The San Francisco call., 1903-01-08
GOVERNOR PARDEEs INAUGURAL

~ necessity the Governors inaugural address
1 has to be extended to the volume of mes
~ sage 1t is different with the inaugural ad-
dress OF a President of the United States That
official comes to his Office few hours after one Con-
gress has adjourned sine die, and nine months before
its successor meets The President then need do no
more than briefly do his manners to the people
who elected him and have to see him take Office,
and need not say anything about the state of the
Union until the new Congress meets and is ready to
legislate.
But the Governor comes into office with the Legs-
lature in session He must share with it the respon
sibities of power. 1t is legisate and levy taxes
for the first half of his administration Therefore his
inaugural must be extended and become message.
So we have practically Governor Pardee's first mes
sage giving his views OF public policy and the needs
OF the State that may be met by legislation.
Two things in government interest the people.
They never stale nor pail as subjects Of thought In
deed they cause the division OF the people into rival
parties and form the subject OF endless discussion.
Without them to keep alive public interest in civic
affairs il is doubtful whether our government would
survive. These things the efficiency OF gov
ernmen and its cost The first raises every issue OF
administration the second carries with it the absorb
ing question of taxation The people of California
are very alert on that subject Governor Pardee
shows that he shares the general soctude that the
burdens OF government shall be light and equally dis
tributed, but he does not propose that the people
shall be under any illusions about the levy that
must support the State government in the first bien
MUM of his term. Those who have preceded him in
the State government have attempted make repu-
tation for economy by providing a tax levy below
the requirements OF the State. The necessary ex-
has been drawn meet them, until a crisis is at
hand. Governor Pardee after pointing out that the
beginning OF the next fiscal year will find the States
general fund exhausted, declares that the only
course of the administration will be to borrow from
injury of the public credit.
The situation is not pleasant and the Governor does
not propose that it shall develop as surprise next
July. So he gives notice that the tax levy must
be higher than the last and gives the in this
terse phrase, which has the snap of epigram:
" This, however regrettable, cannot be
avoided and will be due not to any extravaganza of
the present Legislature but the policy of its pre-
decessor in reducing the revenues than it re-
duced the expenses" That is easily remembered by
the taxpayer when he finds his taxes raised, and the
Governor is wise in finching lodging the
issue now.
This and his we'll studied declarations on the labor
issue the impressive part of his first mes
sage to the people. 1t will impress thinking people
that he denounces the artificial classification OF So
ciety, which many agitators insist upon, aided by
workers, who never work, but live by working the
workers, as unAmerican 1t seems subject that has
been threshed out butthe Governor finds it easy to
be original in his treatment of it when he says:
Labor without capital and intelligence can accom-
-. I, LII
gence is equally helpless. But labor, capital and in
telligence, all three working together to a common
end can do all things" That is worth remembering.
His discussion of this subject shows that he has no
sympathy with any denial of the common rights OF
man by any organization no matter what may be its
physical power The whole message is deserving OF
discussion and comment, but these subjects pre-
sent themselves first in interest, and their treat
ment is exceptionally satisfactory.