5 1,200.00 STATE OF MISSISSIPPI Salary of deputy land commissioner for 1918. Expenses in looking after land depredations, etc. And the sum of four hundred dollars ($400.00), or so much thereof as may be necessary, for each of the years 1918 and 1919, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated, to defray the actual necessary expenses of the land commissioner in looking after lands belonging to the state and preventing trespasses and depredations thereon, and in transcribing such records of his office as in his judgment, need or require transcribing, said expenses to be paid out upon itemized statements, approved by the governor and filed with the auditor; the same must show the actual number of miles traveled on official business..... Interest on Chickasaw school fund. Interest on $1,035,641.44 of Chickasaw School Fund at 6 per cent per annum, for the year 1918... For the year 1919.. 1,200.00 800.00 62,138.49 62,138.49 Interest on state bonds and bonds to be retired. Interest on $103,000.00 of 4 per cent bonds of 1888, for year 1918 4,120.00 Bonds to be retired, January 1st, 1919, issue of 1888... 103,000.00 Interest on 3 1-2 per cent bonds of 1904, for the year 1918 17,500.00 For the year 1919. 17,500.00 Interest on 3 1-2 per cent bonds of 1907, for the year 1918 4,795.00 For the year 1919. 4,795.00 Interest on $264,000.00 of 4 per cent bonds of 1910 for the year 1918.. 10,560.00 For the year 1919.. 10,560.00 Interest on $1,250,000.00 of 4 1-2 per cent bonds of 1914, for the year 1918. 56,250.00 For retiring the first series of bonds of the issue of 1914, and interest on said series to date of their retirement, July 1st, 1919. 63,906.25 Interest on the remainder of the $1,250,000.00 bond issue of 1914, ($1, 187,500.00) for the year 1919........ Interest on 4 1-2 per cent bonds, issue of 1916, for the year 1918 53,437.50 33,830.00 For the year 1919.. 33,830.00 For printing the reports of the several departments (department of archives and history and geological survey of the state excluded) and of the benevolent institutions, and for printing the laws and journals, and all of the printing and advertising as ordered by the legislature, and all miscellaneous printing: For the year 1918. 30,000.00 25,000.00 All accounts for printing shall be audited and allowed in accordance with the requirements of section 3769, of the code of 1906, by the board of public contracts. Departments for which appropriations are elsewhere specially provided shall not use any of the above appropriations of $55,000.00. The auditor and secretary of state shall render a statement to the legislature, showing the amounts expended by each of the several departments for the state government. The money appropriated herein shall be used solely for the purposes mentioned in this bill, and no part of it shall be used in the payment of attorney's fees, and no money shall be paid for clerical help in any of the departments above mentioned, except the monies herein appropriated. The journals of the house and senate, and the laws of 1918, shall be printed and published within eight months after the adjournment of the legislative session of 1918. Sec. 2. That this act take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Approved March 13, 1918. THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, Executive Department, Jackson, March 13th, 1918. Governor's veto message. To the House of Representatives: Gentlemen:—I have this day approved all that portion of House Bill No. 52, "An act to appropriate money to defray the expenses of the legislative, executive and judicial departments of the state government, and to pay the interest on the state debt," except the item under the section "judicial department for money which was authorized by majority of both house and senate amounting to twenty-five hundred dollars." STATE OF MISSISSIPPI 7 I have heretofore refused to endorse this expenditure and do hereby veto same and assign the following reasons for so doing. 1. This item as it appears in this bill is unmistakably in violation of section 69 of the constitution of 1890 which reads in part as follows: "General appropriation bills shall contain only the appropriations to defray the ordinary expenses of the executive, legislative and judicial departments of the government." I am sure upon consideration no member of the legislature will contend that this item is an ordinary expense of this department, and for this reason I could not, under my oath, approve the bill in direct violation of the constitution. Reasons assigned for veto. 2. I am constrained to veto this item for the reason that in my opinion the money has not been properly used by the attorney general after he had borrowed the same from the Jackson State National Bank. I have no record of where the state has ever paid for goods, wares and merchandise before same was delivered to the state, nor for services until said services had been rendered. In this case the attorney general has paid the $2,500.00 to Hon. Lamar F. Easterling for the purpose of representing the state in the Woodruff bond case and the case has not yet been tried nor have all the services been rendered. I have heretofore opposed the expenditure of this $2,500.00 by the department of justice for the reason that the attorney general's office is abundantly equipped to represent the state's interests in this suit. Before