The Bolivar County Democrat. (Rosedale, Miss.) 1887-1969, 1923-11-24

As it is less tnaH tWo HoAtHS 'peiole
.,. ,ogislature convenes, and the new
Governor goes into office, naturally
/ .bo neople are looking forward to the
relief promised them by the success
al candidates. The appalling finan-
cial condition of the states affairs
bocomes increasingly manifest. Near
IL near ago Senator McCallum,
member of the Finance Committee Of
the state senate and a member of the
Mississippi State Bond Commission,
gave out a statement widely pub
Iished, in which he said that the in
coming legislature would be confront
ed with deficit of around $6,000,00O
Time has verified Senator Mccall
lums reluctant prophecy.
Recently Senator McCallum was
in Jackson and gave out the following
statement which will prove Of in
tense interest to Une taxpayers in
every county in Mississippi at this
iuncture "The last legislature, fore
seeing deficit in the states current
expenses authorized the state bond
commission to sell short term notes
from time to time in order to take
care of this situation. In pursuance
of this authority the bond commits
sion has already sold $5,000,000 of
short term paper maturing in April,
1924 At meeting of the state bond
commission on November s, Ben S.
Lowrey the chief clerk of the state
treasury who is now the state-treas-
urer-eIect, was called before the COM
mission and requested to give de-
tailed statement of the states current
finances up to January l, 1924 Mr.
Lowrey stated he was now without
funds of any kind to- pay the ordi-
nary expenses of the government;
that as near as he could estimate
there would probably be about $780,
900 collected from all sources by
s Jan. | 1924, which would leaye a net
deficit in the current expense ac-
counts of the state of over $1,000, ,000.
The state bond commission declined
tc issue the $1,0O0,000 of short term
paper to cover this deficit at its
last meeting, hoping that the suit OF
the state revenue agent against the
Insurance companies would be set
tied within the next 30 days and thus
the general fund Of the state treas
ury would receive about $64O,O0O as
its part of this Judgment OF SS00,oooo.
Should this judgment be settled as
above indicated there would still pc
deficit of 100000 facing the next leg
. islature in addition to the $5,o00,ooo
of short term paper maturing III
April, 1924. This judgment of course
was not taken into consideration py
me in estimating the revenue Oh Ihe
state on January /, 1928, as 1t hau
been about 80 years since the state
had realized on a Judgment anythihss
like this. We are now near enough 10
the time for there to be no longer
any controversy about the amount VI
the deficit confronting the next ies
islature. 1t cannot possibly be less
than $4,000, 900 and may be more thah
s6OeO 900. There is but one Sale
course for the legislature to pursue
in the face of conditions IKE these
That is to pass all revenue pllis a' INC
beginning of the session and before
any appropriation bills are conslaereu'
After these revenue bills have peeh
passed the amount of revenue 10 pe
derived therefrom can be approXlnlate-
ly determined. And after the aiiio'ii'
of funds available to pay the opei"'
inc expenses for the enSulnS
wears have been determined, II VIII
be a very simple and easy propoSl
ton to apportion the revenue alloliS
the different interests of the stale. IL
will simply result in a rouna 'aoi9 NJ
cussion in which it will be 10 the -
terest of each party entitled 10 Tue
division of these funds to see .i@' ~ ~
other interest receives more Iii'"
actual and necessary requirement
because by so doing it may result -
others having to be put on snoiI ST.
tions And in this way the beheiloi'
aries of the states bounty VIII ~
come guardians of it's conserVaeion' -.
order that they might not themselves ''
he left empty handed. Whereas no"
it is the natural impulse for eaeil
terest to get what it can loi ''', =,
and to help others to- do likewise ia
order thar they may feel klnuly W
ward his institution or departiie"' ~ '.
the case NAV be-" The supreme oou,
of +be United States having tlnahy
disposed of the antitrust llle us,
ance cases brought by state he' 80
Agent Stokes V. Robertson, III iaVoi
of the state the money mehlioneu
Senator McCallum for whlch nv
comnanies we're penalized Dy 'ils
chancellor and the supreme oo ~, I'm.
Mississippi, it is understood VIII nta
mediately be paid into the '"'
treasury.
1t is being enormously pupiian
by some papers that 10 chahceiioi
and II circuit judges are to De eieo'0'
next year. Those officials "ei
elected two years ago for term u
four years. There is supreme ''Ne
to he elected in the first district an
other in the southern and two III 'ne
middle. district, next year. lieie :
also a United States Senator ~