84 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO STUDIES 



the power to veto separate items in any bill which appropriates money, 

 it is easy to see that this additional power makes the governor one of 

 the greatest forces in State legislation. It has been the custom for 

 many years to place all the appropriations for the support of the gov- 

 ernment in one bill and, after having passed it through the two houses 

 of the legislature, send it to the governor, who must under the ordinary 

 State constitution either sign or veto the whole bill. In this way the 

 governor was prevented from cutting out any steals which would fre- 

 quently creep into the bill. In many States the general appropriation 

 bill is loaded with items that will not bear the closest scrutiny. It is 

 usually a bill of some thirty or more pages and carries several millions of 

 dollars. Being of such a nature, it is not difficult for designing poli- 

 ticians to conceal in it certain appropriations that never ought to be 

 made. Accordingly, it is of the highest importance that the governor 

 should be given the power to go through the bill and prune out the 

 items that have been improperly inserted there. Of the general appro- 

 priation bill for the State of New York for the year 1901, Governor 

 Odell vetoed more than one hundred items and reduced the amount of 

 the bill by more than $1,000,000. His action was generally praised 

 by the press of the State. This shows that there was a popular feeling 

 that the public money was being improperly spent. 



There can be no question that such a provision in the federal con- 

 stitution would be a great saving to the nation. The way the general 

 appropriation bill is loaded with improper items has long been known 

 to be a national disgrace. The President must either sign or veto the 

 whole bill, and as it is usually not presented to him until in the closing 

 days of the session of Congress or after the adjournment, it is next to 

 impossible for him to stop the wheels of administration by vetoing the 

 bill. Practically he has no choice in the matter and must sign it. This 

 evil was recognized by the men who made the constitution of the Con- 

 federate States. In that constitution the president was empowered to 

 veto any item or items of the appropriation bill. 



This power to veto separate items is given to the governor in the con- 

 stitutions of twenty-six States. 1 It has recently been inserted in the new 



"Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, 

 Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South 

 Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming. 



