Jonathan Mcmillan Davis
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Jonathan McMillan Davis Special Message of Governor Jonathan M. Davis To the Legislature of 1923 February 13, 1923. To the Legislature: More than half of the time ordinarily employed in a session of the legislature has passed, yet only one bill of general interest to the people of the entire state (the adjusted compensation law) has reached my office. For this reason I feel it my duty at this time to send this message, in order to remind the legislature of the pressing needs of the people of the state in certain matters, and to emphasize those things which seem to me would be a breach of the great trust reposed in the members by their respective constituents if they fail to enact them at this time. First let me remind you that each of you subscribed to a solemn oath to uphold the constitution and the laws of the state, the import of which, irrespective of your party affiliations, made you servants of the whole people, and not of any private, selfish or political interest or party. Our government is wisely divided into three branches—the executive, legislative and judicial—each with its separate functions and responsibilities and each independent of the other. You constitute the legislative branch. Upon you falls the duty of enacting new laws and modifying or repealing existing ones. Such relief as may be obtained through legislation, if not given by you, makes a responsibility for failure which you must assume and bear. In the same way, the obligation which I took imposed upon me executive powers, not to be exercised in a selfish or partisan manner, but in the interest of all the people of the state. With a clear understanding of this obligation and this responsibility, it seems to me that we ought to be able to work together for the common good, uninfluenced by those selfish and special interests that are now present in Topeka, and in like manner uninfluenced by those selfish, partisan interests led by those whose only thought is a selfish desire for the spoils of office or the benefits accruing from the power to control and distribute public funds. I am led to make these observations because of the frequent references in the newspapers and in the gossip about the Capitol that Republicans in the legislature are planning to tie the governor's hands, and are taking delight in killing "Davis" measures or "Davis" bills, and in preventing the governor's recommendations from being enacted into law. If such action were taken from such motives, it would be pusillanimous, and an exhibition of such petty partisan politics as would be unworthy to entitle those so conducting themselves to be characterized as good and loyal citizens. I would not impute such motives to members chosen and sworn to represent the people. As an individual, I have no bills or measures, and no selfish interest in what action you take. But as an official, representing the people of the state, a responsibility conferred upon me by and through their suffrage, desirous of meeting to the utmost that responsibility, I made such recommendations as I believed would be for the best interests of all. I have had no reason to feel that I was in error in making those recommendations. I therefore reiterate and recommend again, with emphasis, all the matters contained in my former message. In that message I urged that the eight-hour day be fixed as a minimum for those employed in public service, however or wherever employed. If the members of the legislature feel that they can go back to their constituents who work on the farms, in the shops, in the stores, and in whatever productive capacity, and say to them in fact: "We, as your servants, decided that those employed in your behalf and for your interest, whom you must support by a toll out of your productive energies, may work when and how they please," I declare that the responsibility for so doing shall be theirs, not mine. In the same way, as a means of improving and protecting the expenditures of public money, I recommend that the provisions of law now extending to state officers for the misuse of public funds should be extended to all county, township and city officials, so as to fully protect public funds from being wasted or misapplied, either through carelessness or fraud. If the legislature desires to take responsibility of saying that such protection shall not be extended to such funds in such manner, I want the responsibility for so doing to rest upon them, not upon me. In like manner, in the face of the well-known and flagrant evasion of taxes by certain influential and powerful interests, I recommended that measures be taken to make all alike bear their taxes. If the legislature, by refusing to devise remedies, or refusing to support remedies offered them, desires to allow this condition to continue, I want them and the people of the state to know that the legislature, not the governor, is responsible for this gross injustice to those who are now bearing too heavy a burden of taxation. There has been no change since the party platforms were made, or since the party platforms were made, or since the election last November, when the people spoke upon this matter. There can be no other interpretation placed upon the verdict of the people than that a reduction in taxes is the preeminent and imperative need of the present time. This reduction should extend first to the reduction of the direct appropriations for the expenses of the various departments and institutions of the state; second, to an elimination and combination of such boards and commissions and extra help as may be made without impairing efficiency. Both of these courses of reduction were favored and approved by each of the political parties last year, so there ought to be no division whatever upon those two actions. Yet so far there has not been a single office discontinued, nor a single combination of offices effected. The responsibility for failing to do so rests with this legislature. In addition to these two courses, I have recommended that certain reductions in salaries and in help in various departments be made by repealing chapter 1 of the Session Laws of 1921 and chapter 234 of the Session Laws of 1919, and reorganizing the administrative departments of the government upon the basis of the salaries paid and help employed in 1917. In the same way a readjustment can be carried out throughout the institutions of the state that will effect marked savings in the amount of expenditures. There can also be a decided relief in the tax burdens of the state effected by a proper limitation of the levies allowed for local purposes throughout the state and by a limitation of the power to vote and issue bonds. As measures to improve the taxing system, which has needed improving in this state for so many years, I suggest to you that recommendations were made providing for the limiting of bond issues when the tax rate exceeded three per cent. Recommendations for the repeal of the inheritance-tax law and the enacting of an estate-tax law were made, as was also a recommendation for an income-tax—first a law providing for a level rate to be effective at once; and second, the submission of an amendment to the constitution providing for a graduated scale. I also recommended a law for the taxation of mortgages—a tax that would eliminate the double taxation of farms and homes by providing that the mortgage should be taxed as real estate and the amount of the mortgage subtracted from the total value of the real estate, so that the whole value of the property would be taxed, but the owner of the equity in the real estate would only have to pay the tax upon his portion, or upon the portion owned by him. I also recommended that the basis upon which public utilities and others who do business for profit, fix for rate-making purposes should automatically become the basis upon which their properties would be taxed. This is fair and honest proposition, and can be objectionable only to those who desire to take an unfair advantage of the people of Kansas. I also wish to urge upon you, as a just and proper tax, and a way to lighten the present burden of taxation upon industry, business, farms and homes in Kansas, the enactment of a production tax upon oil, gas, coal and other mining, mineral and forestry products. This is a proper source of revenue that has been long neglected in Kansas, but a reasonable tax could very justly be levied that would distribute the benefits of these great natural resources of this state in this manner. Of the general acts that I think are important and should not be neglected, I want to call attention to a few, the enactment of which would operate to a better and more honest carrying on of business state. First, an act making the blue-sky department more effective by an amendment to the present law that would effectually prevent the sale of speculative stocks to the people of the state. I also asked for a law that would provide a remedy for those who felt they had been imposed upon through profiteering methods. It has long been known that we should have a better workman's compensation enactment. I have recommended, and there has been introduced, a compensation bill, based upon the Ohio statute, that would provide the just remedial legislation that we need.