The Cape Girardeau Democrat., 1897-01-16

men who perpetrate this crime should be
hung, and l believe the law should be Sc
/ amended Us 70 provide that every person con-
victed Of il should suffer death. The governor
! should also be authorized TO offer a reward ol
( ut least Sl,On for the arrest and conviction OF
any person guilty Of the o1enSe. The measure
j propose Is severe. but this crime should not
he permitted in the state. and milder remedies
will not be sufficient to prevent it,
( FUTURE ESTIMATES.
Turn now from this review OF the past to
the consideration of questions which concern
| the future.
With the governor-elect and Auditor Sci
/ bert 1 have made careful estimates OF the
treasury reSouI ceS and liabilities for the en-
suing two years. will not detaln you. with a
! detailed statement Of these estimates as they
Will appear fully in the auditors report
/ shall deal only with aggregates We have
| Estimated the total revenues for the next two
! years at A3m.OO This covers all sources
| now provided by law from which revenue can
! be derived. II does not, of course. include the
/ special tax levied TO meet the public debt, but
does embrace all sources If income available
fOr general purposes The expenditures we
have estimated ct S4.5O % 0. This estimate
places the expenditures ut some Sa0J.OOJ above
the probable receipts. | do not believe that
the public service can be maintained with even
tolerable efficiency on appropriate $ falling
| below the estimates We have made. In
deed. these estimates have been made
so conservatively that fear YOU will
lind ii difficult, II not impossible. to keep with
IN the limits they prescribe: and even IL you
succeed in doing that several of the state insti-
tutiOns will still have far less than they need
and ought TO be provided with As | have
shown already. many OF the eleemOSynary and
penal institutions are now full to overfowing,
and further provision for those entitled to ad-
mission to those establishments can not be
much longer postponed. No provision for this
emergency. how yer, Is contemplated in the
estimates we have made Again, the estimates
for the university and normal schools are. in
our judgments. far below their real REQUIRE
mentS. The estimates have not been based. rs
such estimates ought to be. on the needs OF tle
public service, but they represent what we re-
gard as the best possible apportionment Of an
insufficient revenue. The situation is still
further embarrassed by the probable fact that
your honorable body may desire to provide
additional agencies with a view to improving
the administration OF the government. and
thereby Great ng additional sources OF outlay.
SO far our revenue has been equal to our ap-
preparations and almost. il not quite equal 10
our expenditures. But the fast accommodating
needs of the state have now brought us to II
point where ii is evident that some plan must
be devised for relieving the strain on the
treasury. How can this best he done: The
rate Oi general taxation can not be raiSed-it
being already 1T the highest point permitted
by the constitution There. ore. II relief is
sought it must be %. by raising the valua-
tions OF property: t2), by providing some en-
tlrely new source or sources of revenue
in the form of special or license taxes: C3),
by providing different plan from that
heretofore followed Of distributing the ex-
ing some of the ordinary demands against the
treasury. As to the first and second OF these
shall not in this communication attempt any
recommendations, although think there are
several avenues 10 relief that might be fairly
opened in these directiOnS. With regard 10 III.
third proposition desire to Rake one or two
suggestions. First. / believe tHe whole tax
paid by foreign insurance companies should lie
retained by the state. Cnier The PIE sent law
the whole tax Il paid into the state treasury.
but One-haif Of il is afterwards distributed 10
the COMMITTEES Tho lnpOrt ipDI,tpDr ia bn
ties Is ma lie on the basis Of the number OF
school children in each. although the money
does not go into the school fund. rhc total for
ciEn insurance tax received in lSJ5-6 amount
ed 10 SiS5.SO}. OF this the sum Of $.lG sos. 30.
being One-half Of the whO.e. was dis
tributed as in Heated above. The amount
counties, with few exceptions +
Observation-Disclosures OF them receiving sums
varying In amount from about 500 to about
SlOU or course. those counties and cities
having the greatest populations receive larger
diStributive shares. None OF them. however
would be seriously injured by the loss incident
TO the retention of the entire tax by the state
II this suggestion should be conrurred in by
the legislature. and the claw amended accord
ingly, 1t would result in Strengthening the
treasury by at least S2l6,900 during the ensuing
biennial term.
In the second place. the proportion of the
revenue appropriated two years ago for the
support of the public schools might be slightly
reduced so as to relieve the treasury without
dctriment to the schools. The con >titution
provides that lin no case shall there be set
apart less than twenty-five per cent
of the state revenue to be applipd
annually to the support of The public schools "
Up 20 1883 only One-fOurth Of the revenue was
appropriated for that purpose. From 1855 TO
1895 this appropriation was increased to one
third Of the ordinary receipts. During that
period what were called extraordinary receipts
that is, the interest on state deposits. notary
public commission fees collected by the de-
partments. and other similar sources Of rev.
enue which were not the result of some fixed
imposition by the law. but were incidental
only, were not included in the totals from
which the public school appropriations were
withdrawn. All these were retained in the
treasury. But in 1895 the act apprOpriating
money for the public schools was so framed
as TO require the distribution of one third Of
all receipts. both ordinary and extraordinary.
The effect of this to divert to the support
Of the schools about S50.H0 OF the extra
ordinary revenues which had heretofore
been applied to other purposes. | am
personally opposed to any material curtail-
ment of the appropriation for school purposes;
but IN view OF the circumstances IL which /
have adverted. believe it would be advisable
to so phrase the next appropriation act as to
save the whole of these So-caiied extra
ordinary revenues to the treasury for general
use.
If these two recommendations should be
adOpued, the sum available to meet current ap-
preparations Tor general purposes would be ia
creased by about s@7OUDJ.
The fourth proposition stated abOve-that of
cutting OF or reIuclng some OF the ordinary
demands against the Ireasury-pre,ents ques- |
tIonS Of the greales- dIIilcu!ty. nave no uuuDt
that much could be accomplished in this be-
haf by careful, pdln>Lakiag, lnts.I. gent |
revision of the more Important statutes such |
as those relating to the assessment and col |
lection of the revenue and the admins tr;Itiun |
of justice by tn courts. To do this work thor
Oughly, however, would perhaps require more |
time and labor than You can possibly devote TO l
1t. Criminal costs constitute the most onerOuS |
of all the burdens the treasury must bear.
They have grown until they have become al |
most iutOlerdbie. II the rate at which they |
have increased IL recent years Is maintained |
1t will not be long until they swamp the treas !
ury unless some provision Is naue for a large |
addition TO the receipts. How To remedy this |
evil Is n question. Crime VIII be committed |
and must be punished. ! he accumulation Of |
costs follows Inevitably upon the enforcement |
OF the law. That not be avoided. But | |
believe our judicial system could Ue reorgIn-
total of these costs. and by which the respon-
slbllity OF paying them could be more Judi |
clOuSly divided between the counties and |
the state. The larger proportion of the |
costs accrue from prolonged detentions |
in county JailS and from unnecessary contnu-
anceS and changes Of Venue. How can these |
evils be prevented or modified:
COUNTY CIRCUITS.
In the first place. | believe that the constftu-
tion should be amended 81 as to authorize the |
prosecution of ali crimes by Indictment or in-
formation, with the exception, possibly that |
indictments might be require in capital cases. |
l think an amendment To that effect should be |
submitted IL II should be agreed TO it would |
save the necessity in hundreds Of cases of |
bringing witnesses before the grand Jury, and |
thereby escape incuCring 4 vast amount of |
costs on that account.
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DISTRIRTTTIOS OF SCHOOL NO-Tpy