this loan was negotiated I addressed the following letter to the attorney general: "Hon. Ross A. Collins, Jackson, Miss. Dear Sir: Since talking to you a few days ago about your proposition to secure the consent of the legislature to borrow $2,500.00 to assist in the famous bond case, for which the legislature gave you $2,500.00 at its last session I have given the matter serious consideration, and owing to the fact that the legislature has already expended this much money on the proposition to aid you in preparing for the trial of the case, and for the further reason that you and your two assistants and law clerk should devote your entire time to representing the state in all litigation, and this being a suit involving millions, I can imagine no greater service that you yourself could render to the state than in giving your personal attention to the trial of this important suit since you are the accredited head of your department of state. For these and other reasons that I could assign, I have decided to oppose any further expenditure of money in this matter. Assuring you that I have great confidence in your success in winning this case if you give it your personal attention, I beg to remain, Yours for public service, THEO. G. BILBO, Governor." This letter was in the hands of the attorney when the loan was negotiated. I further question the propriety of authorizing this appropriation for the reason that the attorney general had received $2,500.00 at the 1916 session of the legislature for making the investigation and preparing for the trial of this case. This investigation had been conducted under the direction of Hon. Lamar F. Easterling who was an employee of the attorney general's office at a salary of $2,000.00 a year and this $2,500.00 was offered to him while he was an employee of the attorney general. I don't think it right to compel the people of Mississippi to pay $2,500.00 to a man to try a case when he was serving the state satisfactorily at a salary of $2,000.00. Of course the bank in question made this loan to the attorney general on the strength of the legislature pledges presented to the bank. I am informed that the attorney general did not show my letter to the bank at the time the loan was negotiated. Therefore, the bank did not know that this appropriation would meet with an executive veto nor did the bank in question know for what purpose the money was to be used, nor how it would be expended. In other words, the bank is an innocent party to the whole transaction and ought not to be permitted to suffer because I take it that the loan was made in good faith upon the state's credit. Personally I am inclined to think that for the sake of the state's credit and good name, since the bank was dealing with one of the accredited heads of a state department the bank's interest should be conserved. I do not want it understood that any statement made in this message is a reflection upon the honor, integrity and ability of Hon. Lamar F. Easterling. He had a perfect right to leave the attorney general's office and accept this fee in this case. He may have had his own reasons for leaving the attorney general's office, but certainly no one could censure him for preferring the $2,500.00 fee in one case as against the $2,000.00 salary in the other. Respectfully, THEO. G. BILBO, Governor. AN ACT to make an appropriation to cover the expenses of the regular session of the legislature of 1918. Expenses of legislative session. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, That the sum of one hundred and one thousand and five hundred dollars, ($101,500.00) or so much thereof as may be necessary, be and the same is hereby appropriated out of any money in the state treasury, not otherwise appropriated, to pay the salary and mileage of the members of the legislature for the regular session of 1918; and that twelve thousand dollars, ($12,000.00) as a contingent fund for the house of representatives and nine thousand, ($9,000.00) as a contingent fund for the senate is also appropriated. How employees paid. Sec. 2. The secretary and all employees of the senate, and the clerk and all employees of the house of representativs shall be paid out of the contingent fund, which shall be expended under the direction of the senate and house of representatives, as the case may be, on certificate of the presiding officer, countersigned by the secretary of the senate or by the clerk of the house of representatives. Sec. 3. That this act take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Approved January 15, 1918. CHAPTER 3. SENATE BILL No. 459. AN ACT to appropriate the sum of $2,000.00 additional for the senate contingent fund, and the sum of $2,000.00 additional for the house contingent fund. Additional appropriation for legislative contingent funds. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, That the sum of $2,000.00 or so much thereof as may be necessary, be, and the same is hereby appropriated out of any money in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated as additional contingent fund for the senate for the session of 1918; and that the sum of $2,000.00 or so much thereof as may be necessary be and the same is hereby appropriated out of any money in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated, as additional contingent fund for the house of representatives for the session of 1918. |