Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 12.djvu/97

 CHAPTER I TREASURY ADMINISTRATION IN OREGON The Portion of Social Income Set Aside for Public Expendi- ture Exposed to Many Perils. That portion of their several in- comes which the people, through the procedure of legislative appropriations and state tax levies pursuant thereto, divert from their own private to commonwealth uses is passed through their state treasury. Universal experience proves that only the best skill and care suffice to protect these public funds, while in transit, from waste and loss. As these moneys leave the hands of the tax-payers, or the purchasers of state lands or other property or state service; accumulate in the state treasury ; and later are delivered to those who through services performed for the state or goods delivered are entitled to re- ceive them, many risks are encountered. The losses suffered by the Oregon people through loose and unsystematic handling of their public funds will be outlined in this chapter. As wealth, is becoming more socialized and public enter- prise is expanding a larger portion, both relatively and abso- lutely, of the collective income of the people is destined to be thus handled as public funds. The problem of the safe and economic administration of these treasury funds is therefore one of ever growing importance. That our understandings of this fairly abstruse subject of treasury administration may be as clear and familiar as pos- sible, suppose we picture to ourselves the process of handling our state moneys as comprising three fairly distinct phases : ( 1 ) Converging streams of state tax receipts flowing from the different counties ; or inflows from different sections of pro- ceeds of sales of land or other property; or the influx from national treasury of five per cent of proceeds of sales of land