Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-10-10
THE TREASURY LO0TERS

How 1t Cost More Than Ten and II
HalfMillIons of Dollars In Excess of
the Cost In lsS3-S6 to Run the State.
The NJ achine Figuring on New Tax
Bills to Get Money to Make Good the
Treasury Deficiency.
A Harrisburg correspondent writes:
There are two problems of serious i'm
uortance facing the treasury officials
of Pennsylvania to-day. The first Is
how. for the sake of the Republican
machine, by whose favor they hold Of
flee, the fact that there is practical
deficit of nearly $4,000, 900 in the state
treasury can be disguised or explained
satisfactorily to the voters. The second
is, how they can get the additional
money which will be absolutely needed
for the coming years expenses If ma
| chine rule Is to be continued, or unless
an anti Republican Legislature shall
| be chosen this fall and shall proceed,
Immediately after convening, to stop
| all the steals and cut off all the extray-
agances.
AS to preventing the people from
learning that there Is deficit, that II
Is an ugly one, and that 1t will sooner
| or later produce no end of embarrass-
ment, both for the state and its cred
! itors, that Is simply impossible. The
| facts are too plain. The ordinarily in
| telligent man has but to take up the
reports of the state treasurer and audi
! tor general and glance for a moment
| at the figures to satisfy himself as to
the melancholy and disgraceful truth.
Each year, for the four years last past,
the appropriations have exceeded the
estimated expenditures, and the actual
| expenditures have been greater than
! the estimated income by from two to
| four millions of dollars. For the year
1898 the treasurer's estimate of income,
leaving the sinking fund out of consid-
Grafton, was s11 .191 62S, while he found
that, in going over the 1897 appropria-
tion bills and adding to their totals the
overdue payments on previous appro-
priations, there would be needed during
1898, again emitting the sinking fund
items, the enormous sum of $17 .3i6, 1923.
That sort of financiering continued for
few years, would bankrupt even a
Standard Oil trust.
Corruption and waste have been con-
spicuous in Pennsylvania state govern
mental matters for very many years,
but it was not until Beavers adminis-
tration began, in 1887, that the looters
got things down fine and began stealing
and squandering by wholesale. I'm
| doubtedly there were moneys unneces-
sarily expended from 1888 to 1886 inclu-
sve under Pattison, but the total ex-
| pendltures were nevertheless compare
Lively INQUEST. me ioiioWihs' taken
iioil tiie reports Vi tne auditor general,
show the total expenditures during that
period on current account-that Is. less
~ ioahs ieueeiieu anu ohiteu
states bonus purchased'
1898 '''''.''. ''''..'..'.'..''''.. '3S6'9'5
@ ioo4 ''''''''''' .'.''''''.''''''' 4'3S5'ol'
1000 1000 ''''''' ''''''''''''''''''''' o'ooo' Io-
Aeoo '''''''' '''''''''''''''''''' 4''o"'ol
"
io'ai ''''''''' '''''''''''''''Siolo 10 i'ozf
Average each year, '''''.'''''$foo''Eoo zoo
during the same period there were
state loans redeemed, including the
premiums paid thereon, aggresating
S3,29o,4 Az, and United States bonds pur-
chaseo unuer the Humes act amount
ing TO so'3o6.Sl4' These items are not
lhcluueu IN the ABOVE TOTAL
AS an EXHIBIT OF now the machine has
learned TO get away with the taxpayers
money since then, the following ex-
hlpit OF the yearly expenditures under
Hastlngs' ADDED to the actual surplus
left over from 1894 In the general fund,
ana the dencit that VIII show at the
cIose OF 1898 VIII De round edifying:
Inc lo94 surplus minimum. 1747
Inc loso actuai expenditures 10 fO296
Inc 1850 actual expenditures. .ll,OOi517
me 1881 actual expenditures 12,76s515
Inc 1898 estimated exp........ ,O73452
Inc propapie dehcit. 2,762S34
--
Iotai ''''.''' '.''........... .S60,S2O OPT
average per year lS95-9S.. $l5.2O5O OO6
AVERAGE per year lS95-S6'..'. 4,539 256
so that the Hastings administration
mas cost the state more than ten and
one-half millions OF dollars each year
over ana above the yearly cost of the
hrst fattlson administration.
AGAIN say, financiering of that sort
would quickly bankrupt even Stand
ard OIL trust. What are they going
to do about 1t? They don't know them
selves. And, except for the disastrous