Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1903-05-14
WAN 7 s
BUDGET
Governor Urges Leg
isIature to be
Economical
Sends Special Mes
sage for More Sys-
tenn in Expenses
axes Another o. D.
portunity to Slap
the Railroads
Madison, May Il.

Governor La Toilette wants the
that end he asks that at a certain
time in the progress of each legisla
tive session a state budget be made
!. up which shall place before the com
4 mite on claims or before the legis-
Il lature the aggregate amount OF
money to be appropriated and the de
% mands which are made upon the
q state for money. With these things
in hand the appropriations can be
I moro judiciousy trimmed and the
money distributed to better advan-
tage and with greater wisdom.
This was the burden of another
u special message sent by the executive
to the legislature last night. In the
course of the message Governor La
Toilette takes another opportunity to
observe that all the property of the
Il state, with the exception of that of
the public service corporations, is
paying more nearly than ever before
its just proportion of taxes. He takes
in this way another occasion to slap
the railroads. The message is as
follows:
THE bills which carry the principal
appropriations for the biennial period
of 1903 to 1905 have been so recently
acted upon by the committee in
charge, that have not heretofore been
able to ascertain their total amount
Indeed | cannot at this time state the
same precisely, But it appears from
those passed, and those pending which
have been fayorably reported by the
committees, that the aggregate may he
greatly in excess of the appropriations
for the biennial period of 1901 to
1908.
For this reason l address your hon
orable body at this time to urge the
closest scrutiny of all bills carrying
appropriations with the view of deter
mining whether the public interest
demands the appropriation at this
time, and if it does, whether the
amount may not be reduced without
serious detriment to the purposes for
which the expenditure is proposed. |
am aware that strong reasons can be
urged for appropriating money for
many worthy objects which have not
vet been acted upon finally by the les
jslature. But however worthy and
pressing each appropriation proposed
may appear, it must be borne in mind
that, excepting the public service
lo 9
sin, already, are heavily. and, to
certain extent, unjustly burdened and
we owe it to them to scan with the
most scrupulous care every bill which
adds to that burden.
at no time in a legislative session
does the importance of a general ap-
preparation bill, carrying all appropri-
ations in a single legislative act, more
clearly appear to be public necessity
than in the closing day of the session
1t is then clearly manifest that the leg
islature should have the entire matter
of expenditure before it at one and the
same time. When fully advised as 70
the sources of income and the amount
which may be fairly expended in the
ample opportunity to weigh the rela-
tive Importance of each item and
judge intelligently what should pass
for that biennial period. and what
should be deferred or wholly rejected.
This cannot be done when appro-
priations are made piecemeal. The
members of either house at every ses.
sion vote TO pass bills carrying appro-
priations. the purposes Of which are
defensible and proper, but which they
should certainly vote against later in
4 the session because they are then in
/ position to see that other and more
urgent appropriations should be given
preference in point of public import
ance. The same is true of the execu-
tive period. He is not advised in al
vance just what appropriation bills
are to be presented to him for ap-
proval. He is therefore obliged TO
4 consider each measure making
charge upon the treasury. by itself, as
IL comes to him from the legislature
He may not be able to assign as
against a particular bill appropriating
money any controlling reason for with
holding approval, when such bill Is
/ considered by itself II he could at
the same time know just what other
bills carrying appropriations woul
follow, he could then, knowing the es-
timated sources Of income, determine