Some Of The Reasons

There has been a great howl about the higher state taxes this year from our frlends the enemy. The reaeon lor the raise was explained in a lucid and clear marnier by Gov. IUch in a recent address before the state grange, in session at Lansing. The governor took occasion to review the state taxes. He showed, that while the taxes ar e a little higher, there is good reason. He showed that the trouble with the taxes this year dates tiack o the squawbuck legislation of 1891, when there was an insufficient appropriation of funds to proper!}" care for the state institutions, purpose'y made to reduce taxation bo the minimum. In addition to tui the legislature appropriated $200,000 lor which no tax clause ■was provided in the bilis. The governor said : "It may not be uninteresting to give a few facte in relation t,o state financee, and the cause of the present high state tax. There is one unpleasant thing about it. I cannot aesure you of any relief this year, but next year there wUl be a substantial reduction. The state is growing rapidly, and some increase in the amount of state tax ie unavoidable, as the demands on the state inoiease. In the present case I am not going to give anything startling or sensational, or charge anyone with embezzlment of the people's money. There have been charges of corruption in every Jegislature which has met since the admission of the state, but there is very little on our sta tut e books to show that any considerable amount of the people's money lias beet; sacriiiced The state bus.iness is not carried on with that trict economy which a prudent man exerclsee in his own business, but it comes as near to it as in any public business witih which I am acquainted. The main excess of taxes this year over what they have been in legislative years in the past arlses Irom the f act that suffieient taxes have not been levied to pay the expenses of running the state government . ' The most proüfic causes of increased expenses are the care of the insane, cost of keeping prisoners, building oí the upper península hospital for insane, at NeWberry, and the Michigan home for the feeble minded and epileptic at Lapeer, and the incieased appropriatione for thé university, normal school and mining school. "When Gov. Luce Avas inaugurated, January lst, 1887,.there was abalance in ttoe state treasury of $440,2il2.83. His atlininistration had to live. ter ane year and over on what hU predecessor had provided, and -llie balance in tile treasury at the end oí hls first year was $94,000.46. The legislature of 18S7 appropriated for 1S87, $1,950,085, and lor 1888, $1,458,466, a total for two years ol $3,408,551. The amouut paid out for the care of the insane for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1887 and June 30, 1888 was $527,940, and for state institutions, including insane, $1,792,296. " The appropriations made by the legislature of 1889 were $3,085,205. or more than $3,000,000 less than in 1887. The amount appropriated for insane was $786,939, and ior all state icstltutions $2,346,693. The balauce in the treasury Dec .31, 1890, the close of Gov. Luce's second term, was $603,515, and on December 31, 1891. the time when the admiuistratiou oï Gov. Winans would commeuce to live on what it had provided, theie a-s a balance of $506,110, or in round nuinbers $100,000 less than one year previous. During. this year there was received iroin the general government $420,000, which went intt the general íund. Taking this from the balance on hand Dec. 31, 1891, would leave the same balance as four years before, in the midd'e of Gov. Luce's first term. The balance on Dec. 31. 1892, the end of Gov. Winans' term, was $3-15,878, or $257,637 less than tlt t,he close of Gov. Luce's term. Besides thib reduction in the balance, tlu y had received $420,000 from the general government making up to that time a total reduetlon of $667,637. 'The new administration had to live one year on what had been provided by its predecessor, and on December Sist, 18S3, there was a balance of a minus $128,300, and thia alter getting in about $200,000 advanced by the Michigan Central and I.ake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad C5o., and about $150,000 from Wayne county and the overdraft mentioned was paid by the Firet National Bank of Detroit, making a deficit of nearly or quite $500,00Q. The legislature of 1891 ievied in toxea for the two years only $2,803,050, but they had received from ihft general gover., ment $420 000, and made appropriations amounting to $264,000, to which there was no taxlng clause attached, amounting in aU to $3,547,258. Among the items for which an insufficient tax was ralsed was the care of the insane. Tho estímate for 1891-92 was $650,000, but the coat was $882,523, or $232,523 more than the estímate. Thio act seems stranger when It is called to mlnd that cost for the pievious two years was $786,939, or $136,939 more than the estimates. The foregoing figures are not exactly correct, -as the fiscal year ends June 30th, and the admlnistration begins January lt, and closes Dec. Sist, bub the comparisons are all on the same basis. The legfelature 1893 levied in taxcs tor 1893, $t,931,214, and for 1894, $1,689,135 a total for the two years of $3,630,349, and it made appropriations ■amounting to $172,000 to which no taxlng clause was incorporated. It is proper to say that this legtelature was unaware of the tion of the treasury, or it is reasonable to presume the matter would have been remedied. The balance December 31st, 1894 wa-s a minus $66,894, and $300,000 had been borrowed to bridge over until the taxes could be coüected. ïhe legislature of 1895 appropriated for ,1895, $2,755,919, or thereabouts, and for 1896, about $1,800,000. ïhe tax !evy for 1895 was $3,013,919 and for 1896, it is estimated it will be about $2,083,800. Ir. view of the increased expenses it is possible there will be a small de-, ficiency at the close of the year 1896 bul every effort is being made to cok lect past due taxes, and to keep down tho expense. This in brief is th present tion of the ti-easury, and the cause oí the present high taxes. l It is to be sincerely regretted that this high tax comes when people feel no illy able to pay, but the appropriations are no more than the necessities of the state and its varied interests and iüetitutions require, and the honor of the state and of ita people demanda that the unauthorized debt be canctled at the earliest possible moment." The governor perhaps forgot, in ti.s reference to "the inereasëd appropriations for the University,'1 that the University did not receive any increased appropriations this year. Kot only that, but it had to go to tho supreme court to get the amount oí Interest on its funda that was justly due it f ram the state. The University should not be made to slioulder what does not belong to it.