Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 37, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 January 1905 — GOVERNOR DURBIN’S RETIRING MESSAGE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GOVERNOR DURBIN’S RETIRING MESSAGE.

Following is. in part, tiie message of Gov. Winfield T. Dnrl.in to the Sixlyfourtli General Assembly: Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: The Sixty-fourth General Assent lily meets amid circumstances the most propitious. For a considerable period of years tile State has been in the full enjoyment of a large measure of material prosperity. The past decade has liven characterised in Indiana by all unparalleled growth in industrial interests; by a vast increase in farm values: by unprecedented development of means of transportation and intercommunication;: by the discovery and exploitation of natural resources rivaling in extent and surpassing in variety those of any other State in the Union. I will say. with a full knowledge of what tills statement implies, that in the administration of her public affairs. Indiana lias, during the past decade, Combined honesty and economy with efficiency and hmmtuit-ari iiiisin in a degree unsurpassed by any other State in the Union. And If there is need for Justification in such a (nurse- more than the pleasure and pride which comes with duty well performed, there ought to lie significance and admonition to the party in power in the fact that this is the sixth successive Legislature in which that party has been predominant, and this in a State in which so long a continuous tenure is a standing denial of the usual order of tilings. High Stewardship Demanded. The iiest politics in public administration is tile absence pf polities as a controlling motive; the iu-s; politics in legislation is patriotic di'Vt tion on the part of the Legislator to oer whole citizenship, without ’regard to party. The time ought to conic when there ts nd necessity in our General Assembly, which lias before it for consideration practically no questions of national policy, for a division into the majority and minority side, and when the only line--of demarcation drawn should lie tin* selfcreated boundary between those who seel; unselfishly 'to serve the public weal and those whose purpose in public life is the furtherance of ends inconsistent with the general good.

Legislative Responsibility. Upon Pi Imlin mi Genera j Assembly gathered la many years 'Bits ill ere tested so heavy a burden of* responsibility as that which devolves upon you. Condition's are such as to dem ,utd during tile present session larger provision for the increasing number of our defective and dependent classes; the work of the codification- commission, involving a revision of a considerable portion of our entire statute law, in itself presents sutticient subject for deliberation lo occupy the entire session, and beyond this two or three important questions, moral as well as iio'ltleal in their nature, and affecting vitally the future of our commonwealth. press themselves upon your honorable bodies for attention. Foremost among these I place the preservation of the elective franchise from pollution. Protection of the Franchise. I Ik'lieve that i speak for the vast majority of the people es this Stale when I say that the time has come for the application es drastic remedial measures lo the plague of corruption which is fastening itself upon our public polities to an extent appalling to those who look forward to the ultimate in the* sort of progress that has been made along these lines in recent years. We have tu Indiana advanced legislation for the protection of the purity of the ballot, hut the statistics of political debauchery in this Slate for tin* year 11K>4, if It were possible to present them, would he nothing short of astounding. 1 am informed by unquestioned authority that in a single county of this State, casting in 1002 a total vote es little more than 5,000, there were in the last campaign nearly 1,200 voters regularly listed as purchasable, and that $15,000 raised by assessment from candidates and ..otherwise was spent by the contending political parties in the -effort to "coYiirdl that county. This ,county is recognized as one of the plague spots „f the State from the standpoint of political debauchery, .but the situation there is rivaled In other counties, and wherever 1L exists il represents only tin* goaf toward which every eopimuuity in this State wilj trend unless remedial legislation be effected. Within the most recent years there is,, appearing hi connection with this evil a phenomenon vastly more slguitieaut than tin* sale of votes by ignorant and vicious persons inherently lacking in self-respect and tempted to the sale of tile franchise |>y poverty and this is the astounding disposition manifest ed by many men fairly prosperous to look upon if vote as a legitluiate subject es barter and sale. Our present statute against the crime of suffrage prostitution is nothing short of farcical, it provides for the disfranchisement of any person selling his vote. it places no penalty on the vote buyer, on the theory that 'to impose punishment upon butli panics to the transaction would make convict Inn impossible. I believe lie* ticnornl Assembly would do welkMo give (’ouwderatlon to the udvlsubillly es reijUliTng the gradual Introduction of voting machines in all the counties of the State.

