OCR Text |
Show MESSAGE READ TO THE STATE LAWMAKERS Great stress was laid on the subject sub-ject of revenue and luxation by Gov-ernoi Gov-ernoi Willi. im Sprj In the message be! rend to the state legislature at ai Joint session of senate and house yesterday yes-terday afternoon in ihe Louse chant ber. For the calendar years 1913-1014 the estimated expenditures "f the tatc eill exceed the estimated revenue rev-enue by 111166,278.16a said the gov-j ernor, wherelore the subject of rcve-Due rcve-Due is iix- mosl Important one this legislature has to consider In his message the governor tells of the de-feat de-feat of llic tax amendments at the recent general election, which also defeated de-feated plans of the special tax com- I mission which were to nave been I submitted to the lawmakers He liar-1 Set their defeat in the greed of individual in-dividual nnd corporations The present pres-ent system oi taxation in I'tah i ronndh scored by the governor Although admitting thai defeal of1 the tax amendments In n measure ties I the hands of this legislature as those oi the pas) have been, he calls upon the lawmakers to do what they can I to bring about n reformation ol the present system Asks Banking Bureau. The message strongU urges the creation cre-ation of a stnic banking nureau, with provision for a state bans commls-sioner commls-sioner and at least un examiners "Under the present arrangement a hank could easlh be wrecked and tlir loans and poor manacrment during 'ho long interval between state examinations," ex-aminations," sas the message Infliction of the death penalty by electrocution is advocated bj the governor gov-ernor Other salient recommendations In the message are An appropriation of 660,000 for a lie stock coliseum at the stute fair j Protection f Insectivorous and song bird? and changing the name of Ar-I Ar-I bor day to Arbor and Bird day. Appropriations for th- San Francisco Fran-cisco and S.iii I ;.--. exposition and for participation of I'tah i-ivll war veterans in the senil-centenniiil at Qettyaburg. Message Is Voluminous. Tlie message is a voluminous one .nid required somewhat more than two hours for the soi ei doi to read to the members of the senate and the house. It rex lews the reports and recommendations of the vario i statt di artnienta and institutions For th most part the governor 'Invites the attention" of the legislature to the demands oi these departments and Institutions, without making i fi recommendations The message "invites the attention of the legislators to Hie request of the University of Utah for a (56.000 normal building ami equipment. S75,- ""ii i,.r an auditor! im addit Ion to the main building, aud $30,000 for a wo- I men's gymnasium to tne Agricultural Agricul-tural college's rcquesi for 165,000 for a chernistrv building to me request of the state school foi the deal and blind for a $75,000 icbool t lldlng and (Impel; a $50,000 building tor the State industrial .-hool. t ihe subject of . ii mi -terilfza- lion of charges unfit for parenthood.) In general, the govern r.ilses the conduct of the various departments and institutions and urges the legls-1 lature so fai a- possible, t" accede to their requests for improvements and maintenance. The Joint session began at 2 80 o'clock. House members were in their seats and ihe senate members ranged themselves in a row ol ehalrs in iron' ll of the speaker's chair. President Henry Gardner of , he senate presided Speaker Seel of the house sat with him Executive Reads Message when Qovernoi Sprj entered, escorted es-corted bj Representatives Hilton li Welling and Knos Rennion. the legls- ! latois stood The governoi was applauded ap-plauded A painless flashlight picture of the scene was taken and the gov-ernor gov-ernor launched at once into the reading read-ing of his message First he took i ,p the state finances, saing: "From estimates furnished on request re-quest of the state auditor from the. heads oi departments, state institutions, institu-tions, etc . the estimated expenditures expendi-tures for ihe calendar years 1613 and 1914 will exceed the estimated revenue rev-enue by 61.156.27K.1f;. the estimated expenditures being $3,257,465.28 while the estimated revenue is $2,101 i . t 12" He called attention lo the fact that bonds for the new cepitol have not been issued aud will not tie until the ffl neceasily arises, lidding the belief thai iv careful management the ne- ccsslty never wlil arise ' Attack on Tax System. Revenue was then taken up Through a campaign of perversion, perver-sion, mi.-icpre.sentation and self-Inter-est on the part of certain Individuals Individ-uals and corporations, ho saw in the adoption of the amendment a certainty that ihe would be brought to bear an equal burden of 'he taxation of the state, the proposals were lost. ' said Ihe governor. and aside from the advantage ad-vantage of possessing the comprehensive comprehen-sive report of the state board of revenue rev-enue and taxation, which Is seriously serious-ly llinnted because ol trie defeat of the amendments upon the adoption of which was based very largely their research and planning ou Und yourselves your-selves very much in the same position posi-tion in which previous legislatures have found themselves, namely, perfectly per-fectly cognizant of the fact that inequality, in-equality, if noi rank Injustice, permeates per-meates our taxation system, without the power to do what Is universally recognized should be done M Continuing on taxation the governor gov-ernor iointed out aB showing bow people evaded taxes, that at the close oi' 1911 and Just prior to the time for levying the 1912 assessments national nation-al and state bank statements showed commercial and savings deposits to the amount of $55,821,419.31, yet $7.-50u.ti5 $7.-50u.ti5 only of money and solvent Credits were returned in the entire stato for assessment purposes in 1912. "It bj mere bosh for people lo inform in-form you that the state board of equalization equa-lization can remedy this condition " said the governor, referring to tax dodging. "It haB power onfv to equalize equa-lize between counties and has no power to equalise individual assessments assess-ments within the county." ' The unfairness of the system tails particularly on tho state in :.s inter-sst inter-sst In taxation," thy message resumes "The lual aBSCssois arc practically iLe sole arbiters of Individual obligations obliga-tions of citizenship in so far as these obligations invohe reaponsibilltj in producing reenue a condition ilui' neer sliould In- pcrmilied to prevail pre-vail ' Considerate space In the message is devoted to educational ruatters. Reports of the education executives! of the stut are reviewed Recalling the hoaiduiL ul hool lund b some i districts, while others are calling on the legislature for more lunds. thej message urges that no appropriations be made from the general fund of thei state to meet strictly school district, expenditores. The governor disagrees with the regents re-gents or the stale university, who would substitute for the exittiiiK Income In-come law a bill providing for a (K-universlty (K-universlty of one-tenth of a mill for maintenance and one-tenth for the branch normal school In this suggestion I cannot con-, cur." sas the governor it Is obvious ob-vious that as the total assessed amotion am-otion of the state rises, t iio i.- must be correspondingly reduced, aud if u definite portion of the state's revenue, reve-nue, specified in mills be set aside as a maintenance fund for the higher high-er institutions, those Institutions will continue to participate at the specified speci-fied figure, regardless of trie fact that 'he states participation will br- reduced. re-duced. Instead of growing with the state they will shortly be growing in revenue far bevond the state " |