The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1922-07-04
PRINCIPAL POINTS OF
eOvERNOR'S MESSAGE
vANy SUBJECTS COVERED
M a aMn RECOMMENDATIONS
MADE BY HARDWICK.

-aA-r,,,7rndation for an income tax to
re Co,,l.i the wealth of Georgia to as
conlp the burden now borne by the
snl SUM- stricken;" warning that the
%t .o faces the necessity of cutting all
San,reonr;ations unless additional reve-
app e provided, Governor Hardwick
g juuIG,.ared his annual message to a joint
oenrT hIv of the two branches OF the
a atate legislature Thursday. 81.
''IO On assuming the duties OF cher ex-
,.ntive of the state, the governor SAID,
Lo fonnd an estimated deficit OF So
:0o000 but this turned out to be only
~ S9g ;00 Goo for the reason that esti-
%,+es ri the shrinkage OF tax values
were not so heavy as expected.
Confronted With Deficit.
To cover this current deficit, the
-orsrnor declared there was nothing
3 do but arrange for discounting the
4 t,+u T rental of the Western and At
ion4;c railroad for five years, an ex-
y "ad;ent which he admitted was ex-
tpren7eIv distasteful to him, but which
he irsfifed on the ground of necessity.
" 5S TO appropriations for 1922 as
comnared with 1921, the governor
oonted out that the legislature reduc-
ID them about 100000, a form of
rstrqnchment which was not at all
oleasinp to him or the legislature, but
which he maintained was necessary.
in this connection he took occasion to
81 declare that he would not approve any
appropriations in excess OF the reason
abiy anticipated revenue of the state.
As to the present status of the treas
ury the governor said the state will
close the present year, 1922, with a
surplus of about $180,000, assuming
that all taxes are collected. He urged
tbe repeal of the provision of the gen
eraI appropriation act giving the COM
/ mon schools one-half of any excess
OF revenue over $9,000,000. To comply
with this provision, he said, would take
S;50O00 out of the treasury, and this
could not be done without raising
additional revenue at this session or
Withdrawing appropriations previously
made to departments other than the
schools.
Reduce Railroad Commission.
In urging the abolition of alleged
useless boards. bureaus and commits
sions, Governor HardWick declared
that the department OF archives and
8 history, presided over by DR.. Lucian
Lamar Knight, can and should be
abolished and the accumulated data
transferred to the state library; that
the railroad commission should be re-
duced from five to three members;
that the office of attorney to the high
way commission should be abolished;
and that the University of Georgia and
its numerous branches should be plac-
ed under single board of regents. He
q declared that the various boards and
subsidiary boards of the University OF
Georgia, numbering a total OF I'll
members, ought to be abolished, and
the whole administrative functions OF
the university and its branches should
be conferred in a single board OF re-
gents
He further declared that the railroad
commission should be reduced from
five to three members, in view of the
TACT that the acts of congress have
virtually transferred the control of all
: freight and passenger rates OF rail-
roads intraState as we'll as interstate,
from the state commissions to the in
terState commerce commission. This
recommendation created quite a no.
tceabe stir of interest.
Biennial Sessions Recommended.
The only political question with
which the governor dealt was his rec
OmmendatiOn urging the enactment
OF a real and rigid Australian ballot
law, to be applicable to primary and
general election alike, and to be in
stalled at every precinct in Georgia" "
and that this session of the general as
,embly submit to the people constl-
'utlonal amendment providing for BIZ
ennal sessions of the assembly, the
latter being both matter of economy
ana an alienation from the annual
multiplicity OF changes and amend
HentS to laws which are necessary, in
o'aer words, too much legislation"
Creation OF a system OF auditing all
expenditures of the state was strongly
{ recommended by the governor.
IN conclusion the governor present
gu at length his views regarding tax
.eyiSlon. He said he had no sympathy
win the tax equalization law, but was
no' wiling ito destroy this piece OF
machinery until substituting another
III Its place" AS a substitute for the
az Valorem system he proposed a
S'ate income tax.