The record-union., 1898-10-05
CALIFORNIA PROGRESSES.
TREASURY REPORT ALONE
DOES NOT TELL THE STORY.
Millions Due for Taxes VIII Swell
the Balance to the Profit
Side.

In the "Record-Union" of Sunday ap-
peared summary of the biennial re-
ports of many of the State officers, in
Guiding that of the State Treasurer BY
this summary it seemed that the funds
OF the commonwealth are dWlndllES
away. a first reading of the following
statement, from the report of WlI .
Green, confirmed the suspicion: PAY
ments of the forty-ninth fiscal year ex-
ceed receipts $437, 1914 60" This APP
peared further from the following
minuend and subtrahend: "Cash re-
ceipts during forty ninth fiscal year.
$Gl3o, ,o9S.31;- cash payments during
forty-ninth fiscal year, $S,1I3, ,3oz.9l
AS final statement, it was shown that
the balance on hand to date was S4,-
UGS,419.11, which sum was less, by the
shortage of nearly half a million, than
that on hand at the beginning of the
fiscal year, June 80, 1896.
Now these figures might be very det-
Timental to the State If they were read
IN a cursory way, without reference TO
the further fact that there are large
sums due the State, though they have
not come in during the fiscal year The
bookkeeper at the office of the State
Controller made the situation clear yes
terday by the following explanations:
Yes he said, the actual cash re-
ceipts of the State during the rigid
dates of the fiscal year would seem to
put the people in hook, so to speak,
but the facts are far otherwise.
What is the eXplanatiOn?" was
asked
1T is that there are many funds that
are not yet paid in. I name the de-
]inquent taxes as one thing. They are
not to be estimated as no one knows
how many will be paid; but the best
figures at hand make it probable that
the sum Will be two or three millions.
When you come to put that sum along
side of the apparent shortage the State
is all right. Next month, and in De-
cember, there will be large accretions
to the treasury, so that the man who is
alarmed will take heart. Under the law
the expenditures cannot be greater
than the receipts, SO, you see, it will
be an easy matter to show that the
balance is on the right side of the
ledger with the State
1t will be found that the condition
that exists this year is by no means
new. According to the report of the
Controller for 1891 and 1892 the re-
ceipts fell S2S4, ,972. A under the ex-
penditures. The report for 1896 shows
that the receipts for the two previous
fiscal years exceeded the expenditures
S2,211 ,305.43. These figures simply
show that there is often a fluctuation
of expenditures, but that time evens
matters up within a few years. 1t is
quite probable-unless the Legislature
makes many unforeseen expenditures
this year-that next June will show a
larger balance on hand than that which
existed in June of this year
1t should be remembered that the
State has expended nearly 5000, 600 on
the San Francisco ferries this year,
though this sum was raised by the
sale of bonds and did not come out of
the general fund
A survey of the wealth of the State,
compared with that of older States,
shows that California is rich in all the
things that make a State great. be-
sides very wealthy in many things that
the statstician never reckons-climate,
healthfulness, scenery and a wonderful
versatility of resources.