Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-11-02
STATES BALANCE
IS Sl,OS1,383
Comptroller Edwards's Report
Ends Fear of a State
Tax.
OBLIGATIONS WIPED OUT.
IT is ALL FREE MONEY
No Need Of Supplemental APP
propriations-New System
of Bookkeeping.
sreelal TO the Evening star.

6recial 10 the Evening Star.
TRENTON, Nov. 1.-The State of
New Jersey closed its books on the
fiscal year at o'clock Saturday af-
ternoon with a balance of $1,0S1, 1885,
in the treasury and the possibility of
q State tax removed.
Announcement was also made by
State Comptroller Edward l. Ed
wards that there will be no necessity
for any large supplemental appro-
priation bills next winter, regarding
which he says:
There is no need for a supplement
tai appropriation bill. It is behind
the times it Is not good business. In
the new system OF bookkeeping, which
became effective today In this
office. all accounts are numbered and
lettered from the appropriation bill.
For instance, the first classification
being the Governors department 1t is
numbered "one," and each subdivi-
sion for which money is appropriated
under this classification is given a
numerai.
This corresponds to the index in
the ledger here, so that any account
can be quickly found, easily. read, and
by having constantly on the page the
gross amount of appropriation for
even each item, an accurate statement
of how much is left in the account Is
gotten by a glance
sThese things will do away with
supplemental appropriations. l have
been told that extravagances have
crept into supplemental appropriation
bills in the past, although not in the
past four years. Well, by knowing
just where the State is, every night,
just like q bank, there will be found
no need for supplemental appropria-
ton bill.'
This official statement, made from
the States books at the close of the
fiscal year on Saturday night. dis
concerts the Republican State cam
paign and falsifies the repeated and
vehement dec'p rations by the Repub-
lican State chairman and the Repub-
lican campaign speakers that the
State was on the verge of bankruptcy
and that it would be necessary to i'm
pose State tax on the people.
1t should be remembered that dur
ing the years the Republicans con-
trolled the State government false
balances were declared. On the eve
of the November election the comp
troller sent a telegram TO the Gov
ernor for publication declaring the
amount of treasury surplus. This
amount always included trust funds
held by the treasury which did not
belong to 1t and, therefore, was not
part of the surplus. The object was
to deceive the voters of the State.
1t was after one of these false bal
ances had been declared showing q
million and a half treasury surp US
that Governor Fort sent his special
message to the Legislature declaring
that the treasury held not more than
$4,000 of balance and that the State
was on the point of bankruptcy. The
Republican, Legislature that year
then seized upon about $250,000 of the
county school funds for State uses.
The surplus now declared is abso-
lutely free. 1t doesn't contain a
dollar in any way pledged. 1t Is all
ready to be appropriated for what
ever use the Legislature thinks best.
And moreover the law now stops the
practice of departments and boards
exceeding their appropriations and
thus getting the excess paid out of
the supplementary appropriations.
There will be none of these demands
next winter.
What the income. of the State for
the year amounts to is not disclosed
by the comptroller, but the income
from miscellaneous corporations is
the largest ever received by the treas
ury and there is a largely increased
income by reason of the new inherit
ance tax law, which went into oper-
alton last spring. There will be a
much larger income next year. In
the future this will be one of the best
sources of revenue for the State.