The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1899-09-01
LEVY TOO SMALL.
The state 1t Kan'a' Cannot Pay rs 10
Goes.

ury County treasurers have been
more prompt than usual in their re-
mittances, and the force in the state
treasurer's office has kept pace with
| them The warrants stamped Not
paid for want of funds" were called
for on July 20 but. as the interest
does not cease until after thirty days
notice, only small number of war
rants have been presented for pay.
ment.
The state treasurer furnishes some
figures and facts with reference to
the states finances which may be
considered with profit by Kansas PEG
Pile:
There will be no improvement in
the states ability TO pay as we go un-
til we begin to receive taxes ON the
new state levy, and that will be next
January said the treasurer. The
money we are now receiving is the
last half of the taxes of 1895, and /
find that about 20 per cent was paid
in during the first half of the fiscal
year just ended. IL is commonly true
that the larger share of the taxes is
paid then because the taxpayers wish
TO take advantage of the rebate
There was Slg9, 400. 70 collected and
spent during the last thirty days of
the late administration that should
have been available for the six months
just closed. 1t is IA fact that without
that money my predecessor would
have been stamping warrants when l
took charge | might add that almost
all of this was received from Populist
county treasurers Whether this was
done to tide over the administration
until the transfer of the office, the
judgment of the public must deter
mine
The appropriation of 1897 for the
payment of the employees at the State
house and charitable institutions was
S3s, 600 short. The Legislature of 1899
had to pay it. The entire deficiency
appropriations approx mated $500, 900.
Counties offset their state taxes by
claims to the amount of Sl36, 695. 81
for the care of the destitute insane
which the legislature of 1897 had
failed to provide for. The fire at the
state university, the Omaha EXPOSE
ton, attorney fees in the states law
suits and extensive building at our
state institutions made enormous
drains upon the general revenue. The
expenses incurred in Quitting our
volunteers for the Spanish war were
S37, 600 and the state will lose between
$4,000 and IS, 900 of this because no
proper records and receipts for this
were kept by the late administration.
The United States government will
not reimburse the state unless every
, thing is kept accurate and regular.
There has been no increase in the
: state levy since the imitation perioo
of the SOS although the total valua-
! ton of property has decreased very
| much. The Popuiist party has had
control of one or more departments of
the state government since 1890, and
two years ago they were given COM
plete control and they even decreased
the levy while all these years the in
stitutions of the state have been
growing. The public understand this
best in their home affairs Ii their
county commissioners ignore the ac-
tual requirements to conduct the af-
fairs of their county and make insult
ticient levies therefor, the county
treasurer must stamp the county
script mot paid for want of funds"
, If n school district votes nine months
school and makes levy only sufficient
for six months school, it finds itself
behind in its current expenses at the
| close of the year and the tax payers
= don't hatter themselves that they had
practiced "A sound iudicious economy.
% THE trouble is that the state has
5 not been raising sufficient money to
, run it, For instance, the receipts
r from taxes from December /, 1898. to
May 30, 1899 were $3.50, 900, while the
disbursements for the same period
were Sl,Oi5 900 The receipts from
all sources from May 80 to December
e l of this year will approximate S565,-
600, and it takes about Sis, OO0 n
1 month to run the state, which will
= leave "A deficiency of Sl35,OOO on cur
I rent expenses alone. Those who made
. this levy dcscrvS 40 credit that it is
9 no worse. for there was Il transfer on
! June 30 of $4,000 to the general rev
p. enue from other funds, such as inter
Y est on our New York deposits, Ii
a brary, seed grain and insurance ac-
I counts.
G "The honor of the state was pledged
o to pay the Quantrell raid scrip, and
( the legislature of 1897 should have
provided for it, but false notion of
economy prevailed and put off the
p day of settlement. 1t will have to be
= paid, and evasion and temporizing is
I neither honest nor economical
l II can only approximate the amount
= of money that will be needed to pay
Q for buildings and other extra ex-
, penses in the next six months-prob.
: ably from 5000 900 to $500, 600
r 1.-THE tax levy of 1899 will give us
+ about $500, 600 more than the levy of
4 ls9s, and will be ample for current
c expenses but it will take careful
4 tinanciering to make it reach far
h enough TO liquidate the deficiency of
1898 BY the middle of September
t the general revenue will be again ex-
5 hausted and the receipts of that fund