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Show "PROGRESSIVE LEGISLATION" EXPENSIVE IN CALIFORNIA State Controller Flatly Calls Halt in Wilful Expenditure Ex-penditure of Money and Outlines Staggering Stag-gering Debt Piled Up. IN view of the agitation for enactment enact-ment by the Utah legislature of many laws generally included in the term "progressive legislation, ' ' The Tribune belioves that the people of the state are interested in knowing of the working of such laws in other Btates. California has long been heralded her-alded as the leader in this class of legislation, leg-islation, and The Tribune has arranged with John H. Manchester of Sacramento Sacramen-to to furnish a series of articles bearing bear-ing on "progressive legislation" and its effects in California. The first of the series follows: By JOHN H. MANCHESTER. Special to -The Tribune. SACRAMENTO, Cai, Jan. 27. Callfor- Vnla's state legislature took a recess last A night to enable the committees to go over the various bills introduced and, from the attitude of the members of the legislature, It is evident that the riot of progressiv-lsm progressiv-lsm ha run Its course in California and the tendency now is all toward conservative conserva-tive measures. The report of John S. Chambers, state comptroller, flatly calling a halt In willful will-ful expenditure of money and outlining the "staggering debt" that progressive legislation has piled on California, was responsible in a large measure for the change in attitude. Chambers ays in his report: "The state and Its cities, counties and districts, not counting the unsold issues held by the state and Its subdivisions, owe the staggering sum of 5252,837,054 in the shape of bonded debts, and upon : which interest is being paid at rates run- ! ning from 4 to 6 per cent, with the remnant rem-nant of an old issue carrying S per cent. The bonded debt alone averages $500' per family In California." Expensive Laws Restricted. With hundreds of bills introduced, the one which is receiving the closest attention atten-tion and which is practically sure to pass was introduced to increase the difficulty of obtaining Initiative, referendum and recall petitions, for in the past disgruntled minorities have taken advantage of the ease with which legislation could be In-; In-; stituted or held up and have loaded the state and the subdivisions with election after election at tremendous cost to the taxpayer. The members of the legislature realize fully that progressive legislation has gone too far and. that there must be a pause while the people catch up with their burdens. bur-dens. In spite of war prosperity, California Califor-nia real estate is not moving, as the tax drain on the property holder is too great to make California property attractive. In the town of Van Kuys an unimproved lot on which taxes were delinquent seven mon:s was voluntarily released to the county recently, under advice of counsel, : because the nine special taxes then levied against the property totaled $75 more than the selling- price. The recommendation to release this property was made by the county counsel of Los Angeles county. Railway Extension Ceases. During the past four years railway extension ex-tension in California has entirely ceased. The great Key Route system In the San Francisco bay counties has been in the hands of receivers. The 1000-mile Pacific Electric railway system In southern California Cali-fornia shows a deficit this yeax of $820.-000, $820.-000, while the Los Angeles railway, the property of Henry E. Huntington, the great California railway builder, has lost $750,000, and Its bonds have dropped from 105 to So, with prospects of still further reduction. j All public utility corporations In California Cali-fornia are suffering, for, In addition to the usual 5 per cent of their gross earnings earn-ings paid in direct taxes, they have faced special assessments without number during dur-ing the past four years, with constantly increased special assessments on the one hand and extra service requirements on the other, to the end that they cannot now meet either of the demands made upon them. A sterling authority once estimated the fruits of folly in California at $15,000,000 yearly in punitive damages and $100,-000,000 $100,-000,000 In severance outlay this last resulting re-sulting from that dissociation, through i nam i cable laws, from those moneyed persons per-sons whose good will means investments of the emphatic kind. The last estimate cannot be proven in a way that would carry conviction to all minds; the first can. In a recent publication of the Federal Census Bureau, entitled "Finaifcial Statistics Statis-tics of States," It Is shown that the cost of state government in California is the highest in the United States. Page No. 68 of this report gives the average per capita cost of state government as $5.03. California is the highest, with an average aver-age per capita cost of $12.17. South Carolina Caro-lina is lowest, with an average per capita cost of $1.87. Utah, Arizona and Nevada are the only other three states where the per capita cost is greater than $10, but all three of these states, It may be pointed