Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1916-03-10

as the opening gun OF the guberna-
d by former Governor M. e. Hay in
BILE flourish and much trumpeting in
throughout the state last Sunday
ound that his campaign promises of
on the other hand his administration
Governor Lister replied to Hay.
for publication Thursday afternoon.
son of state finances. The two letters
Listers Answer.
March 8, 1915.
Honorable M. E. Hay,
Spokane, Washington.
Dear Sir: have before me your
letter of the 3rd instant. AS the let
ter is largely devoted to a comparison
of the financial management of the
state during the last three years you
were it's acting chief executive and
the first three years of my admins
tration. naturally to your credit as a
financier, I cannot refrain from call
ing your attention to $1,000,O00
error in simple subtraction in the fig
ures quoted in your letter. In the
fourth paragraph you deduct $751;
802.542 from $24,4S3,914 and make
the difference $7,681,372. I submit
ted the problem to my 12-year-old boy
and he made the difference S8,681,-
372. Any 12-year-old boy could do
the same.
Shall this $1,0O0,000 error, made
in letter wherein you are endeavor-
ing to show your great ability as a
be taken as evidence that
your administration of state
affairs an "error" of this magnitude
meant nothing among friends?" May
not errors such as this have caused
the taxpayers of the state. on that day
20 firmly fixed in your mind-Novem-
Der Sth, 1s12-to have decided by
their votes that q change In the posi-
tion then occupied by you would be
to their benelltf
J. #. Leghorn, q member of the
State Bureau of Inspection, In the
March f5th issue of an Olympia paper.
b given the credit of having furnished
you the figures used in your letter.
II this be the case you can probably
escape responsibility for the "error'
by placing 1t upon his shoulders. But
In justice to those who may have read
your letter, ~ published in the news
papers of this and adjoining states.
ought you not at least to have gone
to the trouble of checking over the
figures. and thus maintain-at least
to yourself-the high standard you
place upon your ability as a financier?
Discusses Tax Levies.
In studying your letter I find one
In 1t to refer to tax levies
for all purposes during the last three
year period of your administration
and also during the first three years
Of the present administration, while
the balance of the letter is devoted
largely to discussion of the general
fund of the state, covering the same
periods. So that these may not be
confused I will first take up the gen.
eral fund, which covers the running
expenses of the state government and
its institutions, other than educa-
while the balance of the tax
levies are made to raise funds for the
common schools, state institutions of
higher education, state militia and
First, may I call your attention to
the fact that taxes levied by the State
Board of Equalization at it's meetings
held in September of each year are
not collected until the following year.
and are intended to cover current ex-
penses incurred during the year in
which the collections are made. I
find that in making your comparisons
you take the tax levies made in Sep
1910, 1911 and 1912. appar-
emily for the purpose of leaving the
that the current expenses
for the years 1910, 1911 and 1912
were paid from these levies.
Is it not true that the levy for gen.
eral fund purposes fixed in septem-
ber, 1909. and which was mills. was
collected in 1910 for paying the 1910
current expenses? Is 1t not equally
true that the levy made in September,
1912, which was 1928 mills, was not
collected until 1913, and was for the
purpose of meeting the current ex-
penses of 1913. the first year of the
present administration? II a truthful
reply be given to these questions. then
in making your comparison covering
Continued on Page Five.