The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1915-01-14
MESSAGE OF:
GOVERNOR MAJOR
RECOMMENDATIONS and suggss.
tioas Of State Executive.
STATE FINANCES IN GOOS SHAPE

Jefferson City-Governor Elliott "
Major delivered his message to tn
Forty.eighth general assembly, in par,
as follows:
The personnel of this Legislature
ehe1peaks a safe. conservative; ant
progressive legislative service. A
public servants entrusted with tn
legislative well-being of Missouri, yol
are capable of and will no doubt rem
der a conspicuous service to the stat,
and leave for yourselves monumen
which will stand pre.eminent in tn,
legislative history of Missouri.
l am satisfied, from my persona
knowledge of the able men-Demo
Gratis, Republicans and Progressives-
in the house and senate, that the pres
ent legislature will rank with the For
ty-seventh assembly and will write 9
record of progress which will live
when the labors of many other SEES
sions will have been forgotten. New
and important questions have arisen
during the last year which it is the
duty of this legislature to meet, and
which must be met in a broad Amer.
tcan spirit, and not in a narrow spirit
of partisanship. "Every age has its
problems, by solving which humanity
Is helped forward. AS we drift into
these new ATTITUDES. new lights will
shine and help us solve them"
AS chief executive of the common.
wealth, have no political or partisan
measures to present. The governor Of
commonwealth should have none. He
represents the whole people and the
measures recommended to the legisla
ture under constitutional mandate
should be those which go to the inter
nal improvement of the state and the
betterment in every way of the great
people he represents. I shall, there.
fore. present to this legislature those
matters only which belong to and af
feet the people and which do not be
long to or affect solely political par.
ty. When I shall have delivered to
you this message. my duty as chief
executive and the functions I perform
in the lawmaking branch will have
been finished. save and except to
exercise my right to approve or veto
legislation you may enact.
Record Speaks For Itself.
The people Of the common wealth
have been given good, clean public
service. The record has been written
and can speak for itself. The great
masses of the people, irrespective Of
political parties. in every section OF
the state. are satisfied with the labors
of the administration In handling
the states affairs, it is purely a mat
ter of business on the one hand and
the securing of constructive and pro
gressive legislation on the other
Never before fp the history of the
state has your business been handled
by the various departments with bet
ter success financially or otherwise.
The departments, without excelNor
nave given greater net financial re
turn than the same departments ever
gave in like period during any 9th.
er administration, Democratic or Re
This fact alone speaks Of
the efficiency and economy of these
departments in handling the public
business. Although some departments
have operated under adverse state
yet these departments
have returned from $25.O to $50. OOL
net more than the same departments
returned in any other biennial period
The various state. educational. elee
nosynary. penal and refcrmatory In
'titutions have been splendidly con
lucted and substantial new buildins
have been made in many in
'tances, and aboye all there has been !
marked Improvement in the serviceI
rendered, The eleemosynary institu
ions have been conducted in an up-to
late, scientific way and more ef 1
lcient service given than heretofore ,
70 financial or other scandal has sur .
'ounded a single institution, and the ,
inmates have been carefully treated ,
md shown humane considerations I
rhe business handled by the auditor |
'ecretary OF state. treasurer and at ,
orney general has been exemplary ,
md in keeping with that splendid or
lciency established in these depart /
nents The superintendent OF public +,
chools has been active and vigilanil I
a doing all he could, and has cooper
ted with me. as chief executive, III
arrying forward advanced educational
bought and In improving our system
4 popular education. Money appro
'riated for the maintenance Of state !
has been honestly, wisely !
nd economically expended. The pub
K b cordially invited and urged byl
- 70 visit our state Institutions anG !
90 he splendid efficiency established !
nd maintained and the good service
nd treatment given our unfortunates !
have had q careful audit made q /
he accounts Of every state instituti0sI !
~ q every executive department, q
rovidsd By INV. and have had thsI
me- Visited By . committee, ~ pro I