Chapel, January 21, 1927
President Wright

I am going to talk to you abuut the legislature this morning, and
I am not going to tell you very much about the legislature because I have no
idea what they are going to do, and from what I could gather this week, they
do not have any idea what they are going to do..

Por the first time in the history of the state we have operated for
two years under what is known as the Budget System. That means that all of the
spending agencies in the state, such as the state departments of all kinds,
the hospitals, the colleges, evey spending agency except the highway commission,
every agent that spends state money has a budget made out two years ago. The
budget was made by the year for two years, and at the end of the first year a
second budget for. the second year of the biennium was made and sent to the
Executive Budget Officer, who is the Governor of the state. Each quarter, (and
the state year begins with the first of July, July, August and September make
the first quarter) each quarter in each year there is a budget made for the
quarter and each month in each quarter there is a budget made for that month. These
budges are submitted to the Budget Bureau with the Governor as the executive
head of it and approved. If the allotment for the month of Jamary is approved,
then the spending agency, this college it may be, can spend the money that is
allotted. The allotments have to be made under at least twelve headings or objects,
and these objects are cut up into a multitude of so-called funct a. Now, I am
not going to ask you to try ‘<p all of these terms. What I want you to
see is that we work out the spending of the money under what is known as the Budget
Burean with the Governor of the State as the head of the bureau. He has the right
to reduce any request for an allotment. That means we cannot be able, always
be able, to get what we want and what we think we ought to have, but usually after

the quarterly budget has been approved, if we run short, we transfer from one

 

 

(FEN Color Control Patches
division to another, and in that way we get along very well.
At the end of the two year period the Governor, who is the executive
head of the budget, is required by law to make out a report showing all receipts and

&@ll expenditures, the surplus or deficit, whatever it might be, of the spending

the spending agencies are
agencies, and/required to put in their estimates of the needs of the next two years.

Then the Budget Commission, composed of the Governor and six other people, take these
requests, go over them carefully and decide what they will recommend to the General
Assembly to be appropriated for the various spending agencies. They are also
required to draw up a law known as the Revenue Act, I mean a proposed law known
as the Revenue Act and submit it to the General Assembly, also to drawup a
proposed act for the maintenance of all the spending agencies and institutions in
the state, saying how much each institution, for instance a place like Gremville,
may spend and for what purpose it may be spent divided up under twelve objects
for each year of the biennium. They are also required to draw up & law
providing for the amount of money that is to be spent by bond issues for permanent
improvements of all kinds.

| After all this is done and this report of the Executive Budget has been
submitted to the legislature, none of this is law, it is proposed lew. The lew
requires the executive head of the Budget System: to have all of this done, but
it is not law that it should be spend as recommended by the Budget Commission. They

simply get it all together in shape and submit it to the legislature, and then the
legislature my do with it as it sees fit. I+ may reduce the appropriations or it

may increase the appropriations for maintenance and for permanent improvements,
The reportof the Budget Commission is I don't know how many hundreds of pages. It

takes some time to give it the necessary study to act on it with intelligence, and

the legislature at present is right at that stage. They do not know what they want

 

 

[FEN Color Control Patches
to do. ‘They are studying the report and they have the proper authorities from all
the spending agencies to come before the Appropriations Committees, and ask them
all kinds of questions end get all kinds of added information. They will went to
know, for instance, if we can live on the maintenance appropriation, and if we cam
do what is necessary to be done with the appropriation for permanent improvements
if we get no more than they propose to spend here.

I was supposed to go before the appropriations committee last Wefinesday,
put the hearing was postponed, and I will go before them about next Thursday,
maybe today week. Next Friday I will know more than I know now, but I do not know
that I will be able to tell you any more than I have told you this morning. I
wanted to just give you that outline that you might get a clear conception of

what the Executive Budget System means. Personally, £ think they are putting too

much authority in the Governor, jy think they should give sme of the authority

that is given to him to the Boards of Trustees. For instance, we cannot change

from one ob ject to another except by written request and approval fF te Governagr .
I think the Board of Trustees of an institution know best when to make a transfer
from one object to another, because they are better informed and know more of the
urgent needs of an institution then the Executive Head of a great state can possi bly
give the time to learn.

I do not know what the legislature is going to do. They do not know.
It is the most interesting legislature to watch from the sidelines that I have ever
had any dealings with, and I have been having dealings with legislatures ssake
1909 every two years. I have had some very interesting experiences, but this is
the most interesting so far thet I have ever had.

We need, urgently need, every cent we are asking for the maintenance of

this college and for permanent improvements. I feel pretty sure this mofning

in saying that we are not going to get it, but I also feel just as sure that

 

 

 
we are going to fight just as hard as we can to get it, because the state ought to

spend the money here.
Just one other thing and I am through, there is a wave in Raleigh that

would make one believe that North Carolina is just on the verge of bankruptcy. I

did not know that we had quite so many rich poor people. You know there is @
difference between rich poor persons and poor rich persons. Taxation is high in

North Caroline, we all know that, but it is not the state taxation, and that is

&@ point that people have failed to see, because the state hasn't done certain things,

the local communities are doing it. We are never quite so poor in North Carolina

as we think we are when the legislature is in session. A good friend of mine

said, "Mr. Wright, We can't do it. We just can't get any more texes." I said,

"All right, let's not have any at all. Let's get less.” He said, "You know we

can't do that. We have got to go forward." I said, "If we go forward, we have

got to pay for it.” I said,"in other words, you are not willing to pay any more!
Raleigh
North Carolina is very poor in MoxthxGaxukime today, but the bank accounts show that

we are in good condition as a people.

 

(FEN Color Control Patches