Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-10-12
'DOING THE STATE TREASURY
Full Reports of Legislative Investigating Commit
tees Showing Highhanded Robbery of
the Taxpayers.
EVIDENCE, FACTS AND FIGURES
Explain How State Debt Of $I,ooo,ooo Has Been
Incurred.
GRAND LARCENY AND PETTY STEALING
That Constituencies Gang of Treasury FiIchers
Have Carried on Systematically and
Continuously.
Tried to Suppress Facts, but They Have Been Run
to Earth.

corporate and monopoly interests, and
too often state house officials are
found working with the lobbyists and
boodlers.
Fellow Citizens of Iowa, this is no
fancy picture that it were;
it is God truth, humiliating as is the
revelation to American citizens.
In Iowa's legislature, as well as In
congress, money has been used to de-
feat wise measures, and to promote
bad ones. Someone may be ready to
say, "Any other party would have done
the same" Our reply is, perhaps so,
under equally favorable opportunities.
Parties long in power, as the republic
can has been in Iowa, are certainly
liable to become corrupt; but when
corruption stalks abroad in the land
nnrebuffed, and the corrupters are
permitted to remain in power, our
free institutions are in danger. Patrick
Henry said: "We have no way Of
judging the future but by the past"
Consult past history: it will be found
that the same causes that destroyed
the republicans of the past are here
actively at work.
1t has been claimed that the revela-
ton of the abuses referred to will
hereafter be mentioned specifically
in detail and be supported by incontro-
vertible evidence were it voluntarily
made by the party. Not so. After
democratic and bipartisan papers OF
the state had made known the fact
of their existence, the attention of the
Twenty-sixth general assembly was
awakened. They began private in
quiry, and impaired the facts obtain
ed to others. The majority, however,
opposed action until after the few, by
persistent effort, succeeded in obtain
ing the appointment of committees OF
investigation. Subsequent to the APP
pointment, during the time of inquiry,
over-zealous friends of the republican
state administration, lost no opportun-
ity to lessen the force of testimony in
all cases wherein it was found damag-
ing to the parties involved, thus ems
deavoring to screen the officials in the
unlawful and exorbitant charges
made. Notwithstanding these outrages
perpetrated on the people of the state
Notwithstanding the state printer and
state binder were clearly shown to have
received thousands of dollars in excess
of the true value of the work, they
were both continued in Office at the
same compensation, being thus paid
indirectly from the public funds fol
the campaign work of the past and
the present. The state binders thrill
ing speeches, now that Mcfarland, like
General Drake, is forced to retire from
the field, cannot be safely dispensed
| with.
The high salaries paid for service
in every department of the state gov.
eminent, and especially about thu
state house, is well known to be fol
the self-same purpose; hence the per
sistency Of the executive council, Gov
ernor Drake, Secretary of State Nc
Farland and State Auditor Mccarthy
in retaining the full number of jani
tors at full wages, although they were
told by the senate committee that tbs
appropriation for that purpose was re
dnced from $4,000 to $4,000. The an
swer of one man to Senator Waterman
was: 'We know how to get around
that" and they did get around it, a.
they thought, by transferring the re
quisite number of janitors to the Gus
todian's department. These extra mer
were thus unlawfully retained agains'
positive Legislative enactment,-n be-
4 cause their services were wanted fo]
| labor, but as partisan workers. Fo,
abundant proof of which fact, see the
evidence hereafter presented. On the
reports of these committees, herewith
presented, aud the accompanying evil
dence and some collateral testimony