The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-10-27
BUILDING
"a STATE
WHAT WAS DONE, Why, AND
WHAT 1T COSTS.
CHAPTER Ill.


Is charged by Joe w. McNea. In his
effort to juggle the figures and mis-
lead the public he undertakes to com.
pare the different Offices or items in
different states without truthful analy.
sis or honest comparison, and In no
place does he risk telling the people
what the total cost of state govern.
ment is.
On his printed circular he gave a
comparison like this:
Cost Of Governors Office in Okla
homa per year fifty-seyen thousand,
three hundred dollars; in Iowa four
teen thousand, two hundred sixty
eight dollars per year; in Kansas
twenty-five thousand, seven hundred
dollars per year. If this statement
was true It would indicate that the
Governors Office In Oklahoma was
very extravagant, but the statement
is false and Mr.. McNeal knew when
he printed these figures that he was
publishing false statements to the peo-
pie of Oklahoma. The Kansas figures
are correctly quoted from their State
Auditors report. The Iowa figures
are false, the true figures being fifteen
thousand, four hundred thlrtyfour dol
lars for the year. (See last report of
Iowa State Auditor, page six)
We then turn to the records to see
what the true cost Is OF conducting
the Governors Office, including all sal
aries and other Office expenses, and
find what are the total appropriations
made for the Governors office in Ok
lahoma. See Session Laws regular
session second state legislature page
twenty-six, where you will find that
the total amount of money appropriat-
ed for running the Governors Office
and including all expenses OF the Of
fee and five hundred dollars travelling
expense for the Governor amounts to
the sum total of fifteen thousand,
three hundred dollars for the year.
Consulting the State Auditors
voucher record at the end OF the last
fiscal year and you will find that the
Governor spent very little of the trav-
cling expense, only part of the sta
tionery and other miscellaneous ex-
pense appropriations, so that deduct
ing the amount saved the state the
actual expense of the Governors Of
flee is about twelve thousand, two hun
dred dollars for the year. Other
items expended under the direction of
the Governor or approved by him are
no part of the expense of conducting
the Governors office.
Reading on page twenty-six Of the
Session Laws above referred to you
will see that in his effort to deceive
the people into believing that tine
Governors Office had appropriations of
fifty-seyen thousand, three hundred
dollars for the year McNeal includes
forty-two thousand dollars of items.
such as rewards for capturing horse
thieves, expense in the sale of public
building lands, aid TO local officers in
enforcing the prohibition law, and
other items with which the Governors
office has nothing whatever to do ex-
cept to examine and approve the ac-
counts before they can be paid. In
this way McNeal adds forty-two
thousand dollars to the appropriations
made for the regular expense of the
Governors Office, when he knows the
truth to be that less than fifteen thou
sand, three hundred dollars year
cover the entire expense of all salar-
les and supplies for conducting the
Gcyernor's Office.
Is a man fit for Governor Of this
state who will deliberately and know
ingly make such false statements to
the people2
The question Is In analyzing what
II costs 10 run a state government.
Since McNeal takes Kansas and Iowa
for Oklahoma comparisons so will we.
The average cost of running the gov
ernment of the State of Oklahoma for
the three even years has been two
million. forty-nine thousand and
eighteen dollars per year, while Kan
sas cost three million, six hundred
sixty-nine thousand, five hundred thir-
ty-seven dollars, and Iowa three mil
lion, six hundred forty-fve thousand
eight hundred six dollars. In other
words, both Kansas and Iowa cost
nearly double what Oklahoma spends
and we go further and state that there
Is not Republican state In the union
that conducts its state government al
as low cost per capita as the State
OF oklahoms. Let Mr.. McNeal meet
this staten II instead Of lodging II
juggling III. figures, and resorting to
false statements. The records OF Ok
lahoma give these facts and the rec
ords Of the other states are In oui
possession and open to the inspection
OF anybody who cares to see them.
OKLAHOMA TERRITORY.
Mr.. McNeal, in q printed circular
seeks to compare the amount OF taxes
collected from nineteen out of the
thirty-five Oklahoma Territory coun
ties in the year nineteen hundred sey
en- for the expense of Territorial gov
ernment with the amount Of taxei
collected from the same nineteer
counties In the year nineteen hundred
nine for their part of the expense o
! efata government The 1'arritoria