out, are sparsely settled; the population of Utah being, roughly, '500,000; Arizona, 300,000, and Nevada approximately -100,000. California's Cali-fornia's estimated population is 2,803,-085, 2,803,-085, an increase since 1910 and this should be borne in mind In reading what follows of but 426,000. Totaled, California last year spent $34,-119,473 $34,-119,473 in governing itself. The only state in the whole, wide union that spent more is New York, with a population, according accord-ing to the last census, of 9,113,279; yet Its excess in expenditure over that of California Cali-fornia is but slight. Texas, with a 60 per cent greater area and a 40 per cent greater population, paid but $16,364,780. Pennsylvania, with three times California's Cali-fornia's population, paid less, and Illinois, Illi-nois, with twice California's population, paid only about half as much. California, to be brief, is tenth In population popu-lation among the states of the union, second in the total cost of state government govern-ment and first In per capita cost". Table of Comparisons. Here is the record of ten other states that are placed in the 2,000,000 population class along with California: Governmental Per cost capita payment. payment. Indiana $10, 458,335 $ 3.77 Iowa 9,201,661 4.14 Missouri 10,204,123 3.02 Virginia 8,835,293 4.12 North Carolina ... 5,003,902 2.14 Georgia 6,330,346 2.26 Kentucky 8,670,980 3.68 Tennessee 6,522,697 2.45 Alabama 7,428,7.23 3.29 Oklahoma 6,666,8115 2.73 Average per capita 3 16 California 34,119,473 12.17 It is Interesting to note that while California's governmental cost was S34 -119,473 for 1915, that of Oregon, her northern neighbor, was but $4,597,670, while the cost of Nevada's government for a year would feed our state machine but ten days. An analysis of these figures, however, shows that California gets slightly the worst of it in comparison with other states, as last year's expenses are made to Include $6,675,260 of state highway money and $3,143,284 for public-service enterprises, chiefly the cost of harbor maintenance. While similar charges are carried against other states, the expenses of California In this regard were unusually heavy last year. Here Is a table which cuts out all interest in-terest payments, bond money, public-service public-service enterprises, and represents the expenses of general departments onlv. The states used are those in the 2,000 000-population 000-population classes with California: Department Per Capita ExpenBe. Expense. Indiana 59,673,214 $3.49 Iowa 7.606,081 3.42 Missouri 8,654.017 2 64 Virginia 7,583,471 3.54 North Carolina .... 4,115,194 1.76 Georgia 6,916,631 . 2.13 Kentucky 8.394,739 3.56 Tennessee 4,527,627 2.01 Alabama 6,731,990 2.98 Oklahoma 4,642,353 2.40 Average per capita 2.78 Average for whple United States.. 3.85 California Department expenses, $20,-515,064; $20,-515,064; per capita, $7.32. Now, as to the reason for all this. Government Gov-ernment by commission, high salaries and top-heavy general departments seem to explain why California's state government costs from three to five times that of other states of like population. Some would go deeper and ascribe it to a certain cer-tain form of domination, but this article has only to do with facts as they appear on the surface. Where Costs Pile Up. For Instance, although the federal government gov-ernment maintains an expensive immigration immi-gration station at. San Francisco, California Cali-fornia pays more for the support of Its immigration commission than anv other slate. California's board of control costs three times as much as that of any other state. California's railroad commission costs twice as much as that of any other state, except New York. The cost of Its "corrective" and "rejrualtive" departments depart-ments is from two to ten times that of other states. No other state has so many higrh-prlced commissioners. No othev sto te has so lare a percentage of Its population on the state payroll. No other state government govern-ment clasps its tentacles so tichtlv around the body of private enterprise. No other state Injects so much politics Into business. busi-ness. No other state has advanced Its per capita cost so rapidly since 1910, and no oUier state pays so heavy a per capita cap-ita tax. These facts are set forth clearly and beyond dispute In the twenty-six statistical statis-tical tables of the new census report. Now as to punitive damages sustained yearly by the state of California, In mio. with a population but 500, 000 If ss than It Is today, California's outlay for stare covernment was approximate- fifteen fif-teen million dollars. It whs 5.14.119,472 last year. AUowlnc $4,119,473 as the legitimate le-gitimate extra outlay, due to the slicht population increase, we have $15,000.0Hi wasted. As for some of the causes, two only of which will be eiven at this time, the railroad commission last venr cost' the state olrtse to $7.v.fnv- anj "nbout ?2S0.nfl was fed Into the maw of the. state's industrial, in-dustrial, accident and Insurance commission. commis-sion. There an others, hut the outiavs for these two point the way that the .state's money has gone these lat six lor seven years. |