Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1912-10-17
NOT FLATTERINC
TO THE STATE
New York Opinion Is Likely
to Put a Crimp in
Local Pride
REPORT IS OVERHAULED
Wall Street Journal Reviews
State From Financial
Point of View

When an official stands for re-elec-
ton he stands upon the record of his
office. Governor Marion E. Hay has
made the statement in print and on
the stump, that he stood upon that
record, and that he desired his ad.
ministration to be judged thereby,
and he should be taken at his word
This prediction period is the only
time that the average voter has an
opportunity to study the facts, and
then he must allow for probable ex.
aggeration of those facts. But, to
those desirous of securing the absO
lutte facts, the campaign makes the
way comparatively easy. For in
stance: The governor Is dwelling
strongly upon the record of his ad-
ministration; that record is based
upon a statement of administrative
affairs that are wholly misleading. 1t
is the old story, figures will not lie, Il
but liars will figure.
The auditor of the state of Wash
ington is the official upon whom the
law places the burden of informing
the people of the financial condition
of the state, and We have been accus
toned to accept the report, study
its fearsome figures, and file it, with
q feeling of not only uncertainty but
a sureness that If it was not the Off
cial report of the state auditor, we
would doubt it's accuracy. The aver
age reader Is slow to the heresy ol
doubling an official. report, but, there
are some who are without that fear
and the following may be OF interest
to Washington readers, appearing al
It did in the Wall Street Journal o1
Sept. %, 1912:
mot because it is much worse
than others or az bad as some, the
state of Washington may be taker
for study Of the waste arising from
the kind of administration which
would bankrupt any corporation OF
private concern. The report of iti
state auditor contains no succinct &C
count of the public debt, either state
or local, and no statement Of the
rates Of interest at which it is is
sued, nor the dates of its maturity
There are confused and bewildering
figures relating to general fund,
military fund.-" highway fund,
school bonds and other artificial &C
counts, but no satisfactory statement
of the tax levies. For the purpose
of an auditors balance sheet, the re.
port is practically worthless.
with an annual revenue of 81.
752,453 extorted from a scant pOpu-
lation of little more than a million,
the state is scarcely entitled to the
luxury of a public debt. But it Is
not satisfied with expending substan-
TALLY the whole of this income (an-
nual "cash disbursements" $751;
900 but has run into debt, and so
far as the report shows, is afraid to
face the fact.
"This is not all. To the state taxes
must be added the county and muni-
cipal burden. Ten years ago the an
nual state revenues were $2,399,982;
counties, $3,S6S,555; municipalities,
ETC.. $6,62O,597; total, $12,8S9,134. The
relation between state and local tax
alton is such that they both rise and
fall together Applying the same rate
at which the state revenues have in
creased, to the local revenues, the lat.
ter is now about $24,000,000. Add
this sum to the state burden and the
total becomes $31,500,000 equal to
say $50 per capita, or $3.50 per fam
lily.
With one-third of Washington's
farm houses mOrtgaged for an aver
age debt of $4,000 each, is it any
wonder that this agricultural popula-
ton, except in the more fruitful re.
gions of Walla Walla, Yakima, King
and Chelan are finding their way to
Canada to escape the burden?