
INSTRUCTION, attorney general and state
librarian, and clerk and reporter of the
supreme court, fuel, lights, blank
books, postage, furniture and any 9TH
er thing necessary to enable such Off
GERS to promptly and efficiently per-
form the duties of their several offices.
The accounts for any expenditure I'M
der this section, including repairs of
the state house and such other neces-
sary and lawful expenses as are not
otherwise provided for, shall be aud
tied upon the certificate of such coun-
Gil, and the warrants drawn therefor
paid by the treasurer of the state.
The executive council shall report to
each regular session of the General As
sembly the amounts expended, and in
/ yhok Eo~ ha,r ,o1,
for each Office
"The executive council has for Sc.
ries of years construed this section as
comforting the discretion to authorize
such expense in the state offices and
for the state officers as in the judg.
ment of the council was wise, without
regard TO appropriations made by the
General Assembly; or, to state it diff.
ferently, there has been put upon this
section a strained construction that
gives the executive council practically
concurrent authority with the genera.
assembly to spend money for almost
any purpose which the council has
thought necessary or convenient.
unfortunately the supreme court II
the case of Prime VS.. Mccarthy, il
which it held that various expenses
which had grown out of the state
troops in the trouble at Council Bluffs
might be paid by the executive council
under this section has given slight
color of legality to this practice. While
your committee does not believe thai
the decision above quoted will war
rant the construction placed upon il
by the executive council, yet, sustain
ed by their view of the law, the council
has from time to time, employed sucf
lclerks, janitors, messengers and Other
help as it's members considered neces
sary, even though the specific appro
priation for these purposes made by
| the general assembly was thus very
greatly exceeded. Under this section
some employees have been placed ant
drawn pay upon two pay rolls running
concurrently and charged to othel
funds than those appropriated for tina
department.
'The remedy lies in an amendment
of section 100 of the code which shall
curtail and make more specific ant
definite the right Of the executiv,
council to expend the monies of thu
state, and, we very earnestly recon
mend that in the revision in progress
the law shall be SO changed as to EN-
phasize the fact that to the genera
assembly belongs the exclusive righ'
of declaring what the expense of tn,
various branches of the state govern
ment shall be.