Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1909-01-22

ing appropriations, coupled with the
right of the governor to veto any item
in the appropriation bill. there is nc
danger of excessive appropriations.
In this connection it may be well to
disabuse the possible impression that
may be abroad or that some have
sought to convey that the state treas
ury is on the verge of bankruptcy.
The contrary is the fact. No state in
the Union is more sound financially
or more prosperous than New Jersey.
We have the enormous sum of $1.S43,-
001,17S.44 of ratables subject to taxa
ton. We are without a single dollar
of debt of any kind. For t~wenty-four
years there has been no direct tax
upon the property of the people for
state purposes. Our state has had
sufficient and to spare for its pur-
poses from revenue derived from other
sources.
The difficulty which is presented at
the present time arises from the fact
that for all these twenty-four years
the constant effort has been to take
away from the state its surplus rev.
enue for local purposes.
There was in the treasury of the
state on Jan. 1, 1909, over $1,000, 600
derived from railway taxation, which
was at some time in the past, either in
whole or in part, assessed for state
purposes. The one-half of l per cent
on second class railroad property,
which, under the act of 1884, went to
the state for state purposes, was in
1897 given up by the state to go into
local taxation. Later the state released
from property assessed as main stem
all its one-half of 1 per centum interest
in the ten acre terminals that were
included in the main stem under the
act of 1884. No railway property is
now assessed for state purposes ex-
cept a strip 100 feet in width, which
now constitutes the main stem and
the tangible personal property and
franchises of railway companies.
If all the tax which comes from this
source alone went to the state we
should now have in the treasury over
two million and a quarter of dollars of
surplus fund. 1t is simply because of
the fact that the state, by chapter 140
of the laws of 1906, has appropriated
out of the states revenues more than
1t should for distribution to counties
for school purposes that any difficulty
arises. The repeal or modification of
that act would relieve all the embar-
rassment.
What the state is doing for the pub
lie schools can be stated here with adj
repeal or modification of the act of
1906 is just both to the schools and the
state.
The total cost of the free public
schools in round figures for the year
ending July 1, 1909, shown by the va
rious appropriations, state II local,
will be $16,673,0 900.
For the fiscal school year ending
July 1, 1905, the cost of the public
seheels-eft the state was SO, 556.500. -
Thus the increased cost of the oper-
alton of the public schools for the fis-
cal wear ending July l, 1909, IVA the
fiscal year ending July 1, 1905, is
over $7,000,000.
The public schools should be sup
ported generously, but ARE must be
taken to prevent prodigality and reck-
less expenditure. The state should do
everything it can to aid the free
school system, but there are other
equally just demands upon the treas
ury under the administration of an
hopnCf nfHofnpt npa 0ao,Ap,;aaJ cto4o
government.
If the legislature in its wisdom
deems 1t wise not to repeal chapter
146 of the laws of 1906, which l
should regret, and decides that a mod
ification is preferable, then / suggest
that the rate for state purposes upon
the railway property now taxed for
state purposes be raised to three-quar-
ters of / per centum and that the fol
lowing items of public school expendi-
lures, now charged against the state
fund, be hereafter deducted from the
amount appropriated to the public
schools by chapter 146 of the laws of
1906 before the same is paid over to
the county collectors of the several
COunlIeS lOI llOulnSuL uluOuS LAS
several school districts, viz:
Industrial education ................. $95. 900
State Normal school at Trenton.... $4,000
State Agricultural college,. ........... 4S,500
New Jersey School For the Deaf. 45 1000
County superintendent .............. 1900
State Normal school at Montclair
Heights 5000
Superintendent of public instruction 5000
Manual Training and Industrial
School For Colored Youth. ....... 1000
Evening schools for foreign born
residents 10000
Free school libraries. ............... 1000
Practice teaching .................... 5000
State board of education. ............ $500
Teachers retirement fund. ........... 1900
School fund 1900
High school inspection. $500
Farnum Preparatory school.......... $3.50
Teachers institutes ................... 1000
Summer schools 1000
Teachers libraries ................... 600
Total .$4O1, $50