Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-09-24
M'CARTY's 81 IGGERs."
The State Auditors Efforts to Gull
the People.
A Political Purpose Plainly Nantes,
In the Sllowing-"And the
Stntc Furnishes the
Paper"

State Auditor Mccarthy has sup.
piled to State Binder Young's news
paper q whole lot of "fggers." They
do say that Mr.. Mccarthy has been
lingering" mighty hard for the past
two weeks in the vain effort to make the
rural population of Iowa believe that
everything is all right at the state cap.
itol Mr.. McCarthy's "fggers" are very
adroitly grouped for political purposes,
and they are truly remarkable for the
valuable information on certain impor.
tant points they do not contain.
/. They do not show what became OF
the $4ss,o5s.95 that Gov. Boies left in
the state treasury.
2. They do not explain that pros
pective 100000 deficit in the treasury
about which Mr.. Mccarthy wrote a
very interesting essay to Gov. Drake
at the beginning of the present year.
8. While the political prologue to
the "fggers" us printed in State Bind
err Young's paper admits deficit of
$4,000 June 80, it is to be regretted
that the amount of warrants drawn
since June 80 is nowhere stated among
the state auditors "figgers." This
amount, added to the admitted $4,000
deficit June 80, might bring the present
deficit up to Mr.. McCarthy's January
estimate of about 100000; and the
total added to the $4ss,ooo left by Gov.
Boies in the state treasury might make
the present honest deficit figures
about $1,1ss,oOO. What the deficit may
be March 1 next nobody outside the
"skiver" crowd of railroad statesmen
knows; but it is safe to say that it will
be not less than round $1,OO0,OOO.
a. State Auditor McCarthy's "figgers"
supplied to State Binder Young's news
paper In no wise explain any of the
''icaks" mentioned in the report of the
Investigating committees reported by
the legislature last winter. Note the
following from report of one of the
committees, for instance:
Taking, for the purpose of compar-
lson, a general average of prices
paid in states where the contract sys-
tenn prevails, and the prices paid for
blank and miscellaneous Job work,
book work and binding, when let OIL
competitive bids to the regular offices
In the city of Des Moines, as shown by
evidence and proper editing of the
documents, it is the opinion of your
committee that more than $4,000
would have been saved each year had
tn work been let by contract to the
lowest responsible bidder"
5. Mr.. McCarthy's "tiggers" do not
show the present whereabouts of Mr..
Herriott's protest against the reduction
In railway valuations made by the ex-
ecutive council, of which Mr. McCar-
thy was and is a member. Mr.. Herriott
filed such protest with the council.
and it should have been made mat
ter of record. Mr.. Mccarthy has stated
to reporters time and again that he
never saw such paper and knows
nothing about it. 1t is to be regretted
that the mathematical state auditor did
not "fgger" on this very important
subject little. By doing SO he might
have refreshed his memory and been
able to give the taxpayers OF Iowa some
really valuable "figgers."
9. Mr.. McCartlly's political "figgers"
to be printed and distributed at tho
expense of the taXpayers-tend to es-
tablish beyond question the fact that
The state debt will amount TO at least
100000 at the end of this year; but
they do not in any sense explain how
the railroad-skiver crowd expect to re-
tain this vast steal legal, in view of the
provisions of article Z, section 2, of the
constitution of Iowa, which reads as
fcllows.
1.-THE state may contract debts to
supply casual deficits or failures in
revenues; or to meet expenses not
otherwise provided for; but the aggre-
gate amount OF such debts, direct and
| contingent, whether contracted by
virtue of one or more acts of the gen
eral assembly, or at different periods
of time, shall never exceed the sum of
S250,000; and the money arising from
the creation of such debts shall be APP
| piled to the purpose for which it was
obtained, or to repay the debts so con-
tracted, and to no other purposes what
ever"
Every lawyer who has passed upon
the question has expressed the I'M
qualified opinion that the prospective
debt over and above the constitutional
limit is absolutely illegal. Who holds
the warrants? They are held by a
coterie of national honor" Sound
money" stable currency" "honest
prosperity" bankers in Des Moines,
who have kindly consented to come to
the relief of the skiver-railroad states
men. These noble and self-sacrificing
guardians of national and state honor
have caused the illegal warrants and
expect to collect from the taxpayers
Of Iowa the full amount of the illegal
debt, together with six per cent. inter
est on the full amount. They hope to
| elect Banker Shaw, of Denison, govern
| brand thus consummateo one of the bold
est, baldest games of scientific treasury
looting ever perpetrated In a free COM
monwealth.
Figures That Worry the Gang.
But there are some figures in Mr.. Nc
Carthy's statement that are of value,
and they are liable to poster him and
his "skiver" brethren considerably
during the campaign. It is known to
all intelligent people in Iowa that Gov.
Boies did all in his power to call public
attention, and the particular attention
of republican legislators, to the enor-
nous and unwarranted cost of main
tanning the state institutions. But