Tlic Saloon Question. The pust two years have witnessed a great awakening among the people of our State to the dangers of the saloou us a social and political factor. There is a general belief that the State has failed to hold the retail liquor truffle to an accountability snfflclently strict. More and ore as 1 have' looked Into the personnel of the unfortunates who crowd our penal, and charitable institutions I am Impressed with the large, part sustained by the liquor trutile In recruiting the poor house, the Insane hospital, the Jail and the penitentiary. We have upon the statute hooks of Indiana a liquor law that Is not unreasonable, but without falling to note tin' fact that there are many nteu engaged la the liquor truffle who are ready and willing to abide by the luw as It exists, my own experience leads me to the statement that the general tendency of the retail traffic Is In opposition to Its enforcement. There seems to be no special reason why the saloon, being a legalized Institution, should not conduct Itself as any other business Is conducted, in conformity with the laws of the State anil the ordinances of the corporation within which U I s located. The growing Indisposl lion of rtbiny of those engaged iu the retail liquor traffic to avoid placing the sn- . icon In the attitude of a law breaker and a "center of vice and crime may he torroe ted to a large degree at least by making the saloon keeper more directly responsible to the public sentiment of his community. I suggest the ndvlsahlllty of placing the onus of securing n petition for the granting of a license hearing the names of a majority of the legal voters

of a ward or township upon (he applicant for license. The Divorce Question. The statistics of -our courts, showing that in large and increasing numbers persons are seeking ihe dissolution of the obligations of marriage, are a source of alarm to those who realize that the home is the Institution which lies at the basis of any civilization worthy of the name. The repeal of all our divorce laws would /■tire the evil from a statistics! standpoint. hut in few cases would it alleviate the deplorable conditions of which-these statistics are indicative. There is a point beyond which the prevention of either marriage or of its dissolution is promotive of immorality rattier than of healthful domestic conditions. The State should exercise the right, however. of preventing the contraction of marriage between persons manifestly unfit to assume its obligations, and particularly such marriage as insures the propagation of defectives which are certain to become a charge upon tire State. The issuing of marriage licenses should he stir rounded with greater safeguards, particularly the safeguard of publicity. The wisdom of requiring due notice by publication of an Intention to assume the obligations of marriage has been suggested, and I commend the same to your consideration. Codification Committee. The work of the codification committee has not been confined to a compilation and co-ordination of the laws enacted since the last revision in 18S1, but in many phases /-overs the entire period of the State’s history since the adoption of the constitution of 1850. The work of the commission has been to gather together all the existing laws oil the subjects touched and to construct therefrom, in the language of the commission, “out of tlie best material that could be gathered from any source a general, as well as comprehensive, statute, bringing these important subjects up to what the commission deemed was the general policy of the State with respect thereto.” The questions raised by this commission are perhaps more important than any which have been submitted to any legislative body in tills State since the . constitutional convention of a half century ago. The State’s Finances. In tiie management of, the State’s fiscal affairs during tile past two years there has been no departure from the precedent of exacting from those charged with the responsibility for disbursing public funds Hit- same strict accountability required from those engaged in the discharge of a private trust. The abolition of (lie foe system as a source of personal perquisites for State officials, and the Increases in the amount of fees collected, tiie decrease in per capita cost ol’ maintenance of the various State institutions, the establishment of the competitive system In bids for State institutions, the abolition of the "junketing” system in legislative consideration of the wants of these State institutions, the introduction of thorough bookccpiug methods and insistence upon the use of approved vouchers in the diversion of funds from the Slate treasury, the decrease In interest on the State debt by reason of Its rapid reduction, the failure to follow I'i

