Barton County democrat., 1914-08-07

of the Auditor of State), that had
Governor Hodges followed the
suggestions of w. E. Davis, Audi
tor, he could have brought the
1913 appropriations to alevel, and
possibly below those of the 1911
Legislature. The budget asked
by the departments and inStitu-
tionS called for $11, ,389,36S, but
Auditor Davis, a Republican, to
head off a Democratic raid on the
Treasury, pointed out where the
saving could be made"
1t is true that the budget asked
by the Departments and inStitu-
tions from the legislature Of 1913
called for appropriations amount
ing to S11,3S9,3SS, but it must be
remembered that this enormous
sum of money was recommended
and demanded by the Republican
Board of officials then in charge
of the state institutions under
Governor StubbS before Cover
nor Hodges had been elected.
If some one will turn to the
Eighteenth Biennial Record of the
Auditor of State, page TX, they
will find out that Auditor w. E.
Davis, over his own signature,
called attention to the fact that
the appropriations asked for by
the Republican Boards and Off
cialS then in charge of the state
institutions called for an increase
of S3,013,SS6.O0 over the appro-
priationS allowed by the legiSla-
ture of 1911. 1t will further
show that the only decreases
which this remarkable State Au-
ditor was able to suggest amount
ed in the aggregate to S1OO,OOOOO.
That was heading off a Demo-
cratic raid on the Treasury" with
a vengeance.
1t is true that Mr.. Davis did
point out that appropriations
might be kept down by cutting
the budgets of the Educational
Institutions. That is fine, isn't
it?
The Republican Hand Book
very adroitly avoids telling the
voters of Kansas that the meth
DDS proposed by this Republican
State Auditor of keeping the ap-
preparations down was to cripple
the big state schools. The Demo-
cratic legislature did not take this
view of the matter and while they
did not give the big schools any
thing like the amounts demanded,
it did appropriate S63l,OOO.OO
more for educational purposes
than had ever before been appro-
priated and reduced the appro-
priationS for other purposes by
something like $4,000.
The truth is that if a Republi-
can Governor and Republican
legislature had been elected in
1912, there would have been a
raid on the treasury which
would have been astounding.
The Democratic legislature of
1913 did remarkably well in cut
ting down the excess appropria-
tionS from over three million dol
lars as demanded by the outgo-
ing Republican officials in their
prediction estimates, toleSS than
five hundred thousand dollars
made by the leiSlature in 1911.
The Press Bureau notes that
State Auditor w. E. Davis and
State Treasurer Earl AkerS each
made speeches the other night at
some little school house not far
from Topeka and that they were
loaded with figures to prove the
extravaganc of the HOdgS admin
iStration.
That these two men could have
the face to stand before an audi
ence of Kansas tax payers and
criticiSe Governor Hodges ad-
miniStratiOn paSSeth all under.
standing. Each one of them has
collected large amount OF fees
which under a technical decision
of the Supreme Court they are
entitled to keep, but which in
good morals and in good faith
with the people of the state, they
ought to turn in to the State
Treasury. Mr.. Akers has ad'
mitted his moral obligation tC
treasury, in his case amounting
turn these fees into the state