The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-03-23
THE CUT APPROPRIATIONS.

Governor Spry has worked faith
fully and diligently on the bills left
him for executive action by the Legis-
lature. 1t has been severe tusslo to
get through with the large numbers Of
them, and it is quite possible that he
has stretched the limit of time beyond
what tho law would allow in case Il
clear test could be made. However,
irrespective of that, the Governor s
discretion appears TO have been in the
main wisely exercised The bills
vetoed are not many, and the vctoing
of them will not cause anybody any
distress, while the bills signed are
mostly, as VIC take it, beneficial, and
at any rate are such as he was cS-
pected TO sign.
His trimming of the appropriation
bill does not seem 10 have been as
thorough as the excess in appropria'
tions over the estimated revenue would
have required, but, as stated, the ap-
parent deficit is less this year than
1T has been at any time heretofore
since Statehood. For this we are in
debted largely to the tremendous pay
ment of inheritance tax made by Mrs,
Hartman, which payment seems to
have started the Legislature on a de-
lirium of appropriations that was IN.
of possible revenue from the deaths
Of rich people seems to have taken
possession OF the legislators, and to
have obsessed the legislative mind to
such degree that there seemed to
be no limit to the expectations from
dead men IS estates. The idea seemed
to be that. although no millionaires
were reported at the point of death,
there was reason, in the general un-
certainty of life, 10 hope for ''the
best' in this respect, and the legisla
tors were evidently keenly alive to
the doubtful anticipation of much
money from dead men s property Ac-
cordingly the appropriation bill was
boosted 10 some 100000 above the
expected revenue, and Governor Spry
appears TO have been so affected by
the financial delirium, that he made
cut of only $4,000 of this excess. 1T
must be admitted, however. that the
items he selected for slaughter were,
for the most part, items that few
would miss materially. More than half
of the $4,000 cut applied in sums of
$4,000 $4,000 in one case) to counties
for roads. State money thus appro.
priated is, for the most part, simply
wasted. Roads arc not improved. The
money goes into the hands of those
who are not expert road kers, and
the result is that the roads are not
improved from year TO year, if, in
fact, they do not grow worse and worse
merely in tho squandering Of the
States money.
1t was a difficult situation in which
the Legislature put the Governor, in
respect to these appropriations. The
reserve possibility that the Governor
may hold up certain appropriations for
is, in Il way, a saving clause,
but it is slop legislation Just the same,
as it may fairly be doubted if such a
hold-up as that would stand the
tests of the courts. For, if the Legis
laturc makes the appropriation and
the Governor signs it, that would be
prima facie, an absolute appropria-
tion of the money, if the question
should be tested. 1t is, therefore,
quite possible that the deficit which
appears would he actual at the end of
the biennial period, unless indeed the
hope that a few milionaires
might die in the meantime and supply
the deficit by the inheritance tax up
Oh their estates should materialize