The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1921-02-24
Cost of State Government

Prof 4. i. Bachy, head OF the department OF government and
director Of the bureau Of municipal research at the Oklahoma state
university. has issued a bulletin showing tic cost Of state govern
mcnt in Oklahoma as compared with other states and also con
tanning much other valuable information Of a similar nature.
Among other interesting facts brought out by PROT Blachy IS
that statement that while Oklahoma ranks fourteenth among the
states OF the union in per capita wealth, IT stands thrty-seventh
IN per capita Of expense Of state government. Thc.entirc bulletin
is worthy Of careful study. We quote from it as follows;
The average per capita expense of state government Is @oV'
while that Of Oklahoma is stu, The report shows FER capital
wealth al Oklahoma is $4,000 and the average per capita wealth
in the United States is only S3,SS55l. States which ranked, over
Oklahoma in per capita wealth in 1919 according to financial sta
ti,ncs of states as compiled by the United States census bureau. are
Nevada. Iowa. NebraSka. Colorado. Kansas, California. North Ia
iota. Illinois. Minnesota. Montana, New York. Oregon and Wash
inelon. The state highest m per capita wealth Is Nevada WIN
'SS0l55l. The lowest is Mississippi with Sl.d6l9a
ONLY eleven states are lower than Oklahoma in per capita
nois. West Virginia. Alabama. Tennessee. Arkansas. Mississippi.
Georgia. North Caroline and South Carolina, according to Official
figures.
Oklahoma is nearly the lowest in the United States, onlt five
states having a smaller per capita property tax. IT IS estimated
Oklahoma ranks forty-third in this list. States under heE are
Ohio. Mississippi, Delaware. North Caroline and Nebraska. Assess
ed valuation in Oklahoma for 1920 was Sl.6o5zN,lS7. Estimated
true values Tor the same year was S92511S5sS40. Oklahoma spends
annually only S1H Tor governmental purposes per 500 OF true
value. the 1919 report Of the United States census bureau shows.
This state ranks twcntv-sixth in net debt per capita as com
pared with other states. Per capita debt OF Oklahoma is $3.50 as
compared with S2222 in Massachusetts. which stands a. the head OF
the list States which have a lower debt per capita than Oklahoma
are Vermont, Georgia, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, Ohio
Wisconsin, Florida, Wyoming, Minnesota. North Dakota, Wash
ington and Indiana.
Arizona spends annually $40 Utah S5.15, Nevada s454 New
Jersey S40t and Minnesota $500 per capita for this purpose.
This Is in the fact Of the fact that Oklahoma is fourteenth in per
capita wealth. A
Few states of the union pay as low salaries to state officials
as does Oklahoma. Thrty-tfree pay higher for a governor
thirty-ive higher for a secretary Of state, thirty -four higher for
a state auditor or comptroller, twenty-five more to their state
treasurer, and nineteen higher to their attorney general
"Thtre is an almost universal feeling that taxes are too high
and there is a tendency to lay the blame largely upon the state
tax rate. An examination Of expenses OF state government II
Oklahoma shows clearly that no just complaint as to high taxes
rests against the state government but should be directed more
properly to county, city and other local taxes" Blanchly said.