The Elk Mountain pilot., 1901-01-08
GOVERNOR THOMAS MESSAGE
SHOWS COLORADO'S CONDITION

| eral Assembly: 1t becomes my duty
| under the constitution to inform you
Of the condition of the state, and rec
ommend such measures as shall be
deemed expedient for the public well
fare. To do this fully and intelligent
| ly, l must unduly tax your patience
and good nature; for our conditions
are far from satisfactory. and meas
ures for relief are imperative.
You are the legatees of all the acts
and omissions of your predecessors,
and must remedy the effects they have
| occasioned. You have been chosen by
| the people to exert your constitutional
powers for the salvation of their COM
monwealth. 1t is n task you can nei-
ther evade nor postpone. one that you
can neither fail to perform nor poorly
reform. You must legislate effective
ly; for public needs are urgent and
public demands have been too long
neglected
During the present administration,
the state capitol has been substantially
completed. The editice represents n
cost of about S2.5IS. .4S4.1S. every dol |
lar of which has been legitimately eX-
| pended. l deem it subject of CON
graduation that from the day when
the first stone of its foundation was
laid down to that which witnessed the
last finishing touch upon its dome, no
taint or suspicion of jobbery or mis-
appropriation has ever rested upon its
managers or builders. Such n record
is grander than the majestic outlines
of its exterior, ,nobler than the exquisite
proportions of its galleries and colon
nades
Our fiscal affairs are in deplorable
condition. They demand and should
receive your first consideration. for the
treasury is empty and the general rev
enues of the state are wholly made
quate to the public needs. This condi-
ton is not II novel one; it has existed
practically since our admission into
the Union. Its immediate gravity con-
sists in the fact that we have been
compelled to live beyond our means
until the limit has been reached. Our
credit is exhausted and we are face
to face with the alternative of relief or
bankruptcy. This result has long
been obvious. was long since foreseen.
and has long been predicted.
I'm his biennial message of two
years ago. Governor Adams emphasiZ-
ed the significance of the auditors esti-
mate for the fiscal period just ended !
showing probable receipts of S1.125,- |
346. as against probable expenditures
of S1.356. .T52.61. being probable def
cit of S231 .4G61. He drew n vivid pic |
ture of the public needs. our growing |
wants. and expanding necessities. He
suggested economies on the one hand |
and methods of securing needed reve- !
nue. on the other. In my inaugural |
message to the Twelfth Assembly l |
supplemented his appeals as best 1
could but no relief came from It's de
| liberations. Hence the administrative
pathway of the last two years has been
| strcwn with everything but roses. 1t
| has been a period of travail and tribu-
| lation. one whose problems and Yicissi-
| tudes have taxed to the utmost the en- |
ergy and the resources of the execu- |
tive A deficiency was inevitable; how |
TO minimize It. to keep the state going |
and to avoid the expense of an extra
legislative session We're the factors re-
quiring solution. The thing was done,
but 1t cannot be duplicated.
THE receipts of the general revenue |
for the fiscal period just ended were
somewhat above the auditors esti- |
mates and reached the sum of Sl,26I,-
94O14. while the warrants issued |
against them fell below his estimates, |
amounting. approximately, to 81. 143,-
42613. Notwithstanding the balance |
shown by these figures to the credit
side of the ledger. credits were necessa-
rly authorized beyond appropriations
| to the Asylum for the Insane, $4,000: !
| the Penitentiary, $4,000; the Soldiers |
| and Sailors Home. 100000; the Univer- |
| sity $4,000. But for the relief OBJ |
tained by the issuance of emergency |
certificates to the extent mentioned. |
these institutions could not have been |
continuously maintained and have
been kept in fair condition only by |
the exercise of constant and rigid |
economy.
',rhe Denver Clearing House Asso-
,.,tl,I tyit 1nI
too highly commended, advanced the |
sum of $4,000 in exchange for these |
vouchers upon my assurance that the
Thirteenth General Assembly would |
promptly recognize its claim and make |
due provision for its early liquidation.
an assurance which | feel warranted |
in believing will be honored both in |
the letter and in the spirit. The board |
of regents sIcceeded in raising funds |
with which to meet the vouchers for
the University, and those who ad-
vanced them have the same claim to
your immediate consideration. But
for the commcndnble and generous &C
tfon of the parties mentioned, a
special session of the Twelfth General |
Assembly would have been inevitable. |
and while its deliberations would !
doubtless have brought relief, the eX-
pense of the session would have been
considerable and an added burden TO
the public treasury.
Appropriations We're enacted by the
Twelfth Assembly aggregatng S4I2,-
555.25 in excess of revenues received.
These We're all essential to the pur-
poses intended, not one of them being
in any wise superfluous. They We're
approved in the hope that Increased
assessments and revenues might en-
sue, but the hope proved a vain one. |
Their re-enactment together with leg