The Monticellonian., 1905-01-19

!, tion, and, my word for it. it will re- ceiye such an overwhelming majority
 as that 1t will not be necessary for any
 officer of the state government to de- termine whether it has become law.
 But, in my Judgment. such a measure as l have suggested is constitutional; at least, 1T l was a member of the legis- lature and entertained my present views on this subject l would pass the bill and leave the question of its constitu- tionality to the judicial department of the government.
 The State Penitentiary. Gentlemen of tbe legislature it has : been my fondest ambition since I have been your governor to have built and put in successful operation a model penitentiaty and convict system during my term of office. I have labored for three years hard and faithfully upon this subject. but have been met at ev- l cry turn and at every roint of the com l pass with such bitter and stern oppo- l sition that l have almost abandoned 1 any hope of eyer ameliorating the hard. 1 pitiable lot of the state conviets in Ar | kansas.
 It has ceased to be a penitentiary.
 and has grown to be a private snap. I cannot discuss 1t with any degree
 of patiencei the whole system. as to it's management is wrcng. and I insist 1 that you empower the governor to ap- 1 point a board. one from each congress | sional district. said board to be ap- proved by the senate. to manage this | institution and select it's officers As soon as this is suggested. you will hear | howl go up from the penitentiary | ring because the election of the va | rious officers to this institution has got | ten into politics and are rarmed out all l over the state long before q state ofT- | eer, who Is a member of the board ever I T 70 1 governor should be ehafged with the management of the penitentiary: he 1 should be empowered to manage 1t. Worlds Fair Appropriation The great Louisiana Purchase Expo 1 sition has passed into history, never to l be eXeelled and perhaps never equaled. 1 Arkansas is one of the states carved 1 out of the original purchase and with 1 an appropriation of but sS0.000. took
 most conspicuous part at this exposl- l tion- Ne citizen of Ar1aHsas need hana. 1 his head in shame. no citizen of Ar 1 kansas need regret the small expend4 1 ture that has been made. when he vis- l tied the magnificent grounds of this 1 wonderful exposition and beheld the
 prominence and place held by his own
 state
 Education.
 1 Considerable has been said. gentle men, in the last campaign upon the
 fact that my messages did not hereto 1 fore deal specially with the subject l of common school education l 1 did not do so simply because I feel 1 that we have the best system of public l schools there is Tn the government 1 There is no reason why any boy or girl l in Arkansas cannot obtain q fair com mon school education in our public
 schools, but if any of xoa gentlemen i can conceive of any method by whi1h this system may be improved. or that will afford greater facilities anu oppor- 1 tunittes to the boys and girls of our state to heb them to more easiv ob- i tain an education. you will find me in l hearty accord with any measure you may suggest along that line
 can think of this, which seems to me a very valuable suggestion. one very i helpful especially to the poorer classes l of our citizens scattered throughout ! the rural districts. which is: Fur | nish every child in Arkansas with school books free let the district buy them
 from school funds: let a librarian be retained in each school house: let the secretary of each board of directors of l each school district be a bonded officer and librarian and responsible for the i care and preservation of the books be | longing to his district and let every child in Arkansas be furnished with
 just such school books as it may need free of charge
 In this connection there is another
 subject to which I desire to call your i attention. and against which I want to
 warn you. and that is a sentiment which has been fostered for years and l attempted to be promulgated through
 the south by the educational depart
 ments of our commonwealth. which I 1 think is harmful and detrimental to l the best interests of our free school ed- l ucation, and that is the question os
 county superintendency.
 We are today out of debt: that is we l have but $t2,500 of bonds outstanding. | and we have in the state treasury near
 ly one million dollars to the credit of | the general revenre fund. We would | pay this Sl2.500 ih the twnklng of an
 eye if We could fnC it. then I say to
 you. gentlemen. that I feel we can just
 ly say that Arkansas does not owe q cent and is out of debt
 We have enough money on hand in
 the state treasury to absolutely pay
 the expenses of the state government
 honestly and economically administer ed. for two years without the levy of
 one cent of state taxes.
 Then why not cut the state taxes | half in two?
 You will be told perhaps by your auditor that this cannot be done: that 1 you might reduce it a mill. I say to ! you. gentlemen, that it can be done; | but if you cannot reduce 1t but q mill 1 do that much because every dollar not absolutely needed in the administration 1 of public affairs is wrongfully taken
 from the people when taken unnecessar- l fly
 State Rouse. There has been collected from the | taxpayers of this state sG2S21272 Of 1 this amount there has been spent S33s.- l 391S0 and still We have not enough i state house to create q suspicion This l does not take into account the vast amount of convict labor used up to the | present time.
 | I say to you that the architect eIn- ] ployed in this case will never put up 1 the building that he originally planned ! and have it delivered according tn tho l plans and specifications originally sub mltted. for a million dollars He has l already received s3433451 of his com mission. He is to receive only $5O.0OO l in all. This leaves only a small bal l ance due him. with no substantial part of the work done. and I imagine that | he feels very little interest in the TO- mainder of this scheme except the draw ing of the balance of his unpaid com mission
 But there is one thought. while deal ing with the matter of the state house. that I desire to impress upon you most seriously, which is this: Out Of the l wreck and ruin of this unholy enter prise. you save the old state house Save it for some worthy purpose, as q monument of Arkansas past her pres ent and her future.
 The last act of the legislature pro vided that these grounds and building should be sold and the money appro- l priated towards the erection Of a new state house.
 | I ui Sn hat