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Show CURIOUS PLIGHT. The state legislature finds itself in a curious plight- It is pledged to economy and yet is confronted by a demand from radicals that it shall adopt various kinds of expensive fads. The committee of experts, otherwise classed as the steering steer-ing committee, seems to have framed its bills', intentionally or otherwise, to put the heaviest possible burden of expense upon the taxpayers of the state. We have taken occasion to condemn the extreme radicalism of the proposed measures not only because of the direct expense but because of those indirect costs or losses which are sure to result. At the same time we have confidence in tho sanity and good sense of the majority of the legislators. We believe be-lieve that investigation is disclosing to them the flaws in the radical measures. We feel sure that they will count' the ultimate cost of frightening away capital cap-ital from the state and will insist upon keeping Utah a good place for investments. invest-ments. There is more money for investment in the United States than ever before. Just at present it is being spent on the so-called "war babies." That will continue con-tinue only for the term of the war and then those who have reaped vast profits prof-its will look about the country for safe investments. They will turn to those states which have remained conservative conserva-tive and where reasonable taxation makes profitable investment sure. California is one of the commission-ridden commission-ridden states of the union and it is also one of the most tax-ridden states. It is impossible to estimate the scores of millions that have been lost to that state by extreme legislation, by legislation which keeps out capital' and injures those businesses which remain. A recent dispatch from Sacramento to the Los Angeles Times indicates that the tax-eaters of the state political .machine .ma-chine are still in the ascendancy. The administration budget increases the state payroll $2,0!13,1T2 over that of 1915. This year's general and special appropriations total $22,92S,247.31, which is an increase of $3. 179, S3" over the general and special appropriation bills of 191-j. This means another boost to a per capita cost now the highest in the United States. Increases for the pet commissions and institutions of the administration account for the major part of .the 52,000,000 increase in the general appropriation bill. The state board of cuutrol gets fSOl.OuO this year, an increase of iJ2,000 over 1913. The whole of this goes to salary and contingent con-tingent expense increase. The railroad commission gets an increase of $37,000 and there i.s a special appropriation of. $200,000. Tho total for this commission commis-sion is now $707,300. We cite these figures to show the constantly increasing cost of government govern-ment by state commissions and boards. The Utah legislators feel that they are called together to enact some sort of legislation. A Democratic majority naturally wants to have a record for legislation and legislation that shall differ from the laws framed by their Republican predecessors. That is a party weakness. It is the pride that goes before a fall. And yet the new legislature legisla-ture would receive universal gratitude if it would let well enough alone so far as new laws are concerned. The new regime, we take it, is committed rather to economy in administration than to productivity in lawmaking. At all events the average legislator is apt to discover as the session proceeds that it would be worse than folly to enact radical laws merely for the sake of providing pro-viding innovations. If the legislature, at the next election, can merely point to a vast framework of costly governmental govern-mental bodies created by their laws they will not be accorded much praise. They wull really be anathema to the public, for the people of the state are eager to provide against increased taxation. tax-ation. They are thinking not only of their own affairs, but of the need of new capital in a state whose resources, after all is said and done, have hardly been touched. They can see a brilliant future of development for the state if the situation in the state is made inviting invit-ing for outside capital. |