Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-01-15
Special Des MONIES Correspondence.

The county auditors state associa-
ton will hold it's annual session in
Des Moines January 27-2s. A meet
ing OF the county supervisors of the
state is also called for the same date.
The state camp of Modern Wood
men OF America will be hold in Des
Moines commencing February 2. The
secret work will be exemplified by a
team from Gus Smith camp. A large
attendance is expected.
The Farmers Tribune, the leading
state reform paper OF Iowa, has
changed it's form from eight to sixteen
pages, and declares its intention to
make greater efforts than ever to hold
up the silver and other necessary re-
form measures, and if the Bryanites
OF Iowa will rally to it's support, and
at the some time give the local silver
papers the encouragement they de-
serve, the goldbugs will never again
be able to carry the state, even by
surfing the ballot box.
Wallace's Farmer is calculating a
plan whereby the railroads are to ship
cattle into Iowa from the west and
south, allow them to be taken off and
fattened on Iowa's surplus corn, and
then take them on to Chicago at no
extra cost. Not bad scheme, If the
railroads will agree to it, but It's
amusing to watch the antics OF some
people after using their influence to
get farmers to vote themselves into
hole, try to retain place in the con-
fidence of the farmer-by telling them
how to scheme around to make eX-
penses. These same farm Journals
will advocate political systems calcu-
lated to make low prices and unproiit-
able farming, tell their readers 1T Is
all due to an overproduction, and then
devote page after page teaching the
farmer how to produce more. Such
bosh is tiresome.
A committee headed by Colonel
Catch is preparing a plan to change
the method of taxation in the state.
which they will ask the legislature to
adopt. 1t is to assess all property at
its full value instead of about one-half
or one-third, as now. This, they claim
will allow very low levy and make
it appear to the outside world and to
prospective investors that we are not
burdened to death with taxation and
may make those who have the taxes
to pay feel as though they are getting
off lighter, even if they do pay as
much or more than ever. II looks
very much like q scheme to enable
cities. townships and counties to issue
more bonds so as to keep them pour
ing more and more money into the lap
OF the idle rich. More bonds, more
money, is the cry of the money kings.
and there seems to be a large per cent
of our politicians ready and willing to
assist them in fooling the people into
granting the favor.
| Des Moines enjoyed an intellectual
treat three nights last week. 1t was
the occasion of the series of lectures
from that talented and eloquent evan
gelist, Rev. B. Fay Mills. 1.-The So
cial Perils'' was his theme and right
well did he handle the subject.
Wednesday night he startled some of
his hearers by declaring that our eco
nomic system is founded on selfishness
and while we boast of our wealth we
ignore our poverty; that men are
cheaper than gold and even in the
church we find limitation of concep-
ton and a paralysis of service along
the line of true christianity and good
government. He says our systems en-
courage and foster a greed for gold
and an unrestrained indulgence of the
degraded appetites and lusts of man,
while all brotherly love and care for
righteousness are discouraged and
made unpopular. His bold criticisms
of all modern institutions, including
the church which he says pretends to
be that which it is not. has set many
to thinking, and some people who
joined in condemning Bryan followers
in the last campaign as anarchists and
lunatics because of their advocacy OF
measures calculated to curb the on
ward march and unhoiy sway OF plu-
tocracy, now feel ashamed of them
selves and wonder if they, themselves.
would not do well to emulate the ex-
ample and become that kind of an an
archist.