Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-05-21
Des MONIES respondence.

agreed upon In the state laws, and
the changes will take effect Oct. 1, or
80 days after the final adoption. In
all probability lotm demands for
changes will have been accumulated
by that time and unless a firm refusal
to take up anything more be made
the one day session may result in
several weeks more.
Nothing of a redeeming nature was
done in the closing h ours. Up to the
very last the assembly remained true
TO its bosses, the monopolies of the
state, and the railroads, telephone,
telegraph and Pullman sleepers, are
to be left, SO far as taxation is con-
cerned, in the hands of their friends.
and be allowed to escape each year,
as heretofore. by paying about one
fourth their proportionate part of
the taxes. The Cheshire amendment
was passed but not until all the im-
portant part of it had been elm
mated.
The senate finally agreed to the
house demand for % per cent basis
for taxation, so hereafter property is
to be assessed at full cash value and
the levy made on 90 per cent of the
value.
In his farewell speech Speaker
Byers INDUCES in considerable lauds
tory language relative to the work of
the session ana closes by saying it
has saved to the state many thous-
ands of dollars by cutting expenses
here and there, and goes on to tell
how many hundreds of of thousands
1T will amount to in the courses of
time. How would it do to figure
little in the other direction aud see
how much it would already have
amounted to had these surplus expen-
ses never have been saddled onto the
state by the republican regime? If
the Topping off of a few sinecures aud
extravagances at this time will save
the state hundreds of thousands of
dollars during the next few years
perhaps still more hundreds of thous-
ands might have been saved in the
past by never having INDUCED in
said extravagances. Why did not the
republican rulers think of these
things sooner. Why did obey wait
until the opposition forces got after
them and exposed their steals to the
people and made the taxpayers de-
mand q reformation? And then why
did they not give what the reforms
demanded instead of trying to cut off
the useless expenses here and there
just to be able to make blow about
retrenchment? Why didn't they put
their new printing and binding fees
into effect at once instead of waiting
until 1899? Why didn't they put the
state institutions under control of
one board instead of leaving a dozen
or more boards to loot and misnian-
age affairs? Why didn'l they do away
with many more useless and high
priced officers? And why didn't they
arrange to tax corporations as they
should be taxed thus making capital
pay its proportion of the the taxes
and relieve the small property hold
ers from some of their burdeps? This
misleading statement of results is to
be printed and scattered broadcast
for political effect and before election
rolls round next November the re-
publican politicians will be denying
all the scandals laid open by the
| factional fights in their own ranks,
and will be claiming shat this extra
was grand thing for the state, but
the people have memories sufficiently
long to not forget all the dirty deals
| in that short time, OR if they haven't
| their attention will be called to the
files of the Register and Capital as
means of refreshing their memories.
| We have always been told that the
republicans were running things eco
nomically; that there was no extrav-
agance in their administration, but
now they have admitted this claim to
be false by reducing expenditures or
pretending to do SO, and if the people
accept this puny effort as sufficient
recolnpense for the burdens heaped
upon them and conclude to retain
the &. o. p, in power, all these little
lop-offs will be restored and other ex
travagances added next winter. The
only way to discipline this arrogant
clique is to turn them out to grass foI
a few years and let new regim,
take possession of the books awhil,
and show them that restitution is no
quite SO easily made.
The scheme of the republicans viii
now be to acknowledge the McFar
land scandals. How can the avoid il
His dirty deals have been uncovered
by members of his own party ant
there is 40 way to palm it off as pc
litical campaign rot engendered b,
the opposition parties. But the ide
: is to placate the voters by saying
Yes Mcfarland did wrong but as
party we repudiate him, turn hii
4 down and that leaves the balance q
the party pure and inconuptible
and in this way they expect to hol
the respect and support of the people
: The fact is the Mcfarland scandal j
only one Of mony, aud while man
: others were brought to light and are
most of them We're smoothed owe
and left in such shape as to be il
| I,lrnl a Il l.