The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1906-01-11

actment. II 1t were amended and strength
encd In some respects It could he mnde to
asssp e1nny revenue aw ,Sond h equal s
The deposit Of public funds should be made
compulsory. The public should get the full
beneft from the earning capacity Of the
Taxpayers money, which otherwise would
lie Idle In the TREASURES or yield a profit
to secretly favored banks.
State Institutions.
More than half the money spent by the
State OF Ohio from the General Revenue
Fund Is used for the support Of our seven
teen State Institutions Last year the total
more than 30, 600, 900, and the total amount
spent for the Stnte Institutions was nearly
$3,5OO,0OO. There has been stendy IN
crease In these expenditures, caused In part
ly by the fact that our State Institutions,
on account Of the lack of money to keep
them up. had fallen Into n lamentable con.
dition o, dlsrepnir, and had dropped far
methods and improvements. During the
Inst four years the State institutions have
been greatly enlarged and improved out Of
current revenues available.
Notwithstanding the extraordinary ex-
penses cast upon the State institutions, the
per capita cost Of maintenance during the
last two years has been materially rc.
hns been accomplished despite high prices
for the nccessaries OF life
believe that all supplies, SO far rs pos
sible, that are purchased by the trustees or
officers OF State institutions should be fur
nished upon. competitive bids, and l rec.
ommend and urge the enactment OF a law
making It mandatory upon all those In
charge OF the State institutions to purchase
their supplies. SO far as practicable, III the
open market under competitive bids. These
institutions nre built for the welfare Of the
Inmates and the best interests OF the State.
They are not maintained to furnish a mar
kct for local commodities.
Legislative Expenses.
I desire TO call attention to what / re-
gard as extravagances In matters peculiar.
y within the control Of the General AS
sembly. The first Of these is the employ
ment OF unnecessary attendants and assist
both during the session and after it's ad.
journment. Another Is that for postage,
telegraph and telephone bills Your atten-
tion Is CALLED to Section 81, Article H., Of
Another item OF expense recurring Mt
each session which. In the interest of econ
omy and public service, ought not to be
allowed hereafter Is the appropriation Of
thousands OF dollars at each session for
printing Howe's Historical Collections for
free distribution among the members Of the
two Houses. state publications do not ap-
proprintely include either histories for free
distribution, nor In some sense Geographic
annals and similar books.
Still another unnecessary expense long
sanctioned by legislative custom Is that oc-
casloned by the visits of the various COM
mlttees of the General Assembly, together
with their attaches and Invited guests, to
State institutions or elsewhere In the sup
posed public Interest Mt the public expense.
These visits have become n burdensonic ex.
pense to the institutions, and often partake
more Of the nature of a social than of
business function.
My observation has been that II the Gen.
eral Assembly would devote Ave days In the
week. to legislative business 1t would be
pleasing to their constituents, shorten the
session and save expense.
The Penitentiary.
1t is n recognized fact that new pen!-
tentiary is needed. A new site should he
secured rs soon MS possible. The peniten-
tiary Is situated on about twentyf acres
of valuable land In the heart Of the city of
Columbus. II this land could be sold for
what 1t Is worth and the proceeds used In
the purchase Of n site of several hundred
dcres within short distance Of the capi-
tai, where the prisoners could be employed
In raising farm products for their own con-
sumption, Il would result in saving to the
State, would provide a more healthy occu-
patton for the inmntes and would, to a
large extent. eliminate convict competition
with free labor. The tendency Of the
and less punitive, and Ohio should occupy
advance ground on this subject.
Ohio National Guard.
The Ohio National Guard, In order to par.
tlcipate In Federal aiu, Is required by the
recent national militia laws to conform as
nearly as possible to that form of organ
ization prescribed for the regular army. As
equipment, Is on an equal footing with the
United States army, so far as our means
render It possible; We now have 44s off
GERS and 5,93S enlisted men, and the Guard
was never in as good condition or reader
tn take the field at any time In the State
or national defense, It Is worthy of note
that the efforts of the Ohio National Guard
to Improve Its craftsmanship have resulted
In the Ohio State team winning more hon.
ors Mt the national rifle tournament at Sea
Girt, N. j.. lust August than any other
team Il n won first place In the coveted
the national match. III addition to this,
individuals OH the Ohio team won the
Presidents match. the Leach cup and the
the most Important tests Of the meeting. !
commend the Guard to the generous sup
port aud good Will OF the General Assembly
and Of the people Of Ohio.
The Canals.
The Seventy fifth General Assembly, by
an act passed April is, 1902, declared for
the maintenance of the present canal sys-
tenn The Sevcnty-sixth General Assembly
appropriated for the canals S412, ,11S.11, and
earnings amounting to s211,421.82, making
a total Of S623, ,539.03. while the emergency
board, since the adjournment of the last
Legislature, allowed deficiency appropria-
tioDs In the sum of $4,000 for repairs. The
total revenues from the canals was $211,-
42162. showing loss to the State Of $4s2,-
1881. ttt
The largest item of appropriations. $780,
600 for the Improvement OF the Northern
Division Of the Ohio Canal. was allowed on
condition that the water rents be increased
from $4,000 to $4,000 per annum, and IN
order to make available the Federal I'M
proyement Of, the Muskingum river. The
work thus undertakcn may well be con.
cluded. although 1t will require additional
appropriations, since the State receives a
return on its investment In additional rev.
enue. This same policy might, with equal
propriety, be pursued with respect to other
| portions OF the canals, notably the d.
vision from Cincinnati to Dayton. Where
| the State receives In Increased water rents
| n fair Interest on the money expended, ap
preparations to maintain the canals, even
| In their present condition, may be 1usti
\ he'd But the policy Of expending money al
loss to the people. for the sole purpose oi
| continuing the canal system without max
Ing 1t useful for the purposes for which Il
was established must and ought to be nbol
| ished. ~
We must either rebuild the ccnals oil
| abandon them, 1t IL generally assumed
that It will require approximately ten mil
| lion dollars to put the canal system In
condition to furnish transportation facili
| ties throughout the State Such an under
.taElng or anything like 1t would make i'm
| pcrative constitutional amendment, fol
| Ia l..l -