The Dickinson press., 1901-01-12

The very able and complete message
of the retiring governor, together with
the reports of the state officers which
will be placed upon your desks, fully
inform you of the conditions of the
state and of its various institutions.
I desire to call your attention prin-
cipally to the one subject that I deem
of the most importance for your con
sideration at this session, namely,
THE FINANCES OF THE STATE.
The makers of our constitution in
their wisdom saw fit to place a very low
and infexible limit to our state indebt-
edness, at the same time they permanent
ly located a large number of state in
stitutions. They literally endowed
them with grants of land, which grants,
however, were not available for the
building up of these institutions and
your predecessors have built them up
largely from taxation.
These institutions are a great credit to
our state and I believe are not in adj
of our needs, but they are, per-
haps, in advance Of our ability to Sc
cure, by taxation, under the existing
tain them, and provide for their growth.
Almost since statehood our expenditures
have exceeded our receipts and as an
inevitable result our debt limit was soon
reached and we have for some time had
an empty treasury and bills long past
due.
On January l, 1895, by reason of ex-
cessive appropriations and a lack of rev.
emu there were due and unpaid claims
against the state amounting to about
$4,000. The governor that year We
toed appropriations amounting to more
than 100000, and a number of your
institutions were supported for two
years by private subscription and yet
this administration begins the new cen
fury with an empty treasury and $780,
600 of unpaid vouchers. Besides, all
this time we have levied taxes up to the
limit permitted by law.
Gentlemen Of the Legislative Assem-
bly,: We owe a duty to our constitu-
ents to amend this condition and to
place, our state, in a position to pay all
claims on demand.
There are but two ways this can be
done; either we mist materially increase
our receipts or we must materially cut
down our expenditures, or both
The former we can i'll afford to do on
the heels of an almost complete failure
of crop. There is a natural increase OF
the venue but on account of this fail
ure of crop ]. believe the receipts for
the past two years are a fair index OF
the probable revenues for the ensuing
two years. This amounts in round num-
bers to $o35,ooo. Our expenditures
based upon the present laws and the
appropriations of the last Legislature
amount to $o62,ooo or nearly $4,000
nor than the probable revenues. These
expenditures are of three classes:
First: The standing appropriations
the amounts of which are fixed and linn
tied by law. These at the present time
for the biennial period, amount to
$4,000.
Second: The standing %appropria.
tons, the amounts of which are unlim.
tied and are governed by the operation
rately estimate from the amount Of
previous years and will probably b.
$25o,ooo, and,
Allilu. Lie OlCIllIldl ppAOplldtiO
of the Legislature, which vary with the
needs of the state institutions. The ap.
preparations of this class for the pas
two years amount to $326,ooo.
You will notice that than. two.
thirds of these expenditures arise under
the first two classes or from the opera.
ton Of our standing appropriations and
] believe that by reason Of the Imperfect,
knowledge, by our legislators, Of thu
amounts appropriated by these appro'
priations, is due the fact that our ex'
penditures have so often exceeded oui
receipts. lido not believe that this o. an,
other legislative assembly would de.
liberately and with knowledge appro,
pirate more money than they reasonably
might expect to receive from Il ordi.
nary sources of revenue
That such appropriations have beer
made more than once the record of ouI
= h;us ;s the i~ndisputable proof