The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-05-11
CAUSE Of
SHORTAGE
Legislature Paid no Regard
@n To Warnings.
SURPLUS DISAPPEARING
As Shown by State Treas
urer's Report.
Request for Reforms in Taxation
Fell Upon Deaf Ears Of Republi-
can Legislators.
OBY oRwnLL G. RiDDLE.)

Columbus, o.. : May 1l.-Just what
was to be expected, and what Gov
ernor Harmon pointed out to the
legislature repeatedly during the spe-
cial session, begins TO appear in the
FIRST quarterly report of State Treas
urer Creamer to the governor.
Briefly stated, 1t is the decrease in
revenues and increase of expenditures
working from opposite ends to reduce
the surplus in the state treasury.
The cause is not of greater import
ance than the effect. Both cause
and effect were fully discussed while
the Legislature was in session.
With full knowledge or the conse-
quences the legislature deliberately
contributed one of the causes by pill
ing up appropriations until the to-
tai reached a round million in excess
Of estimated receipts, and as delib-
erately refused to take any action to
recuperate the states finances, al
though urged by Governor Harmon
TO do so.
Figures usually are regarded as dry
fa,ts.' Say statistics" to some peo-
pile and you Immediately destroy their
interest in a subject. But when
you are able to say that expenses
are going up and that revenues are
coming down. you can foretell to a
certainty what is going to happen to
the surplus. and the figures will help
YOU to--prove IT..
by figuring on this proposition you
will come very near solving that old
hypothesis as to what will happen
when an irresistible force comes in
contact with an immovaDle object.
In this case the treasury represents
an immovable object. for we must
have state treasury: the decrease
In revenues and increase In expendi-
lures working simultaneously create
the irresistible force; the depletion
of the surplus is what is going to
happen at the crash.
Let us take good square look at
the state treasurers figures. When
Mr.. Creamer went into office he re-
ceipted for $6S91 d49; the revenues
for the first four months of the call
eudar year were $2,SS4 101; eNpendi-
lures for the same period, $I,3SS ,7OS;
balance 1896, 543.
These figures in themselves would
have small significance. The figures
which tell the real story are found
by comparison with the same period
OF 1908, showing that the disburse-
ments were 5000, 1865 greater and the
receipts were $799j553 less. This is
the irresistible force moving upon
the state treasury from opposite az
rections. and 1t fully confirms the
warning of Governor Har-
mon to the legislature.
During the campaign last fall the
Republican cause was bolstered up by
statements regarding the
states finances.
Their rigmarole was of the "all
paid out description, and they made
much of the phrase, "every cent ac-
counted for all intended TO deceive.
From jugglery of this sort they
turned to the daily treasury balances
and boasted of surplus ranging all
the way from s5,OOO,OOO TO $1,000, 1000.
as prima facie proof of the great
Anaciering ability of the q. o. p.
Then they had a lot to say about
"experlence, and deplored the idea
of turning out Republicans who had
so much experience" and putting in
their places Democrats who never
had no experience at nothing, 80 TO
speak
do you remember those feryld hom-
llles on experience during the cam
paign?
Well, the people put a Democrat in
the governors office and another
Democrat in the state treasury and
the way the campaign froth about
"experience" evaporated was so ap-
parent that even the Republican leg
islature couldn't keep up the decep-
ton.
The daily balance OF Ecash on hand
is no more an index to The condition
OF the treasury than the color OF the
fur indicates how many hairs there
are on cats tsil. 1t is easy enough
TO show cash laid in, cash paid out
and cash on hand
What the alleged financial state
ments used in the campaign last fall
by the g. o. D. Gldn't show was how
much more casl was yet to be paid
out.
When the legislature met this year
the official financial statement of the
state auditor showed outstanding
warrants and tnexpended approprla,
tons amounting TO over $4,000 900.
So the much Toasted surplus OF the