The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1913-04-08
sLATON IS IN EARNEST
III, COVERNOR-ELECT MEANS
TO HOLD GEORGIA LEGIsLA-
TURE DOWN.
TO INCOME OF THE STATE

..ata,s Next Executive Really Means
Rusiness in His Intention to I'M
.ova the Condition of the Pub
lie Finances.
,T1,ANTA.-Despite the fact that
MANY governors have threatened to
veto appropriation bills in the event
.,,o legislature expended more than
.ho states income no such veto has
1oon recorded in recent years.
IN the other hand, practically ev-
,,., legislature for the past ten or
Twelve years has appropriated more
money than the state received, and if
~ state's treasury balance were
.,I,on and along with it a statement
s. liabilities and assets, it would be
s,,,,d that Georgia is, as a matter
Of fact something like half million
dollars behind,
The state gets around this condi-
+ion bv sort of kiting process, pay
;,o large proportion of last years
5ohts with this years money, but the
,oint has about been reached now
where an accounting will have to be
made
Six or eight years ago it was posi-
HE to pay 80 or 40 per cent Of the
.oboo1 teachers salaries for the pre-
ooding years in the spring of the
year following when the tax money
came in. Now it is possible to pay
only bare 10 per cent, and in a
wear or two, unless something is
dome to relieve the situation, the
teachers will get scarcely any of
their money for six months to year
after it has been earned.
SIatOn Is in Earnest.
Again there comes a governor who
saws he is going to see to it that the
legislature appropriations are kept
within tie states income and there
are many who believe confidently
that Governor-elect Slaton means
what he says.
Mr.. SIaton has had an experience
Of some seventeen years in dealing
with Georgias finances in the legis-
Iature, and there is probably not a
man in the state who is more familiar
with them than he 1t viii be impos-
sible for the legislature to hide any
thing from him when it comes to the
matter of appropriations. Mr.. Slaton
said in a recent statement regarding
Georgia's finances that he would not
hesitate to veto the entire general
approDriation bill at the coming SEES
sion if he finds this necessary In
order to bring the general assembly
to a realization of the fact that the
state will not be permitted to indulge
in any wild system of finance under
his administration.
Mr.. Slaton is well aware of the
tendency of the legislature to pad
appropriation bills to limit and then
on top of that to pass some special
appropriation bills, as if they didn'
count The result of the careless
legislative system is that the states
finances have gotten ihto a tangle,
which to the layman seems almost
ineXtricable.
Difficult to Tell.
1t is often difficult to tell whether
an appropriation should be paid out
of this years money or last years
money. This fact has made it posi-
Bile to present to the public two views
of Georgias financial situation, with
the result that if there is man in
the state who can tell just exactly
where Georgia stands in the matter
Of finances he would be entitled to
rank as the eighth wonder of the
world.
Governor-elect Slaton has made it
clear, however, that he does not in
tend to permit any more piling w
of deficit in Georgia's financial sys-
TEN while he is in office. Not only
does he intend to see that the state
keeps expenses on the inside of the
income, but it is his purpose to ar
range it so that the school teachers
salaries will have the right of way
over everything else, in so far as ii
is possible to do so.
The governor-elect is now busy
with his first message to the general
assembly in spite of the fact that it
will be three months before he goes
into the executive office. In time he
will unquestionably deal with these
matters in such way that the legis-
lature will understand he means ex-
actly what he says. Then if there
is anything like excessive appropria-
ton the fault will be upon the legis-
lative head
Hotel keepers, licensed to sell in