Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1911-05-11
FARMERS INSTITUTE APPROPRIATIONS

IdCio 40 an uALuol SIdIo dppIOpI ldllOu
of $4,000 for them aintainance of farmers
institutes, At the last session of the
legislature a bill for an additional ap-
p ropriation of $4,000 was introduced,
and as the legislature deferred action
on appropriation bills-in which this
was included-till the last day, Cover
nor Burke was obliged to veto the bill
in order to keep the expenditures within
the revenues. 1t subsequently develop
ed that the $4,000 annual appropriations
for farmers institutes had been spent for
two years IN advance by those in charge.
The veto of the additional appropriation
has stimulated the governors political
Notwithstanding Prof. Shaw, an
institute speaker and direct beneficiary
to activity and as a consequence some
false charges have been hurled against
Governor Burke.
Following are the main point made by
Grovernor Burke at the meeting of the
board of management of the farmers
Institutes of the state. They are
certainly worthy of pernsal and will
further enlighten many of our readers
in the ma ter.
81 do not feel called upon to answer a
man from another state for my actions
as governor" began Governor Burke,
and then he made some plain talk which
fairly frizzled the hair of some present.
81 do not feel called upon to answer
Hoverstad and others, who if they had
been in my place, would have signed
such a bill if it had called for 100000,
regardless of consequence to others.
Tn csc men had the same money, $4,000,
that they have had in other years for the
Institutes, and it was no fault of mine
they spent it in advance. The fault lies
entirely with the men running the insti-
tutes, and their poor financial manage
ment.
81 did not come here to explain, but
to get an explanation. At the meeting
OF the institute board this morning Prof.
Shepard said to my inquiry that Hover
stad would explain. Hoverstad said,
when l asked him to explain how they
came to exceed the appropriation, that
the president of the college said it was
all right, so in that way the money IN
tended for the farmers Institutes for
the next two years was nearly all
spent last year."
Here Governor Burke read from a
statement showing that up to July II,
1910, the managers had spent $18,413. 2l,
leaving but S17S.38 with which to run
the institutes up to January l, 1911. By
this latter date the managers we're in
debt in the sum of s5,19O.83 and s1,sOO
had been borrowed on the o. K. of Presl
dent Worst by Hoverstad from the bank,
the interest on which the state refused
to pay.
The governor stated that the debt had
cut down the available funds to the
credit Of the institute fund to about
$4,000, but Professor Hoverstad's figures
made the amount available about $4,000.
The governor then announced that in
the future, so long as he was governor,
anyone borrowing money on the credit
of the state would have to pay it back,
that 1t was against the law to overdraw
appropriations, but that 1T seemed to be
a professors way. He said he had been
IN touch with the financial situation in
the state and for that reason had appeal
ed to the legislature to go slow on ap-
preparations and to get the bills passed
early so that if the legislature did not
like what he vetoed it could assume the
responsibility and pass them over the
veto; but instead of doing so the law
makers had thrown the appropriation
bills at him on the last night of the ses-
sion, evidently having faith in him, or
else for the purpose of making political
capital. He had called the heads of the
institutions to consult over what could
be cut out, but they SAID it all had to go:
so he could suit himself, and as it was
he did lot cut enough, and the shortage
would have to be made up by increased
taxation.
The governor told of how Prof. Will
lizard had a soil map plate made and
copyrighted in his own name for which
the state paid $500 and could not get
the plate for the use of the state. He
said the criticisms of Mr.. Shaw came
with bad grace from a man who has been
the beneficiary of the institute fund for
many years. He said he believed in the
instit ute and supposed the old appropri-
alton would carry them along as they
had been going. He said he placed the
blame where it belonged. For years he
had been accused by political enemies
OF knocking the farmers" and read a
long statement showing how he had
approved bills carrying hundreds of
thousands of dollars for measures in the
farmers interests. He was forceful.
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