example of other States in multiplying State departments and bureaus, tile application of business principles generally to the management of State affairs, is resulting in a saving to the people of Indiana ofnmore than a million dollars a year. It is Interesting to note that in Indiana we are collecting less money into the general fund from which the ordinary expenses of the State government are paid, thud that we have been paying more out of lids general fund toward'the extinction -of tin* State debt than we were ten rears il got .vet the field of State activity has' citistantly been widening during that period, and the testimony of disinterested eommentarians is that there has been a steady Improvement in the character of the service rendered by the State to the taxpaying public. The following payments on the State debt have been made since the last session of the General Assembly: July, 1004. :: per cent school refunding bond* | 250,000 November, IPO4, it'/, per cent refunders 85,000 January, 1901. 3U, per cent refunders 200,000 July. 11X14. :t per cent school refundlug bonds 250,000 January, 1904*. per cent school refunding bonds 200,000 Total $991,000 A total payment on the State debt since the beginning of the present administration of $2,808,000. Availing Itself of an opportunity to pay off deferred bonds bearing 31. j per cent interest, the State Finance Hoard applied the State debt sinking fund and a small amount derived from the general fund in retiring these rather than current 3 per cent bonds ill the belief that the consequent saving in interest of $1,425 annually was of advantage to the State. The amount of the State debt oil Jan. 5 of this year was $1,090,015.12. Of this amount $407,000 have the optional clause and are redeemable at the pleasure of the State; the $31X1,000 3 per cents cannot he paid until 1910 and are not due until 1915; the $340,000 5 per cent l'tirdue bonds and the sl44,tMiO Indiana bonds are perpetual and represent a permanent pledge of the State toward the support of these institutions.

Unwarranted Assumption.

An effort Ims been made on tlie eve of the nssenilding of tlie Legislature to impress I lie members of the General Assemlil.v and tlie people of the State generally with tlie belief that the financial affairs of the State are in a precarious condition, ttiat the State Finance Hoard lias divoilcd money from tlie general fund forth** payment of the State debt to snub an extent llmt tlie treasury is now embarrassed by reason of its action. There is no foundation, in faet, for lids assumption. During tile fiscal years 1903 and I!XM the total amount diverted from the general fund aud paid on the State debt amounted to $140,218, or an average of $70,000 a year. Iu those two years it may In* added, the Interest charges on tin* State debt were decreased in the aggregate by reason of payments made in 1902 and 1903, $92,720, leaving an alienation from the general fund as compared with former of less flin 11 $50,000, The present General Assembly should understand that it is Impossible for a State to increase Its expenditures without also eommensurately Increasing Its revenues and not create a gap between tlie* two that will ultimately result* in embarrassment. The present State debt sinking fund levy of 3 rents on tin* hundred dollars will yield, before It Is possible to lift it from tlie duplicate, sufficient revenue to discharge every dollar of tlie Stale debt due before 1915, or payable before 1910. and leave a balance of about ss*i.ooo iu tin* fund. Tin* amount of tile remaining obligation will lie ( oniy SBOO,000. I therefore recommend the discontlnumire of this levy, believing that tlie debt, paying pulley Is so well established that the small remaining portion of the debt may In* met out of the general fund through a wise adjustment of expenditures and receipts by tin* present and succeeding general assemblies. 11 is the duty of the General Assembly, which fixes the tax levy, to provide by Immediate taxation for the payment of tilt* obligations created by Its own appropriations. II Is certain that every reasonable demand upon the State treasury during the next two years may lie met bv substituting for tin* 3-eetit State sinking fund levy, a 3 cent special Institutional levy, which will bring Into the treasury during the tiseal year ending Oct. 31, 1907, approximately $450,000. With all possible payments upon tlie Slate debt prior to lino provided for by the revenues from the State debt sinking fund accruing liefore it Is possible to lift it from the duplicate. it will lie possible with* the income of the next two or three years, supplemented by the proposed special 3-ccut levy to carry out plans of new construction which will anticipate institutional needs for several years to come and make it pos-

