The Redwood gazette., 1900-10-17

per pound. equal to $4,000
Further than this, the managers OF
the prison twine plant during the past
year succeeded in spending balance
/ of $2OS, ,696.14 on hand on July 81. 1899,
| and their expenses were 1858, 1906l TOR
/ the year, as compared with $316.5S9.l6
| for the previous year. The outstand-
ing accounts of the farmers VINO
bought this expensive prison twlne
| amount to 1915, ,865.34, and as most OF
| them have large amount OF tW1ne
| left over, having been unable to use II
owing to short crops, 1t is not probaple
that the prison managers Will hnd COLI
lections for twine very brisk.
More MISREPRESENTATION.
In spite of these facts and figures,
which are absolutely true. being taken
FROM the books in the state auditors
office and from the monthly expense
list sent into that office by the warden
of the state prison. some of our pollt1-
cal opponents are trying to make the
people believe that the prison twine
plant has, under Democratic admins
tration, been conducted in business
like way, and that the fund will have
surplus Of profits of $4,000 at the end
of the year; and that the managers of
the plant have actually saved the state
some $4,000 on the years business.
| Their statements are untrue. and they
| are proven to be untrue by the state
/ auditors books and by monthly ex-
pense statements of the prison man
ayers themselves.
| This is not a matter over which Re-
publicans exult. We do not rejoice
| Of Si,
no cause for congratulation because
our political opponents have succeeded
in crippling the state institution SO
useful and SO valuable to the agri-
culturists of Minnesota. The prison
twine plant in the past has been the
means of relieving our farmers from
an odious monopoly, and it is to be
| sincerely deplored that it's usefulness
has been impaired and it's popularity
| lessened by the ignorant misnanaga-
ment of politicians overeager 20 make
political capital at the expense of the
| IgnOTunt of the Art of Government.
| farmers and of the state.
| 1t is a remarkable fact that the art
! ot government is incomprehensible to
| the Democratic party. The Democrats
| have never discovered the secret of
successfully managing the. affairs of
| the state or the nation. The principles
| of good government are to them e4-
known, ana even the brightest minds
in the Democratic ranks fail to grasp
the fact that in the conduct of public
affairs honesty of word and purpose,
accuracy of thought and intelligence in
action are absolutely essential The
present campaign has furnished an ex-
ample of that peculiar untitness and
narroWness of perception SO character
istic of Democracy. l refer to the
| singular hlunder made by my political
opponent in speech delivered early
in the campaign in which the follow
ing statement was made:
The only difficulty with our finances
at the present tine is the large surplus
in the treasury. At the end of the
fiscal year. Aug. l. the state treasurer
had III his vaults and on deposit in the
various banks s.. 169. 337 So This sum is
! largely in eNcess of the amount actu-
ally needed for the requirements of
! the state. And I cannot hell but ex-
press my regret that the last lesisla-
ture did not cut down the tax levy, as
| advised in my message"
Any person possessing the faintest
conception of the financial system and
condition of the state would have
avoided making such a blunder as is
made by the speaker When he states
that there was large surplus in We
state treasury. AS matter of fact
there was
No Surplus at All.
On the contrary there was barely
enough to meet the current expenses
of state government for the remainder
of the year. OF the So 169, 337 50 referred
to by Gov. Lind. ST. 425 2257S belonged
to permanent funds which cannot be
diverted from the purpose provided by
the constitution and the statutes.
About 81, 10000 Of this remnant formed
part Of school. university and state
institution funds. part of which be-
long to the permanent fund and the
remainder to be distributed to aid the
educational and charitable institutions
of the state as provided by law
Only $144.111.4 belonged to the gen.
eral revenue fund and was raised by
taxation; tWo-thrds of the amount
was derived from the sale of school,
university. internal Improvement and
swamp lands and the interest on land
contracts. and i1H place of being ex-
tracted from the pockets of the tax
burdens. The amount in the general
revenue fund is for the purpose Of
meeting the cost Of state government,
and by the end of this year it will be
exhausted. AS to the
Reduction of til" Tax Levy
in his profound regret that the legis-
lature failed to reduce the rate below
1.5 mills the speaker overlooked the
important fact that the state auditor.
in accordance with the power vested in
him by law, reduced the rate last year
one-tenth of a mill and this wear viii
reduce it another tenth, making the
rate of the state tax levy only 3 mills,
which is nine -tenths of a mill below
the rate levied by the fusion legislature
of 1891.
Of course we all know that many
wild statements are made during the
heat of a political campaign simply for
the purpose of producing political ef-
feet, and the statement haze quoted