Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 12.djvu/105

 FINANCIAL HISTORY OF OREGON 97 (1) Huge accumulations of 1868-1870 and of 1897-1899, due to the failures of the legislative assemblies of these periods to make appropriations, though the revenues are collected as usual. (2) Long continued deficits in the seventies, caused mainly through expenditures for public buildings while an old fixed rate of state levy sufficing only for current expenses was not increased. (3) A treasury law that nominally enjoined the hoarding of the state funds at the capitol but under which the treasurers regularly loaned them and pocketed the interest income. More- over, the individual claimants to whom bonds were issued, the holders of warrants during the bienniums for which no ap- propriations had been made, and the holders of warrants against anticipated land-sales funds these would all have oc- casion to offer their paper at tempting bargains to those in charge of the surplus state funds. The profits to the treasurers would be the discount at which the claims were cashed plus the interest accruing on the bonds and warrants. The Congested Treasuries of 1868-1870 and 1896-1898. The legislative assembly of 1868 adjourned without passing the gen- eral appropriation bill. No special session was called. The annual state tax levies were continued, so during the two years up to the meeting of the legislature in regular biennial session in 1870 the state treasury became more and more con- gested. The regular state government establishment had of course to be maintained. The claims were audited by the secretary of state and warrants issued, but as the state treas- urer had no authority through appropriations made to cash these warrants they bore interest at ten per cent until pay- ment of them was ordered by the session of 1870. Since those furnishing services and supplies during these two years had to accept these dubious warrants and wait for legislative valida- tion of them their charges were naturally raised accordingly. The legislative assembly of 1870, however, appointed an in- vestigating commission to reaudit the claims upon which these