Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-03-15
A FINANCIAL DILEMMA.

from Helena that his excellency the gov
ernor may decide to get along without an
extraordinary session of the legislature
is satisfactory as far as it goes. Having
expressed himself to the effect that the
failure of the sixth legislative assembly
to provide for the necessary expenses of
the state government would result in a
deficit of about 500, 900, the governor in
dictated that an extraordinary session
would be among the early spring lux
uries.
On reflection, however. it seems that
excellency has about reached the con-
clusion that the regular session was ex-
tr~aordinary enough for all purposes. and
will choose the lesser of two evils and
present a car load of deficiency bills to
the next legislature rather than give to
tba statesmen in t"ransitu another whack
at the state treasury. The statement
that a revision Of the figures brings the
probable deficiency down from 100000
to s45, coo must be taken Gun gTano sails
as the Latin editor of the Anaconda
Standard would say,
The governor will hardly admit hat
the original statement given to the press
can be scaled down so much. 1t would
look as if his recommendations to the
legislature were based on exaggerated
figures, and that in ignoring them the
! proper thing was done. 1t can scarcely
be doubted that his excellency went over
the matter with great care and precision
before submitting his views to the legls-
~lature, and if so that body crippled the
interests of the state by not providing for
sufficient revenues to properly maintain
it's government.
If the governor had the right concep-
ton Of the needs of the state and the
knowledge of its finances which his of
fetal position would imply, the legisla-
tive assembly was guilty Of a gross over
sight. If, on the contrary, he chief exc
cutiye made a mistake of some $50, 900 in
his estimates that body acted wisely in
discovering it. the question as to wheth-
er there should be an extraordinary ses-
sion of the legislature is purely one of
fact. If the estimated deficiency in state
revenues can be scaled down from 500, 900
to SA5, 900 perhaps another reference to
the arithmetic of public affairs may still
further reduce the amount of the proba-
BILE deficit in 1900.
Governor Smiths demands upon the
legislature were of the most extravaganza
type, on the one hand, or the action of
that body in ignoring them, and thus
compelling the state to run behind in it's
current expenses, on the other hand, was
! an Ghllbiliol VI ~ pSlNiS tiAt AJAX
little less than a crime against the COM
m%onwealth. A happy medium between
these two extremes may be found in the
theory that Governor Smith was ambi-
tious to end his administration without a
large deficit in the state treasury, and
+bararnra racammende1 annie prOViSiOnS
against the day of judgment; while the
legislative assembly was equally ambi-
tious to shift responsibility from it's own
shoulders to the executive branch of the
state government.
The governor realizes no doubt that if
out the country continue during his term
of office, a deficit of 500, 900 in the admin
istration of the affairs Of this state will
not advance his prospects for the United
States senate in 1900. Neither will the
prospects of his party be visibly enhanced
by such a condition of affairs. Hence, his
desire to ~conve the legislature is a
natural one. 1t is not at all certain, how
ever, that the men who refused to indorse
the recommendations of the governor in
regular session will do so if convened in
extraordinary session.