The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-06-28
THE VANISHING STATE DEBT.

The executive finance board. consisting
OF the Governor, the auditor and the treas
of state, yesterday made arrange
ments to pay s1o00,o0o toward the ex-
tinguishmel. of the state debt. This paid,
sl3l9. 90 remains, which the State can re-
deem at it's option. When the 81 .3i2 900 shall
be paid no moro of the time bonds can be
paid until 1915. The loan of the colleges.
amounting to s2SS.O00. can never be paid
unless those institutions request that IT
shAl be done. As these bonds bear per
cent. interest 1t is possible the State Will
never be permitted TO pay that obligation
When the Republicans came into power
n October, 1895, the amount OF the state
debt was sI,52O.elS12. Since that time. in
GLIDING the million dollars now ordered
paid 81. s3i, 900 has been paid, leaving $685.
6l5 due AS only S1.Sl2,00O OF this
amount can be paid before 1915, two years
more of the sinking fund viii be ali that
is necessary 10 pay off the amount now
payable, {: the surplus in the general fund
shall be as large as in the past. To this
extinguishment Of the debt, the sinking
fund has contributed almost $4,000 a year,
while almost 81 10000 has been paid from
the surplus OF the general fund in the years
that the Republicans have been in power.
During the same period $l.3OO,OOo has been
expended upon public buildings, new
rsformatory and practically a new state
prison having been built. In addition to
! the expenditures for public buildings. S125,-
900 has been paid for a State Soldiers
/ Home. and 10000 for the soldiers monu-
ment. These constructions have been paid
for, not IN bonds bearing interest, but in
moEey.
Nor has this result been accomplished
by increase of the State levy On the
contrary. the levy Is smaller now than it
/ was I'm 1898. thu last made by Democratic
! legislature. Then II was 80 cents on each
J sl0O; the levy is % IS cents. which in
clJdes 4 special levy for the three State
schools. In 1883 the levy for the running
expenses of the State was Is cents per
s10o: now it is II cents. Yet with this
/ smaller levy the greater work above re-
I ferred to has been done and a large
amount has annually been left to be de-
voted to paying the State debt This has
/ been done by eliminating the fee system in
/ all State offices by requiring all insurance
companies and other corporations to pay
the tax assessed upon them, and by pay
/ ing all fees into the general fund of the
/ State. The abolition of the fee system
and of the the grab of the attorney gen.
eral Of a portion of the school fund have
saved the state treasury not less than
100000 a year. If the state auditor and
the secretary of state had been paid the
fees allowed by the law repealed by the
| Republican legislature of 1895 compensation
of those officers the past two or three years
could not have been less than $4,000 and
$4,000 respectively. In all of the public
institutions the expenses have been re-
! duced. II is the statement of the board
of charities that if the cost of maintaining
those who a public charge were as
much per capita in 1901 as it was in 1892,
the extra cost would have been $780, $50.
This is a record that can challenge the
country for one that compare with it,
| 1t is a Republican record.