Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-01-11
GOVERNOR STOKES
ANNUAL MESSAGE

era1 Assembly:
congratulate you on the promising
auspices under which you meet. The spir
It of our people moves toward better gov
eminent and better laws with every adj
vance in thought and morals, and in this
hour, when the awakened national con-
science calls for higher ideals. it finds us
not hating laggards, but already enlisted
to execute the demands of right and JUS
tice, Our legislation has kept pace with
the best thought of the times and has led
rather than followed the trend of events
Indeed the work of this session will be
largely the continuance of policies pre-
viously outlined With prophetic antici
patton the last legislature opened the way
by providing for the appointment OF conf
missions to investigate and secure infor-
nation upon many of the questions that
tune to have the opportunity of settling
these questions and of associating your
selves with measures that will keep New
Jersey an example for emulation
State Finances.
The finances OF our state continue in ex-
cellent condition. An income without
state tax SUFFICIENT to pay the state ex-
penses and help defray municipal ex-
penses is a source of satisfaction. IT IS
not, however, justification of extraya-
gance either in expenditure or approprla-
policy. The advertised surplus In the
treasury has invited many large and Of
ten thoughtless demands upon the state
purse Dot 81, the close Of the fiscal
year, finds large balance on hand. This
is an overnight balance, however, and IS
absorbed by its debts the next morning.
on Oct, 81, 1905, the overnight balance IN
the treasury was S2,S5S, 10. Nov. !, the
next morning, it was confronted by OBJ
legations in the way of appropriations au-
thorized by the legislature amounting to
S4S01 733 81, so that the treasury balance
at its highest point is less than two
fhir6s of the annual authorized expendi-
ture of the state This sum IS sumclenl
for practical purposes, but none too large
for safe financiering and never a reason
for careless expenditure.
Care In Legislation.
I had occasion last year to request tina
legislature TO exercise greater care in the
preparation and consideration of bills
Some bills were evidently never read by
the introducers. A vast majority OF the
bills showed great carelessness in capt.
talizafion and punctuation: in some cases
to such an extent that the meaning OF
the language was obscured. There IS no
reason why public act should not be so
phrased and so punctuated that 1t VIII
stand the test of good English and be
easily understood by the ordinary reader.
The titles of a large number of the bills
were detective Under the decisions Of
the courts defective titles are not neces-
sarily fatal to an act. For that reason
did not feel warranted in rejecting meas
ures solely on that account. There is no
reason. however. why the titles to bills
should not be correct, and, having made
this suggestion to the legislature in ad-
vance shall feel warranted in insisting
upon its observance.
Cognate to this subject is the growing
tendency to multiply laws, to the confu-
sion of our statutes
For ten years the legislature has aver
aged go separate acts a year. This in
creasing mass of undigested and conflict
ing legislation, much of it passed for
specific purposes, without regard to its
relation 70 our general system of juris-
prudence, makes it well nigh impossible
know the law and more difficult to in
srpref he law. This burdens the people
Eth ton not so much to settle dis
pates as 70 ascertain what the law is. It
makes difficult the performance of Off
cial duty and especially the financing OF
municipal expenses. Such a system must
IN time fall of it's own weight Governor
Griggs laid down as the test of legislation
the rule that no law should be passed UNI
rule is more applicable today than when
he stated 1t ten years ago.
Dependents.
In my inaugural 1 called attention to
the work of the state in the care of its
dependents. About 80 per cent of the
states disbursements are given to this
cause. The state is today caring for or
aids in the care of 5,257 insane persons,
595 feeble minded, IS blind, and in addition
to these there are in the state prison and
the Railway reformatory 1,66S inmates,
The State Home For Girls contains 154
inmates and the State Home For Boys
47S.
To provide for more careful super
vision Of the states charities the last leg
islatnre created a department of chart
ties and corrections. The work of that
department has fully justified its crea-
ton Its expenses have amounted in its
eight months of existence to S5,35O.22. Tn
der the former system the architects fees
alone upon the sum appropriated by the
legislature for improvements would have
amounted to SIS. 1853 IS, A7,13S02 more than
the total cost of this department for
year at it's present ratio Of expense.
The legislature appropriated S55S,766 for
the erection of new wing to the state
prison, for one to the State hospital at
Trenton for a new building at the State
Home For Girls and for various improve
ments in the way of lighting and heating.
Ordinarily deficiency appropriations are
required to complete contemplated i'm
provements. Under the supervision of
this department the purposes Of the iegis-
lature in appropriating the sum above re-
ferred to will be carried out at an ex-
pense OF sos 267 and saving of $55,499.
The department has not yet had time
to thoroughly investigate the question of
what imposition the state may be suffer-
ing in the care Of its wards 1t is proba-
bic that considerable number of those
now maintained by the state should be
cared for in whole or in part by their inn
mediate relatives. An enrolment of the
inmates of all our penal, reformatory and
charitable institutions is now under way.
When this is finished the state win have
not only complete record of every one
{ Of its dependents, but will be able to as
certain how many are worthy Of the
states bounty and how many should be
cared for at the expense of relatives, who
have 4 legal as well as moral duty to-
ward the unfortunate members of their
family
a conference of the heads Of the vari-
<,5,<. state institutions is held quarterly or