Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-12-07
Recommendation FOR
TIE Management Of
PUBLIC REVENUE
Continued from Page 81

(AOulllluCu HUH IdSC ~
lures in one year, as it would be for
the salary man to meet two years OF
expense in his first year.
So II the legislative assembly would
provide that a part of the building ap-
preparation bills should not become
effective until, say the first of Janu-
airy following the meeting of the leg
i5lature, the liabilities of the state
would be more evenly divided over
the entire two years and there would
be no more difficulty in meeting the
obligations promptly.
The General Fund is the principal
tax fund of North Dakota, and is the
fund out of which the appropriations
made by the legislature are paid. On
July LIST, 1912, the cash balance il
this fund was $341,OS7.79 a little less
than the cash balance on the same
date, 1910, but greatly in excess OF
the cash balance on the same dates in
1904, 1906 and 1908.
From estimates that l am able
to make at this time l feel sure that
we shall meet the legislative assem-
bly, on January 7th, 1913, with as
large a balance as has been shown on
that same date for a number of years
past. The accounts against the state
are we'll paid up, and with the excep-
tion of bills that are to be paid out
of exhausted appropriations, and pos
sibly a few held for examination or
information, there will be no more
than the usual amount of bills held
over to be paid in the beginning of
the new year.
The indications are that the great.
err part Of the large amount of due
and unpaid 1911 taxes will be set.
tied in the month of November, the
only failures to pay delinquent taxes
Will be where grain cannot be mar
keted owing to bad roads or the neces.
sity to complete threshing operations
before stormy weather sets in.
! have called your attention to
many seeming defects and irregular.
tiles in our taxing, and financing, and
appropriation laws. This is done be.
cause of my thorough acquaintance
with them, acquired through my work
as state auditor. l believe them to
pc both unsafe and unbusinesslike,
and many times they appear in viola
ton of what Is very plain reading of
our constitution.
There is no doubt but that some
time these laws will be questioned in
our courts, and in view of the supreme
court decision, which is cited else.
where in this letter of transmittal,
a see no other way than that
our court must hold the laws in que
tion unconstitutional when that test
is made. If this test should come
shortly after the adjournment of the
legislative assembly, the interest Of
the state, especially Of our state in.
situations, would suffer badly, and l
sincerely trust that you may see fit
to include at least some of my recon.
mendattons in your message to the
legislative assembly, that they may
be fully advised and have a chance
to investigate and make such correc.
tons az are proper and necessary.
The business of this department has
grown to such proportions, and the
expenditures handled by 1t are of such
Importance that the work should be
carried on according to the strictest
business regulations, both for the
protection Of the state and its inter-
ests and the individual having occar
sion TO do business with the state.
am,
Very respectfully,
D. X. BRIGHTBILL,
Auditor Of the State OF North Da-
kota.