Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-11-04
Loanlns the state 1t. own Money.


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Loaning the State Its Own Money.
In the spring of 1897, when the pres
ent state administration took hold,
they were confronted with that deficit
which they themselves had created.
They needed some money, and they
passed bill to authorize the governor
to borrow S250,000. 1t appeared that
by the following July. just a few
months of, there would be plenty of
money in the treasury. The bill
authorized the governor to borrow it
for two years. The Democrats moved
to limit the time until July. when
the treasury to pay it They were de-
feated; the bill was passed as origin
ally prepared. They borrowed $780,
600, and they were paying interest on
it. Nobody knows where they got it,
but it is talked around Springfield
there by people who are somewhat
conversant with treasury affairs that
they have SIMPLY LOANED TO THE
STATE SOME FUNDS THAT WERE
ALREADY IN THE STATE TREAS
URY AND CREDITED TO ANOTHER
ACCOUNT-THAT THEY ARE GET
TING s12.500 INTEREST FROM
MONEY WHICH WAS REALLY AL
READY IN THE STATE TREASURY.
Queer DoIngs at Elein.
Up at Elgin they have 200 fewer pa
tents than we had there during the
Democratic administration. They re-
duced the number in this way: They
took the number that were there dur
ing our administration; went before
the legislature, and they got $4,000
more of an appropriation than was
granted during the last administration
got the legislature to give them S12,-
900 more than was given before, and
then they went to work and sent these
patients back to the different counties
they came from-sent them to the poor
houses, so that after getting 900
more money they reduced the num-
Der Of patients they had to provide for
by two hundred, making difference
in that way altogether of about 10000.
They have manipulated it in such
way that they will have $40.0 900 there to
spend If they do business on the eco
nomic plan on which the last admin
istration ran that institution.
Scandal at Joliet.
At Joliet, the great prison of this
state, one Of the greatest in America,
there was established during the last
Democratic administration a system
Of dividing the prisoners among as
many industries as possible, SO as not
to compete more than was necessary
with outside labor. Instead of center
ing the prisoners on three or four
trades they were divided among about
fifteen, SO that we had less than a hun
dred each to one trade. The constitu-
ton forbade the old system of con-
tracing them out. There was no al
tentative except to employ them for
the state, and Notwithstanding the PAN
ic that Institution was put on a self
supporting basis, and at the close of
the last administration the commits
sioners of that institution reported to
the gc-ernor. and reported to the leg
islature, that that institution did not
require one dollar of money. They
had on hand goods, stock, etc. amount
ing TO about s250.0O0. They were pre-
pared to go on with business. and they
stated in just that many words that
they did not need a dollar, and yet. |
that fact, THE LAST |
LEGISLATURE AP- !
PRoPRIATED s267. 600 TO THAT IL
AFTER HAVING BEEN
THAT NOT A DOLLAR |
WAS NEEDED. After the new com
there took hold they did |
his: They said they were not going to
larry on this business; they were go
ng to change. They sold of the ma
erial and stock on hand and pocketed
hat money, couple OF hundred thou
and dollars. which. when added to the
i260 600 OF appropriation, gave them
nearly $500. 900 of money there. What
lid they do then? They are today sub
'tantially working these prisoners un-
er the old contract system They