The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1919-04-17
STATE AUDITOR KOSITZKY
GIVES OUT SOME FACTS

Bismarck, April 4.--With. $4,000
in unpaid bills on file, and with but
$~9,369.73l in the state treasury's
general fund on April /, State Audi
tor Carl Hostility, stung to action by
criticism of his opponents within the
league, who have, it is alleged,
spread the, report that he is holding
up certain bills through "spite'', to-
day made public a report which
would indicate that North Dakota is
a trifle worse than bankrupt.
April 1, 1916, the last year of the
Hanna administration, North Dako-
ia, after paying all it's bills, had a
$522,O90.43 balance in it's general
fund.
April 1, 1917, when the, Townley
regime had been in the saddle only
three months, the balance in the
general fund, after all. bills were
paid, was ~$431,2S2.S2.
April 1, 1918, the second year of
che Townley, administration, North
Dakota had all of it's bills paid and
$242,S77.69 in its general fund.
April 1, 1919, in the third year of
the Townley era, North Dakota owes
$4,000 in current Indebtedness
and it has a balance in it's general
fund of $9,369.73.
The official payroll is $4,000 per
month. Salaries have been paid up
to April 1, but the state auditor ex-
pressed the fear that the officials and
employees may be- forced to eschew
their semi-monthly pay checks for
some months to come.
North Dakota has $463,000 out
standing in bonds, some of which
fall due this year.
For nearly four months 100000
in bills charged against various state
institutions remained unpaid.
State institutions, says the audi
tor, are still, according to the state
ment of Secretary Leisman of the
Board of Regents, paying $500 inter-
est monthly on loans negotiated with
local banks to produce funds to pay
their current expenses.
The last legislative assembly in
emergency appropriations called for
about half a million, which must
come from the general fund. Some
of these funds have been already
drawn against, but there is much
more that must be set aside.
A majority Of the tax leveied for
1918 already has been paid into the
state treasury and appropriated, de-
clares MI. Kositzky. He staes that
there remains a considerable amount
due from the counties and that there
will also be some miscellaneous COL
lections in June and July and some
revenue from the new oil tax, which
became effective March l, but he
sees no hope of really catching up
with the states fast mounting tide
of expenditures until the 1919 tax
levy begins to come in next Decem-
Der.
THE greater portion of our taxes
are paid in February" said Mr.. Ko-
sticky, today. "This tax has been
taken in and applied ON past due
bills, 100000 Of which had been
running for almost four months. We
will get some delinquent taxes from
now on; there will be some revenue
from fees and fines, it Is difficult to
estimate how much. 1 cannot see,
however, where we are going to get
enough money to pay salaries and
current expenses, and one or the
other will have to wait.
Il would not have made this state
ment," continued the state auditor,
1T it had not come to my ears that
paid workers of the league are
spreading the report over the state
that I am holding up certain bills
simply through spite. I have never
operated this Office on a spite basis,
and I don't intend to start now. The
bills are being paid just as rapidly
as we can find money to pay them,
and are rapidly being paid in their
proper turn. Nobody is being fav-
ored and no one is being discriminat-
ed against. I feel that in justice to
myself the people should have the
truth.
1--WE have gone on creating new
boards and new commissions and new
departments until we have outstrip-
ped our Now there must
be a halt, and someone must suffer.
There's only one means of putting
money into the state treasury n
chat is through taxes, fees or fines.
We have discovered TOO many ways
Of taking money out of the state
treasury, The last assembly alone