sible thereafter, even VG: cpeclal itvy abolished, to accumulate hi the treasury sufficient to meet the remainder of the State debt when it becomes payable. By such an arrangement there will lie uo increase of the total tax levy, which would, in my opinion, be unnecessary. The annual increase In the State’s hues, due to an increase in the duplicate, should provide for the legitimate growth in the State’s expenditure. The fiscal affairs of the State present no problems that may not easily tie solved by wise and economical legislation. Our Institutional System. The most serious problem presented, and one which presses lor Immediate solution, is that involved tn the inadequacy of our institutions for the insane to provide for those whose care is a duty of the State. The estimated number of insane persons in Indiana, including the incurable, for whom provision needs to be made by the Stale, Is about fits). By increasing the capacity of tin* Northern, Kastern and Southern hosni tals to LOW beds, each, aud rearranging the hospital districts in such-a manner as to distribute the insane in accordance with this readjustment, additional accommodations may. he had for about 800 patients, which would relieve the situation fur the present and some time to come, it is estimated that this could bo accomplished by an .expenditure of about Jooo.txst, whereas the cost of a new institution would not only lie about double that amount, but would involve larger annual expenditures for maintenance. it is in my opinion a mistake to confuse the subject of provision for the epileptics with that* of relieving the congested condition of our hospitals for the insane. There is a difference of opinion, too, as to the advisability of associating sane and Insane epileptics in the same institution. The generally accepted opinion is that it is much better to provide for the custody of insane epileptics iu hospitals for the insane. Indiana Reformatory. The Sixty-piirU General Assembly passed an act placing in the hands of the Governor the power to reorganize the Board of Managers of the Indiana Reformatory. The result of the new administration lias been the accomplishment of moral, sanitary and fiscal reforms which have served to revolutionize conditions in the Indiana Reformatory. and place it in line with the spirit and methods of our institutional system. The State Labor Commission, The wisdom of the law creating the State Labor Commission has been signally vindicated by the operations of this bureau during tiie past two years. In the language of the recently submitted biennial report ,of the commissioners, "fewer lockouts, strikes and boycotts, a smaller number of persons involved, a shorter duration of trouble, a lessened intensity of strife, more gratifying settlements aud a greater number of adjustments without strikes,” Private Banks. I renew my recommendations of two years ago that the law should definitely fix a capital to be fully paid in cash as a basis for private banks, the minimum amount being $25,000. the same as now provided for iu the organization of State bank sis . , Railroad Commission. A measure that takes into account the interests of all concerned would doubtless be of great public benefit. To the end that such a result may lie secured I recommend that the railroad committees of .both houses deliberate in joint session, with a view 16 formulating a bill which will neither he oppressive to any legitimate interest, nor tail to correct the inequalities of which complaint is made. ~ Forestry. The forestry policy of the State is now a subject of much public interest. It is worthy of note that Indiana is the only State in the Middle West that is pursuing a definite course with a view to the preservation and development of this vitally important agricultural and industrial interest. The development of this policy will greatly affect the usefulness xind value of the more than UOO.ubO acres of broken and at present almost worthless agricultural lands in Indiana, and insure’ to the industrial institutions of the commonwealth a sufficient timber supply for the future.

Insurance autl Militia. I renew my recommendation of two years ago that there be enacted a tire marshal law, similar to that in operation in the State of Massachusetts. The unusual lire loss in Indiana in recent years is reflected in higher rates for insurance, which constitute a heavy tax upon the entire insuring public. It is recommended that the militia law of this State, iu so far as it prescribes the organization thereof, be so amended as to conform to the law prescribing the organization of the army. Decline of Lynching. Lynching* and similar manifestations of the mob spirit have been unknown in Indiana during the past eighteen months. The Indiana anti-lynching law, providing for the forfeiture of office by any sheriff failing to offer proper resistance to any mob seeking to seize a prisoner, is a salutary one. The Common Schools. The common schools are an interest which lie close to the heart of the people of this State. The tendency toward making our educational system "too heavy” by accentuating the claim upon the puldic of the high school and university, rather than tile common school, is to he deplored. The wages commonly paid teachers in tlie common schools are not such as to encourage men and women of talent and ambition to remain in the service of the State as teachers. Iu some localities, owing to the insufficiency of local valuations to produce adequate revenue for school purposes, the conditions are espeolal.v deplorable. The situation is one which invites the serious, consideration of the General Assembly. Indiana lias just ground for pride in the prestige attained by the splendid-compar-ative flowing made at the St. Louis exposition. In Conclusion. In conclusion I desire to call the attention of the General Assembly to the fuct that if reports current are to lie credited, the Legislature now entering upon Its session will he called upon to resist the import uhljjlos of the most formidable professional lobby which has visited itself upon any General Assembly In the recent history of the State. The influence of every member of this General Assembly who has come here with a determination to do his duty should he exerted not only toward the rebuke of every illegitimate method of approach which may he employed by those seeking to influence legislation. no matter what their professional or political standing, hut toward the apprehension and proper punishment of any servant of the State yielding to such inducements. For my successor soon to be inaugurated I solicit that complete and sympathetic cooperation of the General Assembly which is his due, not only because of his exalted office, hut because he will tiring to Ills duties an earnest purpose to serve faithfully and well the people of this com-, monwealth.