Year: 1874




disbursement ofpublic funds.


l respectfully and most earnestly urge i'm
mediate attention to this subject Nothing
can exceed it in Importance. Consideration
for the public good demands such action as will
finally close the doors to recurrence of the
reckless expenditures which have attended our
recent legislative sessions.


1 recommend that your earliest attention
be directed to the matter of the public print
ing. The system which has prevailed for the
past three years is utterly incapable of defense
or excuse The looseness Of the system in
theory is only equalled by its extravaganza
in practice. Under this system the Clerk of
the Senate and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives, were empowered to contract
for the public printing, and the drafts or
orders for the payment of printing expenses
were made payable upon the certificates of
those officers alone, "out Of any moneys in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated" :"
No limit was fixed to the amount for which
the contracts should be made. Under the
system of making general levy Of taxes, no
specific funds in the Treasury at any specified
time were considered as specifically appropri.
ated. The result was that under this system
it was in the power of the clerks of the two
houses to draw on account of public printing
to an unlimited extent upon the public funds,
without reference to the suficiency of those
funds to meet the demands Of other appropr-
ations. More recently, however, the General
Assembly has made definite appropriations
for payment of printing accounts


A few statistics will show how such sys-
tenn has resulted in practice. The cost OF the
permanent and current printing from 1868 to
the present time was SS43,073.59. The cost
of advertising the statutes, that is, of printing
them in the newspapers for the same period,
was s261, 1862, making total cost of ST.
1O4,569.91. During the past three years the
cost to the State Of permanent and current
printing was s743,93320. And the cost Of
printing the laws in newspapers for the same
period was STA, ,69665 ; making total cost
to the State of S91S,629.86. Deducting from
this last amount such items Of printing as
may be called extraordinary, including the re-
publication of certain volumes of the Statutes
at Large the printing of the ku.klux trials,
immigration reports, tax duplicates and Su.
pren,e Court decisions, amounting to 1915, 900,
there remains as the cost of printing for three
years the sum of S543, ,629.86, or an average
annual cost of S181, ,2O9.95.


offer no comment on these statistics The
only appropriate inquiry is, how shall such re-
suits Be prevented hereafter? I answer, by
extermnating the present system, root and
branch, and substituting safe and economi.
cal system. Such system can easily be
pointed out Let advertisement be made by
order of the General Assembly for proposals
for doing the necessary public printing Of all
kinds for the State for a fixed period, specify
ing the various kinds and amounts of printing
required, with the option of ordering more
work of any specified kind at fixed rates and
requiring a suitable bond to accompany each
proposal, for the faithful execution of the
work according to the proposals. Let these
proposals be presented to the General Assem-
bly, and the most advantageous one be'accept-
ed In this way the State may remove the
present abuses and secure an honest and eco.
nomical result.


I Iconsider the cost of advertising or reprint
ing the Acts of the General Assembly in the
newspapers of the State wholly unnecessary
expense and I recommend the total discon-
tinuance of the practice. If any laws are en-
acted which it is important should be pub
lshed at once for the information of the peo-
pie, it will be to the interest of the newspapers
to publish them as a matter of public infor-
nation. If this is not done, q number Of
extra copies can be ordered by the General
Assembly from the public printer, at a trifing
cost, and be sent to the Clerks of Courts or
other officers for distribution.


NH oh 7 ho
eral Assembly is the keeping of the expendi-
lures of the State within its receipts. Very
little regard seems to have been hitherto paid
to this obvious requirement of good admins
tration. The existing Deficiencies running
back to 1868, are simply enormous. The de-
fciencies for the fiscal year ending October
81, 1874, were s472,61954. The deficiencies
for the fiscal year ending October 81, 1873,
were S540328, of which about $440, 900 have
been paid during the last fiscal year, leaving
about 100000 still unpaid. The levy of
taxes made the present year for payment of
Deficiencies for the last fiscal year, will not be
sufficient to pay more than one-half of the
amount of such deficiencies. The evils OF
such practice are serious. The amount of
money needed should first be ascertained, and
then levy should be made adequate to raise
that amount.


After deprecating the practice of issuing
certificates of Indebtedness" and warrants
for the payment of money from the State
treasury when no funds are on hand for their
payment, he next alluded to the prevailing
opinion that the number of public officers is
too large, and the amount Of their salaries too
great While not now prepared to express
an opinion upon the subject, if any reduction
of expenses can be made by abolishing Offices
or reducing salaries, he would give his most
hearty support to any plan which will accom-
plish that end, and recommends that imme-
diate attention be directed to the matter.


He calls attention to the necessity of re-
quiring County Treasurers, and perhaps
County Auditors, to give bonds directly to
the county. At present the bonds OF these
officers run to the State alone. 1t is ques-
toned by some whether suit can be main'
tanned by the county upon such bond; but
however that may be, in cases of default
where the bond is inadequate to cover the
whole loss, there is at present no law for de-
termining in what way the unsecured remain
der of loss shall be apportioned between
county and State. 1t is plain that the county
should be amply protected by adequate bonds
for the custody and disbursement Of county
funds.


The subject of the public debt of the State
is next alluded to, and the provisions Of the
Act of the last General Assembly Ito reduce
the volume of the public debt and to provide
for the payment of the same" were explained.
The leading features Of this scheme are the
reduction of that part of the public debt
which was considered valid to one.half its par
value, and the rejection of that part which
was considered invalid. The Act was passed