The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-02
GOVERNOR COMER
 IS NUT WORRIED Though Big Deficit Stares Him
 in the Face DEFENDS EXTRAVAGANCE Declares That the People Have the Money and Calls on Critics To
 Suggest Remedy For
 the Deficit.

Montgomery, September 1-(Special J.
 Evidences accumulate that the job of
 financing the state over the deficit that is
 on the way for the mid-winter Is going to 1 be big one. even for Gov. R. B. Conner. Senator H. F. Reese of Dallas, in speech
 at the extra session, said that 1t would
 run to s150.ooo and the figures indicate that he was further below than over | However, Governor Conner Is not wor- ried. Before leaving for Georgia last night
 he reiterated that there Is no cause for ] alarm.
 l The books of the state treasurer show
 at the close of business Tuesday August
 s1. balance of s6s2, 3s5 .1s. compared to
 H. .S2s,2 ,266. .2s in 1908. falling off of ssa5,- 93l.0a. or more than the entire balance at the present time. As there are very few returns, save one account. that of
 the convict department, for the balance
 of the year, and the overcoming teach-
 ing bills coming back after the vacations,
 the outlook Is that things are going to run
 down nightly before January 1, when things start back in the receipts of the
 taxes.
 With a balance of s6s3 s35. .1s, and about
 s92s0O0 coming from the convicts, the
 treasury will have to go up against a de- mand that history shows to be heavy and persistent. Here Is an earnest of what
 1t will be- Total receipts from October 1,
 19oS to December s1 1908. s5s6, ,ese.5o; dis bursements. s1,s62.525.72. difference to the
 disbursement side. s1.275, ,Ss9.22. As fur ther evidence the low water mark for last December, with all the big start at Sep
 tember l. was s49.S9O.16.
 If these figures are borne out to the end
 of the year, with the situation as 1t Is, the governor will soon be up against 1t. with
 the Reese statement modest one indeed.
 But the chief executive, as already noted,
 has no fear of discussion of the situa-
 tion. He says the people have the money
 and 1t has been spent in their behalf in schools. old soldiers and other good
 works. He wants to know from any crit
 ic where he could commence to cut down.
 ''The legislature might have cured the
 troubles by cutting off the appropria-
 tions." said the governor. That would
 have done the work, but where were they
 to start. and where would the most active
 critic have had them start" The gover-
 nor also points out that if the legislature
 had made only the appropriations he sug-
 gested there would have been no deficit, taking the loss of the liquor taxes into
 account Appropriations over and above what he suggested amount to more than
 s75O.OOo.
 Convict Conditions.
 The fact that in IS months the convict department of the state shows earnings
 net of $500, 900. is taken to be no more
 markable than that the death rate is less than 1 per cent. It is hardly probable that such health condition can be shown in any other state of the union, especially where there are large numbers worked
 in the mines.
 There were, at the beginning of August. 237S convicts under control of the state, divided as follows: Sawmills and turpen- tine works, 66s; mines, 94s; farms. 191: cotton mill and farm at Speigner's. 2S3;
 walls and hospital at Wetumpka. 214;
 stove works at North Birmingham. 7s. It
 will thus be seen that very much less
 than half are worked at mining coal, well known To be In the Haln the most profitable service. However, the lumber
 mills are also very remunerative. This department has done much to show
 that with good business policy the wards 1 of the state can be made to pay largely | to the expenses of the state. State Ex- 1 aminer H. Y. Brooke says that the out | look is that they will earn net $20o, 900 a year. giving this much to the expenses
 of the rest of the state after paying the
 way of their own section.
 | This department has shown that cotton | can be made with competent labor at 8 | profit all the time. The hands worked at | the mill are in the main those who can | not do good work In other fields so that | 1t is an economy of labor that works well l in the end The hospital at Wetumpka | is one of the best in the country, as the | records show, and the sawmlls give health-making employment in the rosin- laden atmosphere for many poor fellow l who comes out of solitary confinement 1 with tendency to tuberculosis, or has 1t Of | long standing.
 1 All this Is the more remarkable when 1 it Is remembered that 10 years ago this | department was not self-sustaining. and
 the death rate ran so high at times as to 1 attract wide attention. President Craig | Smith and his associates have gone on | building on the records <made by their predecessors since the policy of piece work l began to run things on to prosperity in