The Cairo bulletin., 1907-08-29
CANDIDATE. Russell ANNOUNCES
THE ISSUE FOR ILLINOIS
TREAsuRER's CAMPAIGN.
SMULSKI SET THE PACE
Richard Yates Still Talked OF as Can
didate For United States SEN
ator Against Senator Hop.
kins---Primares to Decide


M treasury Ii becoming the settled pui
lie policy in Illinois, The presen
n state treasurer, John II. Smulski, la
y paid into the treasury q considerable
sum, collected as interest money iron
~ the Chicago banks, and OF course
! tmuch more will be paid before tht
d respiration Of his term OF office. An
idrew Russell of Jacksonville has lusl
\ made his formal announcement as
4 a candidate for the Republican nom
nation for state treasurer, and in the
\ course OF his announcement he says.
III Believing that the present state
treasurer has established just pre-
icedent in the matter OF interest on
! the stae funds shall II nominated
! and elected adopt the same policy.
Thus Mr. Russell sets the pace for
eYerybosly who may seek the office
iGf state treasurer next year Other
candidates, II there be- amy, win have
IT'D make the same pledge
II Those who ARE disposed to criticlse
Eformer treasurers FOR looming the
funds and pocketiag the interest, as
Ethey are supposed to have done,
gshould bear in mind that such had
1 become the established custom, main
u ty because DIT the inadequate salary
fixed for the treasurer. The treas
snrer was allowed salary of $500 Ii
year; Bis term af office was two years
and he was ineligible to succeed hiuaa|
isaIf III these latter days 1t costs
5iarge SUM Of money 10 get elected to
| ii state Office, and it Is doubtful II any
man who has held the office eli state
treasurer iii recent years expended
for campaign purposes less than the
entire salary for two years. and in
Eslned some oil them are known to have
spent more. II was we'll understood
THAT the office was worth i good deilI
more than the salary and fer that
reason 1t Was deemed d prize worth |
going after.
1t was preposterous, of course. to
expect official drawing a salary Of On
i IL s3,5a0 year to give bond III sl
b0a 0t'f and Ia be responsible for sew
eral millions III dollars placed in bis |
keeping The legislature last winter
took eognizapce of this fact aud iii
creased the salary of the state treas
uerer to s1o.fBu year This Of course
pieces the office on different footing
and hereafter the payment OF inter
est will probably be the inyariable t
rule
There is not much likelihood how
ever, that law ON tbe subject will |
BE passed By the assembly SO many
difficulties were found last winter,
and there were so many differences
of opinion on the subject, that the at
temept had to be given up. The chief
trouble is that any law waking the
loaning Of the state funds compulsory
must, to an extent relieve the treas
urer Of liability. At present the funds
may be considered absolutely safe
and the safety of the funds rather
than their Investment for a profit,
is after all. the main thing 10 be kept
III view II the treasurer loans the
funds he does SO at his own risk, and
whatever be turns into the treasury |
in the way Of interest is so much
velvet" fer the state n the treas
prer were relieved oi liability for loss
and the loaning of the funds we're en-
trusted 70 a board of commissioners,
ono unfortunate loan might wipe ont
all OF the states profits from interest
fer twenty years. For this reason.
so long as state treasurers follow out
the policy Of leaning the funds and
turning the interest into the treas
AIRY, the law probably will be silent.
tt will be recalled that something
like fifteen years ago the legislature
passed an interest law but IL was so
full Of holes that practically no inter-
est ever was paid into the treasury.
and after brief existence the law
was repealed.
Tie revival Of the gossip about
Richard Yates as a possible candidate
for United States senator against Sen
ator Hopkins has raised the question
whether OF not thc legislature would
be likely to give beth OF the senators
to one county. Senator CullOm's !
home is in saagamon county. and
since his retirement from the govern
orship Yates has been a resident 81
this city q has seldom happened
that ono county has bad both Of the
senatora. Such was the Gaze from i
1891 u 1897 when the senators were
Cullam and Palmer But thev repre-
scented different parties. u is prob
able however. that il any man shall
carry the primaries Tor United states
senator he viii be elected. no matter
where he may chance to live. Geo
granhy is 0i less importance in cor
neciioa with the aited States aena
torship than Is the case with the or
binary state Office
J. Mean DAVIS.