Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-01-02
COST Of RUNNING IOWA
EXPENSE of Government of State
Has Not Greatly Increased
In Five Years
SOME FIGURES ARE GIVEN
Exaggerated Statements to the Effect
That the Expense Of the State Has
Been Doubled in Past Five Years
Sent Out by the Standpatters-cap-
itoI Comment.
SOME FIGURES ARE GIVEN
Special to Times-Republican.

!
ming the state government shows very
| little increase during the past several
| years. During the past five years the
| lowest amount disbursed for the eX-
pense of the state government for
a period of six months was $1.329,S91
and the largest amount was Sligo, 40S.
Following the usual tendency of
number of the standpat newspapers to
make grossly exaggerated statements
| paper statements of late to the effect
that the cost of running the state of
Iowa has doubled in the last decade"
or of similar purport. There are no
| figures easily accessible showing just
| what it costs to run the state of Iowa
except since July J., 1901. Since that
| time the cost of running the state of
Iowa in a strict Interpretation of the
statement has not varied greatly. The
| newspapers making the extravagant
| statements as to state expenditures in
varlably link the statement with an at
tack on some recent expenditure for
state purposes. The figures on which
they would base such an extravagant
and misleading statement they obtain
from the last report of the state treas
urer in which table No. POI, between
pages 216 and 217, shows that for the
biennia. period 1s93-1S95, the disburse-
ments of the state were $3,619,644 and
| for the biennial period 1903-1905, &c.
| 795,794, the increase in the disburse-
hot D,,% It'll ~
| disbursements of the state have about
doubled in the last ten years, there is
no truth to the statement that the
cost of running the state of Iowa
has doubled" and the slightest effort
to ascertain the facts will show that
the greater part of this increased ex-
penditure has been in erecting public
buildings and making permanent i'm
provements at various points in the
state. The entire institution at Cher
olSee has been erected in the last ten
years. The erection of new buildings
| for the school for the deaf at Council
Bluffs cannot be said to be an expense
in running the state of Iowa. yet
| part of the increase belongs there.
| Hundreds of thousands of dollars have
been put into the erection of state
buildings under the charge of the board
of control and for the state eduea-
tiona1 institutions which cannot be said
to be part of the expense for run
ming the state of Iowa." A careful in
vestigation into the state auditors re-
ports for the past several years will
| show just the amount that the state
has put into permanent Improvements
in the way of buildings. The cost of
the repairs at the state house have
been several hundred thousand dollars.
What it actually costs to run the
state government of Iowa has not been
compiled except for the time since July
1, 1901. The figures could not be Sc
cured for a longer time back except
through couple of days good hard
labor. On page vii of the introduction
to the last report of the state treasurer
the figures for the actual expenses OF
state government are shown for the
period named. The figures for the per-
ioas of six months ending on the dates
in the way of buildings, the cost of
given are as follows, the figures being
the total disbursement for the periods:
December 81, 1901. ......... 81, 329.S91
June 80, 1902. Observation-Disclosures. 1,465,7 1877
December 81, 1902. ........... 1903, 4S3
June 80, 1908. ............... 1852 149
December 81, 1908 ........... 1,596.25
June 30, 1904. ............... 1,6S0,239
December 81, 1904. .......... 1,756,5S0
June 80, 1906. ............. 1,762, 40S
If any of the newspapers that have
made the extravagant claims really de-
sire any information on the subject
and will consult the copies of the laws
Of the past several general assemblies
they will discover that there has been
scarcely any increase in the clerk hire
and other expenses of running the
state. There has been $500 a year add
ed to the salary of the assistant at
torney general. A new clerk has been
granted in the office Of the secretary
of state to handle the vital statistics
provided for by the general assembly
There was small increase in the pay
of one clerk in the auditors office and
little in the pay of one clerk in the
state treasurers office. There has,
however, beer $4,000 added to the SAL
aries of the district judges, $4,000 a
wear added to the salaries of the SUI
preme court judges, $4,000 a year add
ed to the expenses Of the militia, $685.
600 a year added to the appropriation
for the agricultural college, $4,000
year added to the appropriation for the
state university and $4,000 to the APP
preparation for the state normal. The
total Of this alone amounts to S421,0o0
for every biennial period which is an
increase, but it comes far short of
doubling the expenditures. The in
crease in the disbursements from the
state treasury comes almost entirely
from the permanent Improvements that
are being made by the state and are
directly chargeable to the legislature
which has adopted policy of provid-
ing needed state buildings. However,
some of the increased expenditure
comes from the fact that the state leg
islature has abolished the fee system
which has saved money to the state
All fees are now paid into the state
treasury and the employees are paid
salary which leaves net income to the
state The money passes thru the
states hands and so makes the expend-
lures seem large. Formerly the fees
were collected and retained by the per-
sons receiving the fees.
The Iowa library commission Is CO.
operating with the library commissions
of other states In the preparation of