The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1918-10-31
An Open | Letter
to the People
of Colorado

state of Co oiado. l am not politi-
clan. but simply student of govern
ment and an ardent disciple of better
and efficient democratic government
AS an expert on the staff of the survey
committee of state affairs of Colorado
during the greater part of the year OF
1916. 1t was my privilege to study and
to investigate certain features of the
state government, some of the results
of which 1 feel should, in view OF the
pending election, be brought to the at
teniion OF the public. 1t is not my in
tention to criticize those who are in
office or their predecessors, but simply
to point out some OF the more patent
defects which can be largely corrected
by proper legislation.
Some of the most serious of these
defenots are to be found in the states
fiscal system. 1t is generally recog
nized that one of the first equisites of
sound democratic government is an
efficient system of finance. By an eff
ficient system of finance, | mean one
that is based upon biennial program
which balances the receipts against
the proposed expenditures for the i'm
pending fiscal period and which is so
drawn up and presented as to be in
teligible to the public and the Legisla-
ture. This. Colorado does not possess
and cannot possess under its present
fiscal system.
The fiscal years expires more than
a month before the Legislature meets,
and it requires at least three or four
months before the Legislature can
agree upon the provisions of the gen.
eral appropriation bill. During this
period. varying from four to six
months. the state government is per
mitted to, and indeed must continue to
operate without plans. program or aim.
The departments, boards bureaus, in
stitutions, etc. continue to incur eX-
penses, trusting that the Legislature
will pass a deficiency bill or tenn
porary relief bill which will enable
them to pay their legitimate running
expenses Should the Legislature fail
to do so there would be no redress.
Even one unacquainted with the
finer principles of politics can readily
understand how this condition leads to
a great deal of lobbying. political man.
euvering. extravaganza and graft. II
business man permitted his business
to
stretch each two years he would soon
be bankrupt. Why oblige the state
government to do so? Why not change
the close of the fiscal year to June 80,
ity TO complete fiscal program before
the new fiscal year begins
Who gathers the data that guides
the Legislature in ormulating its fis-
cal program? No one. There is no
single department of the entire state
government. not even the auditors Of
flee that can inform the Legislature as
to the actual sums outstanding from
taxation. or as to the actual amount of
the total receipts and expenditures of
all divisions of the state government
for even past fiscal period Some of
the institutions are not required to re
port their receipts to the treasurer and
operate on different fiscal year from
that of the state. Even the reports of
the heads of the departments. boards
and commissions are not always COM
plete. and some of these also employ a
different fiscal year. Under these con-
ditf6ns, the legis 'ators are obliged hur-
riedly TO compile the data at hand, and
to do the best they can by requesting
the heads OF departments, institu.
tions. etc, to appear before the finance
committees to state their needs The
finance committees keep no records
such as might assist future commit
tees in the work of computation. The
governor although he has the author
ity to require reports of hte heads OF
divisions of the state government. has
never required them in a Uniform style
setting forth the needs for personal
services, materials, supplies, ETC., as
any good business practice would
seem to dictate. It is claimed that
even had the governors done so. they
would not have had the clerical .,
sistance necessary to compile The
data. Surely such a service wouiu
be worth its cost to the peope e of the
state.
Again. the method OF presenting to