The record-union., 1897-01-12

successfully made before the supreme
Court there would have been no neces-
sfty of the appeal to that body. Again,
it was not a claim that should properly
come before the Board of Examiners,
but was a matter for the Legislature to
look after.
The board took the same view, and
Attorney General Fitzgerald stated
that no application had been made to
him for the appointment Of counsel IN
the matter. AS matter of equity,
however, it was probably just that the
Commissioners should not be compelled
to meet the expense out of their own
pockets. The bill should be sent to the
Legislature without any recommended
ton. This course was adopted.
Then one of the Senators from San
Francisco came in to introduce a fell
low lawmaker to the Governor, and the
trio adjourned to the inner room. The
door soon opened again and the Gov
ernor re-entered and took his seat. The
question of recommending to the Leg
islature that they make an appropria-
ton of $4,000 to pay for the work of
printing the bills and other documents
for the Legislature as has been done in
y
The appropriations for this work
were: In 1889, $4,000; in 1891, S75,-
600; in 1893, $4,000, and in 1895, $50, =
600. These have always been termed
deficiency" appropriations, although
they were not. actual deficiencies. The
| cost of the work during the last session
was SIT sos SO.
No sooner was the matter mentioned
than the Governor objected. He said
| the State Printer had no right to ask
the board to make any such recommen-
dation He had expended money out
| of his appropriation for painting the
building, for removing the bindery
| plant from the third to the second
| floor, at a heavy cost, and had also pur-
| chased and installed an electric plant,
| all the time with a deficiency staring
him In the face. He objected to what
he termed the lavish expenditure OF
| public funds for that department. and
declared that the expert had not been
| fairly treated when he went to examine
the books.
| Secretary of State Brown reminded
the irate Governor that it was not that
| the State Printer had objected to hav-
| ing an expert go over the books, but
| that the particular expert was person
| ally Objectionable because he had gone
down town after his appointment and
told in various saloons what he would
| do when he got hold of the books
That's not a valid objection" said
the Governor. ANY citizen has a
right to see a payroll. Where is the
State Printer, anyway? Why isn't he
| here" Then, turning to German, he
said, please go and find Johnston"
| Mr. Johnston appeared in about two
minutes, but the Governor was gone.
He had retired with some more Sena-
| tors and Claus Spreckels to the inner
| room for a consultation.
| The State Printer talked to the other
members Of the board for time and
waited patiently for the Governor to ap-
pear. After about twenty minutes of
| this he told the Secretary Of State and
Attorney General that he would with
draw his request for their recommended
ton and submit the matter to the Ways
and Means Committee of the Senate
and the Finance Committee Of the AS
sembly. He then left the room
| Before the Governor reappeared the
| $50, 900 bill for attorneys fees in the
proceedings in the Railroad Commits
sioners' case in the United States Circuit
| Court was taken UP and allowed. The
| lawyers employed by the Railroad Com
| missioners to conduct their side Of the
case against the railroad company were
Robert Hayne, w. w. Foote and J. c.
Daily, and the taxpayers must foot the
bill.
| lature to appropriate the sum of $500
to pay the expenses of the Presidential
electors who held their meeting yester-
day.
The Secretary of State and Attorney
General were then about to leave the
room, when the door again opened and
the Governor came in and asked at once
where Mr.. Johnston was, and was in
formed that he had been there and gone
away.
The Governor then renewed his OBJ
jections to the request Of Mr.. Johnston,
and said that long ago he had pre-
dicted that just such a claim would be
made; that he had told him to cut down
every expense in his Office and to refuse
to do any printing if he found he could
not do the whole work within his ap-
preparation.
The members of the board, he said,
would remember that not a great while
ago a bill came in for 81, 900 for salaries,
and it was affirmed in the claim that
the men for whom the money was re-
quired had performed the services, and
yet these men were actually away on a
vacation at the time when the claim
stated that they were at work.
Fitzgerald said he thought all regular
employees of the State We're entitled to a
vacation, and he did not believe even
the Governor himself would care to dis
pute that.
Governor Budd then made further OBJ
jections to the electric plant and added:
"And now I understand that he
(Johnston) wants to take out of the
hands Of the Board of Examiners the
whole matter of the purchase Of paper,
and has a bill prepared for that pur
pose
No" said Secretary Brown. that is
not the case, but he believes saving
can be made by not advertising for bids
for a years supply of paper"
And them said the Governor. she
has bought type, machinery and other
| things for printing the codes long be-
| fore the codes are ready to be printed.