Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1899-08-31
LEVY TOO SMALL.
The State OF ksn,a, Cannot Pay ~ u


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 mot
paid for want of funds" were called
for on July ~, 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 soma
figures and facts with reference to
the states finances which may be
considered with profit by Kansas peo-
pie:
"There will be no improvement in
the states abilitNto 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 70 per cent was paid
in during the first half of the fiscal
year just ended. II 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 Sl99, 49A7O 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 a fact that without
that money my predecessor would
have been stamping warrants when |
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,
1.-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 Appropriated S4OO,OOl
Counties offset their state taxes by
claims to the amount OF Sl36, 695.3
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 QUILTING our
volunteers for the Spanish wa" were
S37 900 and the state vii. lose between
$4,000 7nd So coo 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 uacSs every
thing is kept accurate and rega ar,
There has been no increase in the
state levy since the initiation period
OF the sos although the total valua-
ton Of property has decreased very
much. The Popuist party has had
control Of one or more departments Of
the state government since 1880, and
two years ago they were given com
plete control and they even decreased
the levy while all these years the it,
situations 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
ticieEt levies therefor, the county
treasurer must stamp the county
script mot paid for want of funds.
If school district votes nine months
school and makes a 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 flatter themselves that they had
practiced sound iudicious economy
1.-The trouble is that the state has
not been raising sufficient money to
run it. For instance, the receipts
from taxes from December |, 1898, to
May 80, 1899, were $4,000 while the
disbursements for the same period
were l,045, 900 The receipts from
all sources from May 80 to December
/ of this year will approximate S70j
900, and it takes about Sll5,000 a
month to run the state which will
leave deficiency OF sl35, 900 on cur
rent expenses alone Those who made
this levy deserve no credit that it is
no worse, for there was transfer on
June 30 of $4,000 to the general rev.
enue from other funds, such as inter-
est on our New York deposits, Ii.
brary, seed grain and insurance ac-
counts
"The honor OF the state was pledged
to pay the Quantrell raid scrip and
the legislature of 1897 should have
provided for it, but a false notion OF
economy prevailed and put off the
day OF settlement. 1t will have to be
paid, and evasion and temporizing is
neither honest nor economical.
'Ican only approximate the amount
Of money that will be needed to pay
for buildings and other extra ex.
penses in the next six months-prob.
ably from $4,000 to $500 0J0