The Delta independent. [volume] (Delta, Colo.) 1886-19??, 1911-09-22
PURELY POLITICAL.

man of the Republican County Cen
trail committee of Lake county and
also a member of the state central
committee from that county, died in
this city last Friday, after two
months illness. Mr.. Fahnestock is
the first of the Republican State or
ganization to die during the present
biennial period. He was wheel
horse in Republican circles in Lake
county and his influence was felt
throughout the politics of the en-
tire state.
AS a result of the contest which
has been on between the two rae
lions of Democracy there is every
indication that the internal improve
ment fund consisting of over Sou
900 is so tied up that it cannot
be expended either by the county
commissioners or through the
state highway commission during
this period unless Governor Shat
roth calls an extra session ana
re-enacts either the pork barrel bills
or the bill giving the highway COM
mission the power TO direct the
expenditure of these funds.
1t now develops that the Senate
Journal does not show the third
roll call on the bill which was in
tended to give the state highway
commission the right to superlntend
the expenditure of this money. State
Auditor Leddy and State Treasurer
Kenehan have both refused TO
honor the highway commission
vouchers against the fund and they
maintain that inasmuch as there are
no official records of the Dill hav-
ing passed the senate they viii not
pay the money unless so directed
by the court. A friendly suit VIII
probably be started mandamusing
them to honor the highway com
mission vouchers. However SINH
lar condition existed in connection
with the enactment of the employers
liability law by the Thirteenth gen
eral assembly and. even after the
senate had corrected the journal
during the extra session of that as
sembIy. the supreme court he'd that
the law was not regularly passed.
The fund which this bill sought
TO turn over to the state highway
commission is the money that was
appropriated for the various road
and bridge bills which Gov. Shafroth
vetoed. The Shafroth Democrats
are openly charging that the anti
Shafroth Democrats purposely Jug
gled the journal. The claim is made
that they knew that Shafroth in
tended to veto the road and bridge
al know that
the highway commission would eN-
pend the money in those counties
favorable to Shafroth and that they
themselves would get none OF 1t. In
order to get even, IL is claimed,
they purposely omitted this roll call
from the journal, thus preventing
Shafroth's friends from getting the
money Just as Shafroth preventde
them from getting the money by
his vetoes. Thus, because of fac
tional difference, the internal i'm
provement fund which should be
expended on the bridges and high
ways this period will not be eN-
pended. 1t would have been far
better to have allowed the sevral
county commissioners to have eN-
pended the money as they have
always done than to have the roads
and bridges go neglected through
this factional Democratic fight.
Incidentally, it should not be for
gotten that the s67,500 in appropria-
lions signed by the Governor, for
the city and county of Denver, is
not affected and Denver will get
its amount while the other coun-
ties will go begging.
The Rocky Mountain News in
headline the other day, said; Gov.
Shafroth Discusses Colorado Re
form Laws at the Conference of
Governors" a reading of the
special dispatch disclosed the fact
that the only law Shafroth discuss
ed was the law passed by the last
Republican administration permit
ting the penitentiary warden to
work the prisoners on the roads
of the state. Guess this was about
the only reform law the governor
administration has had to do with
and he would not have had ii had
il not been for the wisdom and
forethought of those conducting the
Buchtel administration.
Gov. Shafroth left for the East
on personal business and also to
attend the conference of governors
the other day to be gone a little
over two weeks. Previous to his
departure he sent for Lieutenant
Governor Fitzgerald and advised
him that he would NOT he reoupst-
ed to act as governor while Gov.
Shafroth was out of the state and
explained that he was too poor to