The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1899-10-25

TREASURER BEACOMS POLICY.
After entering into the financial con
ditions of the state and explaining the
system of paying out the appropria-
tions to the public schools, he con-
tined: The policy Of the treasury
department since | have had charge
of it has been to pay the appropriations
where needed and when needed. AS
the public funds are upon interest for
the taxpayers at large while they re-
main in the state repositories, it has
seemed to me to be good business to
leave them there until they are need
ed for the purposes for which they are
appropriated. OF course, as soon as
a school district actually needs its ap-
preparation ii should be paid, and l
say that every school district in the
state that has ever made known to
either the school department or the
treasury department that it was in
need of its appropriation has been
promptly accommodated with either
the whole amount due or as much
thereof as was necessary for its pur-
pose. This was the record made last
year, and that is the record this year
up to the present time.
ALL THE BOOKS ARE OPEN.
"Now, having explained how your
money is collected, cared for and paid
out, | will indulge in few general re-
marks about the treasury department
and its critics. | notice that Farmer
Greasy is travelling about the state
telling the people how anxious he is
to get into the treasury department
and take the lid off. He is making the
boldest assertions about official rot
tenness and corruption and holding
forth the idea that the people can be
only relieved from their thraldom by
his election as state treasurer. This is
the merest political twaddle. The rec
ords of the treasury department are
public records. Every citizen of this
commonwealth has a right to come
there and examine every book and
paper in the department, and no man
since l have been treasurer has been
refused access to anything that is in
the office.
'If Farmer Greasy is as honest as
he pretends to be why does he not
come to the treasury department and
lift the lid, as he calls it, and find
out what is wrong and tell the people
in plain English what it is that is rot
ten and corrupt? Farmer Creasy's
statements about the treasury depart
ment and its management show either
lamentable ignorance or willful dis
position to misstate facts, and in either
case he is not the best man to be Sc
lected for the Office
EFFORT TO DECEIVE DISHONEST.
"The whole effort to deceive the
people into the belief that there is
something concealed about the treas
ury department is simply bold dis
honesty. | have stood upon the plat
form time after time since l have
taken charge of the treasury depart
ment and have asked the people before
whom | was talking to come to the
treasury department themselves If
they were so disposed, or to appoint
experts to examine everything in it and
about it, and satisfy them~elves as to
whether there was anything there that
would not bear public inspection. This
whole talk about the treasury depart
ment is for political purpose solely and
absolutely and is wrong to the pco-
pie of the commonwealth.
Greasy and his band of orators are
going over the state telling the peo-
pie that if Greasy is elected state
treasurer he will pay out $5,500,000
every year of the public schools, not
withstanding the governors veto. 1t
is hard to believe absurdity could reach
such a climax. How does he expect
to go over to the school department,
take the superintendent by the neck
and compel him to sign warrants? And
if he gets the warrants signed there
will he go to the auditor generals de-
partment, and at the point of the bay
onet compel the auditor general to
ccuntersign the warrants?
Orators on the stump are endeavor-
ing to create a belief that the public
funds are loaned out from the state
treasury. This is not only not true,
but it is not possible that any such
thing could be done without the public
knowing it. A monthly statement is
published by the state treasurer, CIV
ing out the amount of the balance In
the department and naming the banks
In which the money is deposited and 1t
would be simply impossible for the
money to be any place else without
immediate detection.
NOT A DOLLAR LOST.
ut should be a matter of pride for
you to consider that for more than
30 of 95 years the officials of your
party have managed the treasury de-
partment without the loss of a single
dollar to the taxpayers of the state,
and that your party through its repre-
sentatives has passed laws so hedging
the state officials about as to make it
almost impossible for the taxpayers
to suffer injury.
The worst that has been said of
the treasury is that some banks which
had the state moneys on deposit some
times lend their money to politicians.
L would remind you that when the
state treasurer places public funds in
bank they become the funds of the
bank and are no longer public funds,
no more than your private funds placed
in bank remain yours after they have
been deposited. When you make a de-
post in a bank you have no power
to say what use it shall make of the
money. The banker gets the money to
lend and not to look at. He is re-
quired to pay interest on it and he
must use it, and the state treasurer
has no right to say to him what use
he shall make of it.
I'm this Republican year, when the