The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1914-07-25
E. B. Howard, Member Of State
Board OfAffairs, Speaks in Behalf
Of Candidacy and Defends
Democratic Record
GIVES FIGURES TO
PROVE CONTENTION
Shows that Expenses Of State Gov
ernment in Kansas for Seven
Years Exceeds Amount
Spent by Oklahoma

~. b. Howard, member of the state
hoard of affairs, spoke to a crowd on
the street Friday evening, discussing
democratic government in Oklahoma
and presenting his claims as candi-
date for the Democratic nomination
Tor state auditor. Dealing with the
cost of state government Mr.. Howard
said in part:
We have appropriated since state
hood $24,120,OO0. We have actually
expended $19,245,OOO OF this amount
$SI5,000 was moneys which we used
in paying off old territorial indebted
ness. OF this money $3,S6S.444 was
money which has never cost you one
cent for the reason that we have bor-
rowed this $3,S6S, 900 upon and given
as security the public building lands OF
this state. We are so handling this
from business standpoint that we
are paying the interest and creating
sinking fund and in the end we will
have paid the principal and still have
the assets, and you as tax pa yers,
without one cent of cost to you, will
have as an asset all buildings, equip
ment and lands that we have purchas-
ed for you at our state institutions. So
deducting this $3,S6S, 900 from this
$l9,245,000 1t shows that we have only
spent of your money since. statehood
the sum of $15,S77 900 Of this amount
we have spent $4,000 to pay old ter
ritorial Indebtedness. Then as a re-
suit my friends instead of being ex-
travagant we have actually run our
state government for the past eight
years that we have been in control
and have spent the actual sum of $14.-
$4,000 of your money.
"Now in comparison with that let us
see what Kansas has done. | know OF
no fairer proposition than a compari-
son as between Oklahoma and Kan
sas. Our climatic conditions are the
same. At the time of statehood Kan
sas had population of 10000 more
than we boasted. but recently a report
came out Of the census bureau show
ing that we today have a population
exceeding 100000 more than Kansas.
Every condition except the fact that
we were new state and worked un-
der adverse circumstances are favor
able to a comparison as between Ok
lahoma and Kansas, from the stand
point of state government. | wrote to
George W. Hodges, that Democratic
governor of Kansas and ! asked him
to give me the figures as to the ex-
penditures for state purposes in the
state of Kansas for the past eight
years. In reply to that he sent me
report of the state auditor for the
years 1905 to 1912. inclusive, and an
! examination of that state auditors
report shows that during those eight
years, the same number as against
which | am using as a comparison of
J our own state that Kansas appropriate
ed for state purposes $29,S36, 700--that
she actually expended s27.395, ,005.50
for state government. Now remem-
Der, these Fellows state that we have
been extravagant, in state government
in Oklahoma. None of you can
say that a comparison with Kansas is
not fair and yet we find that where
as we have appropriated $34,1O0.000
Kansas has appropriated $29,000000.
| Where we have actually spent s19.-
100000 Kansas has spent S27.000.000.
Kansas during all flits time had been
a state for sixty years, her institl-
tions and her departments should
have been equipped as to have been
operated upon the most economical
terms, while our institutions and our
departments were in their infancy.
and under conditions which made 1t
necessary to operate them even
though we had to do it for while at
maximum cost, and with all these
handicaps Democracy has run demo
cratic government and Democrats
Oklahoma eight million dollars cheap
(Continued on Page Three1