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Show CALIFORNIA LEGISLATORS FACE TAX REDUCTION CRY State Has Had About All the "Reforms" and Commissions Com-missions That the Purses of Citizens Can Stand For. By JOHN H. MANCHESTER. SACRAMENTO, CaT, Feb. 3. "Uh every city and county in 'ali-fornia 'ali-fornia demanding tax reduction, with I"s Angeles county alone shonin a million-dollar deficit for the present year, California 's legislature faces on tho one hand the necessity of cut t,i down California 'a enormous taxes, and at the tamo time each faithful faith-ful Progressive- is demanding that his pet measure for requiring increased expenditure ex-penditure bo put through. Tim result is that the fipht around the pork barrel at .Sacramento this year will prohnbiy result in tho creation of lew, if any, additional commissions. Having hoen reformed and uplifted by many commissions during the past six "ejirs, California is in the position of having had about all of this form of government that it "will stomach, with Hie result that at least four fat com missions planned by various Progressive legislators are doomed to still birth. Tho first, is the creation of a measure to issue health insurance "for the benefit bene-fit of persons whose incomes are too Finnll to meet the hazards of sickness. " The bill introduced proposes the creation cre-ation of a commission to "carry out a general policy." Another hill wonld create a ship sub-f-idy commission of five members for overseas traffic, to pay subsidies of 5 per rent por annum on one half the cost of the steamer. Many Commissions. Senator Brown of Los Aneeles Is the sponsor of a bill to establish the position posi-tion of superintendent of land titles, ' at $5000 a year, while Jones of Santa Clara would create a real estate loan commission. The commissioner, whose salary is not yet fijted, would be empowered em-powered to investigate all real estate, building and loan organizations before they would be licensed to engage in business. There is also a bill pending before the legislature to create a state bureau of physical education of sii members, compensation not set forth, empowered to teach the elements of military drill and to operate under the state board of education. Attracted by the odor of all the good things cooking! in the Sacramento kitchen, the pressure from without on California's lawmakers is intense, for no pop-feeder can forget that the valuation of property in the state increased $266,-690,(590 $266,-690,(590 during the year 1916. Taxes Already High. But, unfortunately, no amount of increase in-crease in property valuation can quite gloss over certain statistics on the cost of government in California, which State Controller John 8. Chambers compiled com-piled some months ago. These figures show that governmental erpensps, state, county and municipal, in California range around $IS0,0ij0,)00 a year. To be brief, our state is spending spend-ing approximately $19, 000,0m) more yea rly than it did five years ago ; our counties are spending approximate! v $30,000,000 more, and our cities approximately approxi-mately $25,000,000 more. Here is a cold increase in the actual cost of government of close to $7o,0G0,-000 $7o,0G0,-000 in five years, which means that each breadwinner in California now pays an average tar of $180 a year. As the averago wage in California is less than $20 a week, this is equivalent to more than two months' labor for each bread-1 bread-1 winner. In tho face of these facts, is it any wonder that the people of California are aroused to the necessity of cheeking the hand that opened the "faucet of waste? Poor Man Forced Out. ! The increased cost of elections, by reason of direct primaries, has driven the poor man out of politics. A man cannot any longer bo elected to office in this state without a long bank balance, for names on nominating petitions cost good money for each signature, and one has to have many of them. The direct primary in California has made it absolutely impossiblo for any citizen not backed by immense capital to obtain office, for tho reason that there is no way in which a poor man can get his qualification before the public, except at personal expense, and this expense ex-pense is prohibitive, unless he has the backing of the machine created by present pres-ent state office holders to maintain themselves in power. It is a notorious fat that the senior senator from California from his own purse spent thousands of dollars in a necessary publicity campaign tor his election, and that one candidate at the last primary eloction for the office of junior senator spent more than $30,000 to the same end. California is ruled by newspapers. In the north the battle is between Hearst, Do Young and Older, the Examiner, the Chronicla. and the Bulletin, respectively. Newspapers Control. i In the 60uth the fight is between Otis, Earl and Hearst in Los Angeles, con trolling the Times, Tribune and Examiner. Exami-ner. San Diego is a Spreckcls principality, while Rowell of the Fresno Republican controls the central parts of the state and the San Joacjuin valley. Unless a candidate is "indorsed by these men, or at least a part of them, there is no chance under the present California form of government to even get his candidacy before the people, and the state is torn between their various interests, each paper attacking the candidates can-didates and office holders representing rival newspapers. Moreover, this form of legislation has driven millions of capital from the ?tate and this has not improved the condition of the working classes. While hundreds have wceived accident benefits thousands thou-sands nave been thrown out of employment employ-ment by reason of the increased cost pf production, which accident insuranco had entailed. No longer ago than last fall, when commercial organizations were in the midst of a campaign to attract new capital to the state. California dreamers and agitators were circulating an initiative initia-tive single-tax petition. It is this menace, men-ace, more than the price of fuel or aught else, that is hampering the growth of California's industries. |