Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-11-05

Hon. NJ. A. Kendall, state treas
urer. in a late speech discussing State
issues, said: A Spanish officer re-
turning to his native land undertook
to explain why it was that they lost
the battle OF Santiago. He said 1t
was all because the u. S. troops
would not conform to the recognized
rules OF modern warfare. Said he, ac-
cording to those rules, when regi-
ment is fired on it falls back, but
when we opened fire on those fellows
they just kept on coming, and we had
to go. Now, my friends, the Demo
Gratis have opened fire on the admins
tration, and we are coming, and we
intend to keep on coming until we
have chased them to the red brush
Something over eighteen months ago
they left your State house, after hav-
ing held continuous passage for over
twenty-five years. When they de-
parted they left behind them the Cap.
itol building in dilapidated condi-
ton, to be sure, and a few fragment
ary records and now they seem to
think they are entitled to a vote oil
thanks for not carrying these off.
At the close of their last fiscal year
they were able to report $233 44o.74
in the State fund (see Hon. j. M. Row
ans last report and deduct therefrom
4 of the unavailable balance reported
lost.) Over against this stood old
debts and deficiencies aggregating
over $40, 10000.
The States obligations We're not be
ing paid and some OF them were being
discounted as much as so per cent.
They excuse themselves by saying
j that previous sessions of the legisla-
ture had not made the appropriations
sufficiently large. We charge back
that the money that was put at their
disposal was not properly handled.
But they could not have kept the
money and spent it at the same time
so they can take either horn OF the
dilemma and it proves what we claim,
that our legacy from them was an
empty treasury and a deficit,
The issue is now squarely drawn.
Did they do as we'll as they might
have done? Have the Republicans
done any better?
To begin with, there are no unpaid
debts now; the old deficiencies have
all been paid and all the new obliga
tons have been promptly met, and
TODAY we look the whole world in the
face. for we owe not any man; ano
we closed our fiscal year on the goth
day of September with $424, 64II7 II
the State fund alone; this is all avail
able cash, and every dollar OF it is
drawing interest.
One of the Democratic organs in Its
desperate effort to lodge some damag'
ing charge against the present admin
istration. claimed that there had been
friction and strife and misunderstood
ings, and general lack of harmony
between the different branches OF the
State government. l want to say to
YOU that there have been no serious
differences, and those which have
arisen are only such as naturally arise
when honest men hold different views
in regard to business propositions.
But speaking of harmony, that re-
minds me, that there has been har-
mony in your State house for the last
twenty-five years. | think / never
heard of such harmony. Thousands
and thousands of dollars of the peo-
ple's money worse than wasted, and
vet there was harmony in the State
house. Commissioners of school
lands and delinquent sheriffs all over
the State pocketing the peoples mon
ey and never being called upon to set.
tie, and yet there was harmony in the
State house. Tons and tons of worth
less documents being ground through
the public press, at an enormous cost
to the State, only to lie and rot in the
vaults and cellars of that building,