Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-10-27
TREASURY BALANCE
Misleading Publicity Regarding State
Finances Refuted by F. FL. Reig-
hard, Chairman of Legislative Fin
ance Committee The Real Saw
ings of The Willis Administration.

Wauseon, Ohio, October %, 1916.
There has been much misleading
publicity IN the press of the state
relative to the condition of the state
treasury. Notwithstanding the fact
that on July lst, OF every year the
balance of the state treasury is mil
lions less than it is on Janaury 1st,
owing to the TACT that half collections
only have been made for the year,
while the heaviest share of a years
expenditures has caused the heaviest
part of a years outlay to be made
part of which outlay is repealed be-
fore January 1st; Ex-Governor Cox
has attempted to give people of the
state false impression as to the situ-
alton by alleging that comparison
of balances for these two dates is a
fair one. | believe your readers will
be interested in statement of the
facts.
Why should the balance in the state
treasury be less June Both, 1916 than
it was in January when Gov. Willis
began his administration? There are
two reasons why it should be. The
first is that Gov. Cox at the close of
the last year of his administration re
duced the revenues of the state 3d.
261, ,451.50 annually, and had increas-
ed the cost of state government $4,-
520,907 S3. The second reason is
there is always less money in the
state treasury in June than there is
in January, owing to the fact that
from October to March is the period
in which most of the state revenue IS
collected, so it is unfair to compare
balances in January with those in
June.
On July 20, 1914, Gov. Cox called
the legislature in special session and
cut the levy for the support of the
common schools, so that the receipts
to this fund were reduced nearly two
million dollars annually. At the same
time he had the sinking fund levy cut,
further reducing the revenues of the
state $230,670.27 annually. The sink
ing fJtnd levy is to produce money
to pay the interest on the state debt.
By the common school levy funds are
raised to pay to the school districts
of the state two dollars for each youth
enumerated. At the time these two
levies were cut neither produced suf
ficient funds to meet these obligations
and each year money had to be taken
from the general revenue fund-the
interest had to be paid and the COM
mon schools supported Gov. Cox
cutting the common school levy meant
that each year Gov. Willis had to
take 81, ,933, 3,474.00 more than did Gov
Cox from the general revenue fund Of
the state to pay two dollars for each
youth enumerated. His cutting the
sinking fund levy meant that each
year Gov. Willis had to take from
the general revenue fund of the state
$230,340.56 more than did Gov. Cox
to pay the interest on the states debt.
In other words, Gov. Cox reduced the
states revenue for these two pur-
poses $2,164, ,144.27 annually and did
not reduce expenses a single cent.
A decision of the Supreme Court of
this state, in 1915, in the oil inspec-
ton fee case, reduced the revenue of
the state $70,000.00 annually.
To support the common schools
and to pay the interest on the states
debt from January 1915 to June 30,
1916, Gov. Willis had to take from
the general revenue fund $3,361. SO
more than did Gov Cox for the reas-
ons set forth above
| In his SlaShino of the state revenue