The daily sentinel., 1912-03-19
STARTLING FIGURES GIVEN.
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county, by virtue of his alliance, if
he belonged to the same party as the
Ouray representative and that party
was in control, might land an appro-
priation for a road in Mesa county.
The representatives from Delta and
Montrose might belong to the op-
posing or minority party, in conse-
quence of which they would receive
nothing from the pork barrel" and,
therefore, there would be no road
connection between Mesa and Ouray.
Another reason is the dissipation
Of the funds. With a quarter TO
half million dollars in the public
treasury to the credit of the pubic
improvement funds, it became prey
for political aspirants to high Of
flee, or, in the absence of such con-
dition, it was barteTed about in deals
and trades by the lobbyists of the
interests in an effort to enact unde-
sirable or favored legislation or to
defeat measures distasteful to the
powers that be.
I'm using this fund in this man
ner no consideration was given as
to where, how or for what it was
TO be expended One bin would say
that ii would be under the state en-
gineer, another bill would say that
it was to be under the direction of
the county surveyor, another that it
would be under the direction of the
board of penitentiary commissioners
so that there was no common su-
pervision of its expenditure.
"A few illustrations of the gross
dissipation of the internal improve
ment moneys, commonly known as
the "pork-barrel' fund, will EN-
PLAIN WHY THE PEOPLE DE-
MANDED THE VETO OF THESs
BILLS BY THE GOVERNOR and the
removal of this fund from legislative
supervision. There are many who
recall the states connection with
State Canal No. at Canon City.
Over $4,000 of this fund was dis
sipated in connection with that en-
terprise p. and it was only after a
severe condemnation of it by the late
Senator Swink, republican, OF
Rocky Ford, that the state charged it
up to profit and loss, ana dumped the
white elephant off its hands.
State Canal No. g. Mesa county.
was another source of this fund S
consumption to the extent of several
thousand dollars When the Hon.
otto Mears, of statewide fame, was
a member of the legislature back IN
the SOS, he got 100000 out of this
fund to construct a reservoir at Sa-
euache. No water ever ran into the
reservoir, so Uncle Johnny Lawrence,
elected some ) years afterwards, got
a bill through for s4,500 to sink an
artesian well to get. water into this
reservoir; and 10 years subsequent
still, or about % years after the res
ervoir was constructed, another leg
islature tapped the Internal improve
ment fund for S1,100 to pay two
merchants who had been trimmed to
that extent by the contractor who
built the reservoir.
Another instance is the Apishipa
reservoir in the Arkansas valley,
which was constructed at cost OF
something like $4,000 and in which
there never has been drop of water
except when ii rained. Another is
the reservoir at Monument, north OF
Colorado Springs, which cost the
state s22, 900 and has been of little
use to anybody except to private
ice company which operates ii and
from which the state derives no
thing. There is reservoir in Chat
fee county which tapped the barrel
for more than $4,000 and is of no
account; two or three in Boulder
county which absorbed these funds
10 the extent of about 100000, with
string of artesian wells that have
trimmed this fund TO a tune OF
100000. resulting only in demon
strating to some capitalist that that
was not the place to sink for coal or
oil.
so far there has been nothing
said about roads or bridges. The
manner in which the fund was dis
sipated in connection with the pub
lie highways becomes apparent when
say that recent legislature appro-
priated So 900 for building 1,Ooo-
foot steel bridge across the Arkansas
river, the same to have concrete piers
and abuttments. In as much as the
appropriation would not pay for the
construction of the Golfer dams in
preparation for the construction OF
the abuttments, this appropriation
could only be wasted. The same leg
islature. however. in its wisdom, ap-
propriated S4,500 for the oonstruc-
Mice EInpencp Turner