The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1901-06-20
OFFICIALS DUMBFOUNDED
Governor Loses Mandamus Suit and
State Is Confronted With Enor-
nous Deficit.-Teachers
Must Wait Indefinitely
for Their Pay.


The supreme court Of Georgia has
handed down decision overruling
Judge Gambler and setting aside the
mandamus in the suit brought by the
governor of Georgia against State
Treasurer Park to compel him to pay
out of the public property fund in
the treasury the state school teachers
warrants amounting to s26O,3o6.1s, the
court holding that the constitution
forbids the use Of this money for any
purpose except to pay the bonded debt
of the state.
The decision was written by Justice
Cobb and is quite voluminous. The
only dissenting opinion is by Justice
Lewis.
The decision of the court viewed in
one light, means that the teachers
of Georgia must wait until the taxes
are collected the latter part Of Novem-
yember Of the first part of December
before they will receive their pay. 1t
is not within the power Of the COVER
nor to make any provision for paying
them before that time.
81 The decision means that the COVER
nor must borrow 100000, as he is au-
thorized to do, to meet casual deficien
cies in order to get enough money in
the treasury to pay the July interest
on the bonded debt, and the running
expenses of the state government.
=. It means that the state is confront
ed by a deficit Of about $550,o0O,
though it has that amount Of cash in
che treasury. The deficit comes about
in this way: Amount due the teachers
which cannot be paid until fall, about
100000; amount the governor will
have to borrow to pay part of the July
interest on the bonded debt and run
ming expenses of the state, about $780,
600: amount not heretofore credited to
the public property fund that will have
to go to that fund, $4,000. The in
terest also on the public property fund
since it has existed must go to the
credit of that fund.
There is a question as to whether
the public property fund will have to
be withdrawn from the state deposito-
ries. Hon. Dupont Guerry. counsel for
Treasurer Park, admitted in his argu-
ment before the supreme court that
such would be the case. The court did
not pass on the point. When asked
directly what he would do with re-
gard to this matter, Treasurer Park
replied:
"That question has not come before
me yet, and 1 cannot say what action
I will take"
Should the money be Withdrawn
from the state repositories, the state
would lose nearly $4,000 a year in
terest.
The decision in addition to the fore
going, means also that the new class
Of widows of confederate veterans, for
whom pensions were provided by the
last legislature, will get no money TINS
year. They must wait until next year.
and in order that they may get 1t then,
the legislature must make some spe-
cific provision for them.
A serious problem confronts Cover
nor Gambler. 1t is "up to him" to de-
termine how to make both ends meet,
and the ends are a long way from
each other, too.
The public property fund and sink
ing fund now in the treasury amounts
to 1892, $50. Not cent of this money
can be touched. Ine general fund
now in the treasury, which may be
used for all purposes how amounts to
about s15O,0OO. The exact figures will
not be available until Treasurer Park
makes his statement to the governor.
This $150,G00 is not sufficient to meet
the July interest on the bonded debt,
which amounts to $163,000, and which
must be paid on July lst- In addition
to that there must be PAID out "ltnln
the next few weeks for the running ex-
penses of the state in the neighbor-
hood of s125,000, making a total OF
nearly 100000. Therefore after the
governor has borrowed 100000. which
it appears he must do, he will have
left only $50,000.
The si."ation is so serious in fact
that some of the officials at the state
capitol remarked that they feared
they would have to wait for their sala-
ries
In addition to the foregoing the
proposition regarding part or the pub
lie property fund not heretofore ta-
ken into account, has got to be taken
into consideration