Omaha daily bee., 1910-05-11
IOWA FREE FROM ALL DEBT
State Officers Figure that ALI 0bliga-
tons Are Paid
REPUBLICANS HAVE GOOD RECORD
Control Of Finances wholly within
Legislature--Much Money Has
Gone into Permanent
improvements.
CFrom a staff correspondent


DIES MONIES May lO.-tSpeclal )--Ac-
cordlng to statistics just given out by the
state treasurer and state auditor, the state
Of Iowa has just completed ten years of
a record showing the state absolutely
free from all debt or financial embar-
assment There is nominally debt which
the state owes to the school fund, but
this cannot be paid off. and Is in fact
nothing more than an endowment Twelve
years ago the state owed nearly 100000
on unpaid warrants left in banks stamped
mot paid for Want OF funds" Then new
era set in and new men took charge OF
The financial affairs of the state. For
more than a dozen years the finances Of
the state have been arranged by just two
mon, who were chairmen of the senate
committee on appropriations - Senator
Frank L. Maytag now a big automobile
maker, and Senator eWarren Garst, later
governor also one Of the wealthy business
men of the state. Through the committee,
which. they headed, all the appropriations
were made and the tax levies.
The policy in recent years is to avoid
cumbersome surplus and to provide Just
enough revenue to meet the expenses Of
the state. The only advantage of a surplus
was to The Dcs Moines banks, which
thereby sweled their deposits At no time
has there been a deficit or anything in the
slightest degree suggesting one,
LeVies for Twelve Years.
For twelve years the tax levies for state
purposes have averaged less than 3.2 mills
on the dollar. The levy last year was "a
mills. The legislature appropriated a
smaller sum than usual, which forced a
smaller tax levy, but this desirable condl-
ton was due primarily to the fact that
the great work of rebuilding and reor-
ganizing the state Institutions and enlarg-
ing them to meet the needs of a growing
state which work had been going on
steadily for ten years, is now practically
complete. While the state has been brought
to safe and, sane business. basis millions
of dollars have been put into permanent
improvements and land for the state educa-
tional, charitable and penal institutions.
All this has been done without at any
time embarrassing the state.
The finances of the state are wholly
within the control of the legislature, the
only duty performed by the executive cuun-
ell being to equallze assessments and to
! fix certain assessments. The. legislature,
at the close Of each session, directs how
|
| and a clerk in the auditors office reckons
up the rate of the tax levy which is thereby
recorded. But In the last dozen years the
assessment of railroad property in the
state has been increased by the executive
council many million dollars and the local
assessment of real estate has also shown
material increase. Hence while the state
| expenses have been Increasing the tax
| levies have not been raised. The state
expenses last year, aside from those OF the
Board of Control for institutions, amounted
to sam very much larger than ever be-
! fore. sass N~sUHE srs,7 .s1'i ai.-
The republican. party Of Iowa will de-
| fend its financial management of the state
against all attacks, though it is known
that their enemies are preparing to make
some capital out of alleged extravaganza
! in state departments in recent years
Miners Complete Work.
| The mine convention has practically fin
! ishcd its work and it is anticipated that
| some time tomorrow a new wage scale
| for $500 Iowa coal miners win go to the
| joint convention of miners and operators.
y new agreement was under discussion to-
day and finally referred to the presidents
| of the two organizations for settlement
| The miners gained another point when the
operators agreed to pay them 12b cents
per car for removing fallen dirt in mines
! The price for brushing was increas ed
! from 20 cents to Sc cents a yard. The oper-
ators agreed to give the miners a holiday
on all pay days during the summer months
! but they are required to work the regular
eight hours on pay days of the other
months.
! Sub-districts were changed and will be as
! follows No. J. Appanoose and Wagner
counties, Iowa, and Putnam county, Mis-
souri,; No. ., Wapello. Marion. Monroe
Davis, Lucas, Mahaska and Kookuk coun-
ties; No. 3, Polk, Jasper, Dallas and Boone
counties; No 4, Boone and Webster coun-
! ties.
| When new mine is opened and there
is any question as tow hat districts il
should be placed in, the joint board shall
decide the question and make scale OF
prices.