Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 September 1906 — Republicans Doable the Goat, [ARTICLE]

Republicans Doable the Goat,

The Democratic state platform recites that alnce 1894 the Republican party has been in absolute control of the executive and legislative departments of our state government, and charges that "it has unnecessarily and largely increased the number of officials, the salaries of officials, the expenses of public business and the burdens of taxpayers.” This charge is true. The Democrats were in power In the state in 1893 and controlled the legislature, but since that time the Republicans have been in control. A comparison of the appropriations made by the Democrats in 1893 for the principal offices with the Republican appropriations made in 1905 doeß not tell the whole story, but It tells enough to show the vast difference between the two parties in handling the public funds. In 1893, when Claude Matthews wa* governor, there was appropriated for the executive department $12,020. In 1905. when J. Frank Hanly was governor, there was appropriated for the executive department $57,400. In 1893 the appropriation for the secretary of state's office was $9,400. In 1905 the appropriation was $18,700. In 1893 the appropriation for the auditor of state’s office was' SIO,BOO. In 1905 the appropriation was $21,800. In 1893 the appropriation for the treasurer of state’s office was $5,820. In 1905 the appropriation was $9,520. In 1893 the appropriation for the attorney general’s office was $4,800. In 1905 the appropriation was $18,870, ■besides an indefinite sum for the traveling expenses of the attorney general and his deputies. Besides all this, extra “legal advisers" have been employed to perform duties which should have been performed by the attorney general’s regular force. In 1893 the appropriation for the office of superintendent of public instruction was $6,600. In 1905 the appropriation was $12,122.38.

In 1893 the appropriation for the adjutant general’s department (including the support, of tbe militia) was $39,520. In 1905 the appropriation was The salary of the adjutant general was increased from $1,200 to $2,250 and the quartermaster general from S6OO to $1,200. In 1893 the salaries of the supreme court judges were $4,000 each and the salaries of the appellate <sourt Judges were $3,500 each, with no clerk hire. In 1905 the salaries of both the .supreme and appellate court Judges were $6,000 each, making an annual Increase of $25,000 in the salaries of the two courts. Besides, In 1905 the supreme court judges were each \l- - SSOO annually for stenographic and clerical help and the appellate court was allowed $2,160 annually for the same kind of help. In 1898 the appropriation for the office of supreme court reporter was $5,700. In 1905 the appropriation was $8,660. The appropriations for the above offices alone show that the Republicans have more than doubled their cost to the taxpayers. The figures show that the Democrats appropriated a total of $132,160 as against a Republican appropriation of $297,112, a difference of $164,952 In favor of Democratic economy.