Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1904-09-02
$S73,072.24
LEAVING NET STATE
EXPENSES . s7ss,s6s.!

EXPENSES ........... $73S, $685.
Any last-moment attempt to alter
or modify these figures will be an at
tempt to FOOL THE PEOPLE.
This is likely to take the form of
statements showing how much is
paid out for these institutions with
out taking any account of their in
come. Any citizen can readily de-
tect their falsity by consulting the
tables at the end of Mr.. Bacon's BIZ
ennial report for 1902.
Where the money has really gone
is Illustrated by the amount of SAL
aries, $61,75935, official expenses
s16,454.45, and commissions--24 OF
them of the kind in which Daniel
Webster well said civil government
always MISUNDERSTANDING Total,
S110,34449, while in 1866 all these
items took just s15,37O73. The single
item of official expenses" postage,
etc, took $1,000 more than the whole
executive department took then,
when there was vastly more work to
do because of war business and when
a dollar was not worth over two
thirds what it is now
The postage and stationery account
alone, analysed, means that every one
of these officials and commissioners
has been writing $500 Official let
tiers a year!
A legislative investigation few
wears ago found that 100000 had been
expended by officials without war
rant of law: but the investigation
did not stop the practise and {. j.
Bell as cattle commissioner collected
for S64% days work in 1901 and 374
days in 1902.
Justice fees, when prohibition was
in fun swing, took S43,SO3.52 in a
year-of which $40, 42677 was in the
counties of Rutland and Franklin
where prohibition was at it's rotten
est. Anybody can see why these fell
lows are so desperate to get prohibit
ton back again.
So we might go on Illustrating.
The Free Press does not deny that
state expenses have increased 2Ss
PER CENT, while population has in
creased only 31a per cent and wealth
only liz per cent,-does not
DENY that the Increase has been from
S255,27147 in 1882 70 $738,36S.95 in
l9O3-does not deny that these hg-
,lres taken together make the
WORST SHOWING OF ANY STATE
in THE WHOLE UNION, whose
wealth increase has been I've times
faster than the narrow, prescrlptlVe
stagnating policies of immense Re
publican policies have permitted &c
Vermont-does deny what is plain &c
any man of ordinary common sense
that more nearly equal division OF
narties would bring a very different
condition of affairs by developing
real and progressive craftsmanship
and effort to win by promoting public
good in place of the petty polltlcs
and personal intrigue that now az
fict the state.
The Free Press undertakes to deny
This nv citing the cost of care
of insane. which it claims t
he only transfer of ex'
nense from town to state. The trutf
is that the net expense OF sl49,9'o.9'
under this account represents an IN,
crease of about $4,000 over VIVA
either town or state paid IN 1887 ahe
the bulk of it is for support as sta.t
manners of people who ought not t'
he nublic charges at ALL simply be
cause Republican legislation ma
made no adequate provision for de-
tarmining whether they have rela'
tives able and legally and moran!
hound for their support. Every law
yer i'm the state knows this ana Gov
ernors Page and Fuller pointed 1t on
in vain. e.,,;ous
The Free Press cites the Soldiers
tJor1e-without mentioning that Un
Gle sam gave us s6,o4S to support II
the state whose COS
was less than S1O,OoO-and the stat
BOARD of Health-only about So'VVV-
rs explanations of the enormous IN
crease. The truth is that these items
granting them to be all rlght: repre-
sent hardly ONE-TWtN l6in
the increase. which 1t is lmpossior
- artenuate or Justify, ana the NOR
defense is attempted. the more clearl
this fact will appear. -.
r,aa thar this outrageous vast
shoul5 not be considered becaus
most Of the money comes from cor