The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1901-03-29
IMMENSE SAVING FOR TAX
PAYERS.


stood, the appropriation bills are pro-
badly the most important.
Senator Stokes, it's chairman, is a
recognized financial authority. He is
the president of the Mechanics, one of
the strongest banks in Trenton. AS
member of the Appropriations Com
mittee, he has long made the financial
affairs of New Jersey a study, and as
it's head for several years is thoroughly
qualified to discuss it's numerous
items. AS this is matter in which
every tax payer is interested, we COM
mend to our readers the following
synopsis of his remarks which were
made when he introduced the bills
and which commanded the closest at
tention of those in the Senate Cham
Der.
The two bills providing for appro
priations for the expenses of the state
government are known as the Annual
Bill, and the Supplemental Bill; the
first provides for the expenditures for
the fiscal year beginning November
LIST next, while the Supplemental Bill
provides for the immediate expenses of
the state. The appropriations were made
by the Legislature in anticipation of
future needs and were based on what
it was supposed the state would re-
quire for the fiscal year beginning in
the November following the sitting of
the Legislature, which covered future
period of about eighteen months. 1t
was naturally impossible to foresee all
the requirements of a period so far
distant. 1t was necessary, therefore, at
each session of the legislature to sup
plement the work of the appropriation
committee Of the preceding year. For
instance, he cited the appropriation
for county Iunatic asylums was an IL
lustration of the necessity of the sup
Elemental bill; the appropriation for
this purpose being made on the basis
of the number of patients in the
county asylums at the time of the pas
sage of the appropriation bill, and
could not cover the expense due to the
increase in the number of patients.
And moreover, new emergencies arose
in the course of the year requiring
new appropriations. These he denomi
mated extraordinary appropriations in
contra distinction from the appropria-
tions regularly made for current ex-
penses of the State. Among these
were cited, the appropriation for the
Railway Reformatory, for the Pan
American Exposition, for improve
ments of the Morris Plains Asylum.
for expense of the New Jersey troops
at the inauguration of the president.
The village for Epileptics, and for
other equally worthy purposes. Among
the extraordinary expenses in the an
nual bill was an appropriation of
$71, 900 for the payment of the last
maturing bonds incurred during the
Civil War. For the Railway Re-
formatory, $65, 900; for the preserva
tion of the Palisades, $500
These extraordinary items more than
accounted for the increase in the
amount of this years appropriation
over that of last thus showing that
the current expenses of the state were
not increasing. 1t was gratifying, he
continued to be able to state that not
withstanding the fact that New Jer-
sey had gained in population, that it
required more today to provide for
her schools, to take care of her insane,
feeble minded and other INDECENT per-
sons than it did five years ago, that
none the less the ordinary expenses of
the state during this period had not
materially increased. The ordinary
disbursements for 1893 being about
80. 107, 900, for 1900 so. 1902, 900, 1901,
about 50, 094, 900.
In this connection the Senator said
it was to be remembered that some of
~, kc Hpnt lxy
chargeable to expense; for instance,
we were appropriating 300, 900 more
for schools than formerly. We were
distributing to the taxing districts
1905, 600 out of the railroad tax that
was formerly kept in the state trea-
sury. We were spending each year
upon state roads $780, 900 instead of
$40, 600. We were paying $26, 600
year for the salaries of the county
superintendents which formerly was
paid by the counties themselves.
These items, of course, swell the
total of the annual appropriation bill I;
but they are rather in the nature of
gifts to the various municipalities
and localities, than of state expendi-
lures. In other words, about half
million dollars a year was paid out of
the state treasury to relieve the local
expenses. This he compared to the dis
tribution of the surplus in the trea-
sury of the national government
among the several states in the year
1886, and he said it should not be con-
sidered an item of expense although it
was figured in the total aggregate of
the appropriation bill.
Senator Stokes showed conclusively
that while the revenues of the state had
been carefully husbanued during the
last seven years under Republican adj
ministration, and had greatly in
creased in amount, the regular expenses
had actually been stationery, if not
curtailed when one considered the
states increase in population and ne
cessarially additional obligations.
He then called attention to the item
in the appropriation bill for the pur-
pose of reducing the state school tax,
and said that sum equal to thirty
five per cent. of the entire amount
to be raised approximating 1913, 900
was appropriated for such purposes
this he declared to be the Inaugural
tion of a new and eminently wise
fiscal policy. 1t was not a new thing
to distribute surplus funds to taxing
districts as had before been mentioned,
but this state school tax appropriation
was to be distributed on a wholly
new principal. The former distribu-
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