La Junta tribune., 1900-10-17
Introductory.


"HE administration Of state affairs
during the goyernorship Of
Charles s. Thomas, has been
In many respects the worst ad-
ministration which has ever dis
graced the state OF Colorado. The
state treasury has been systematically
looted; n deficit OF $2OO.O0O has been
created; state Institutions like the Unl-
versity. the Soldiers and Sailors Home
and the State Penitentiary have been
supported by borrowing money from
private citizens: much heavier taxa
ton Of the people has been recor,-
mended; ofi1cial ro,tenness OF ail kinds
has been officially whitewashsd: muir
der and robbery have run riot while
the officers wis ought to protect the
people were doing the soyernor's polit-
ieal work; and convicts have been let
loose to work for Thomas machine in
Denver.
II may not be fair to charge all OF
these thiess directly and personally to
tho goytrSor Of the state: A. will be
seen by souie Of the figures and names
given below. some of the looting Of the
treasury aas been done by other state
officials thar the governor. On the
whole, however. most Of the mal-ad-
ministration 5 directly chargeable to
him personally, and has been either d.
rected or permitted by him In order to
secure for himself the political inhu-
ence which he deemed necessary
in order to get himself elected. II pos
sible. to the United States Senate.
may be said Of his encouragement Of
anarchlstic elements of the state and
Of his violent methods, the state treas
ury at least was not looted to any such
extent as has been the case during the
last two years. The deficit at the end
Of his term was only about $4,000.
During the term of Waite's successor.
Governor Mcintyre. whose administra-
tion was not In all respects q model
one, nor one Of which Republicans are
especially proud, the financial admins
tratiOn at least was better than under
Popullst and Democratic governors,
for at the end OF the administration
there was surplus In the state treas
ury OF about $4,000.
Adams on Economy.
Under Governor Adams, whose ad-
ministration some people assert was
the best Democratic or Populist admin
istration which has ever been known
in the stnte Of Colorado. there was de-
ficit at the end of the term amounting
to about $4,000. In his message on
retiring from the Governors chair,
Governor Adams wrote as follows to
the incoming Legislature:
There is no room for extravagance
or doubtful expenditure. Retrenchment
10 not pleasant, but It II honorable, and
under existing circumstances, neces-
sasy."
The fusion Legislature heard this
statement; the fusion governor read It:
both knew perfectly well the state OF
the public treasury: Jet the Legislature
Immediately begnn to pass appropria-
| ton bills for many of which they
knew perfectly well no funds would be
available, and nearly all Of these ap-
| preparation bills Governor Thomas
signed, and when he signed them he
knew that they were unconstitutional
and void. He has acknowledged over
his own signature that the deficit for
| the present biennial period will amount
| to as much as $3.50. 600; MS matter OF
fact the amount will be about 100000
| and probably more than that.
As early as June, 1899, 1t became evil
| dent that the revenue was not going to
be equal to the expenditures already
authorized by the Legislature, and then
| the governor wrote:
"If the valuation obtained IL large
enough to satisfy me that the revenue
of 1900 win be equal to the public de-
mands Of that year, shall not sum
mon the assembly; II II shall appear In
su6icIent, l shall have no alternative
but to call an extra session"
No Special Session.
The valuations were sent in by the
~ r
evident that the revenues would not
come anywhere near meeting the de-
mands OF the appropriations already
made. The governor intimated that q
special session OF the Legislature would
be called December 18th; 1t was found
that this was fifteen days after the
constitutional limit of the terms OF Of
ice Of the members Of the last general
assembly. II was uncertain, therefore,
whether the governor meant to call an
assembly together which had expired
by law. or to call a new Legislature
which had Just been elected. The pro-
tests against nm extra session OF the
Legislature which came from all parts
of the state, were 30 strong that the
governor decided that It would be Inn
polite to call the members together. It
was openly alleged by Democrats and
other fusionists that IL the Legislature
were to assemble the financial condi-
tfon Of the state would be made much
worse instead Of being made better.
and governor Thomas finally shared
this View. An effort wns made to re
cure reassessment Of the property
throughout the state by the fusion state
board Of equalization, 70 n to raise the
values to . figure which would bring In
the desired revenue II was decided BY
the Supreme Court, however, that such
action was not within the power of the
hoard nR ennalfzafi0n. and this methOd