Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-10-28
fAOninc t.r0N.s Il nm baliye.
IELM, WASH, Oct. a, 1898

attended the RcpuhEcan meeting
ut Eureka sch0ol-hOu Saturday even
ing, and found a very respectable AS
Semhlage oi people, numbering about
Is, biz and little, old and young The
speakers OF the evening were Mc>>rs.
Linn and Faulkner, both men "i some
talent and think rca>.n..!ly honest
in their convictions. ! didn't 90 for
the purpose of ridiculc, but to learn
something Of the plan of campaign.
Mr.. Algycr acted as chairman of the
meeting, and among the distinguished
auditors was our mutual friend
J." Philo," he of lie Pops ut lelm"
notoriety.
Mr. Linn led out on the single tax.
but rs that Is not an issue in the cam
paign, it is hardly necessary to more
than mention it. He thought it
would work great hardship on the
farmers Che was talking to farmers) il
only land were taxed. When we con-
slider that the farmers OF Washington
own but about : per cent. of the land
value in the State, we can but be as
surcd Of the fact that he knew what
he was talking about. | really don't
think Mr.. Linn has studied single tax
very much. 1t is Il very deep and in
tricatc question and there are few who
do thoroughly understand it. As to
direct legislation he thought it very
unreasonable to suppose that the peO-
pie of the State were well enough in
formed as rule to know what they
really did want and that the old way
of selecting favored few to do the
thinking for the rest was much the
best; that we ought to be willing to
put confidence in our representatives;
that it would be rs easy to bride the
whole people rs the members OF the
Legislature; that it would be very in
venicnt to have to refer all the acts of
the Legislature to the people for their
action, etc, as though any such thing
was contemplated. 1t isn't probable
that one bill in hundred would ever
be referred to the people and then
only bills Of vital Importance to their
interests. Does any one in his sober
senses suppose for Il moment that, if a
bill for the issuance OF U. S. bonds had
been left to the people that they would
have voted for it? Certainly not. Is
an enlightened people liable to volun-
tarily place themselves in bondage?
Has 80 per cent. of the people any use
for bonds? No. Then why should
they vote for them? | can see no
other reason than for the benefit Of
the bond holder. If | had n million
dollars | might invest it i'll bonds be-
cause the laws allow me that privi-
lcge, and I'd be utterly exempt from
paying taxes and be one of the privi-
legged class and could look with con-
tempt on the producers of wealth, but
| don't happen to have the million
dollars. Why any man in his right
mind can object to having voice in
the making of laws by which he is
governed, is beyond my ken. Direct
legislation is pure democracy, which
means government by the people.
Before Mr.. Linn sat down, asked
him if he honestly thought single tax
is an issue in this campaign? He
said: - honestly think it is from
the reading of the 9Th plank i'll the
Peoples Party platform, when it refers
to local option in municipal taxation.
| said, that is simply referendum.
If the people want it they can vote for
it, if they don't they can vote against
it; there is nothing compulsory about
it,"
After Mr.. Linn sat down MIR. Faulk-
ner took the floor and | want to say
right here, he is dandy-a regular
ringtailed shorter in the line of ora
tory. He is witty little devil and
one can't help liking him notwith-
standing his Authorizations on political
questions. He was intended by nature
to move in better crowd, but you
can't "always sometimes tclP what
course boy will take. Before the
ball was opened he placed upon the
three blackboards in the room the fol-
lowing cabalistic figures:
Excess of liabilities over resources, July
/, 1897 .......... ........... -: 1921 30
| /. IsyS ....,........... 26.lS6 IS
Salaries allowed by law $l3.1S ~
| Salaries paid ................ I7,2:f2 "a
Excess OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 4,052 OS
Warrants General FUND.- outstanding:
| Juiy L. 1897 . ........ e.. DO. 10 lis
July ], 1898 ......... NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 10 49,
which was evidently intended to make
the people believe that the county was
in worse condition than under Re-
publican misrule when State warrants
were below par and county warrants II
drug in the market, at heavy dis
counts; when teachers had to wait
two and three years for their pay and
| jury men were in luck if they got any
thing. He was very careful to avoid
saying anything about these things,
however He is something like Tally
rand. He believes evidently that the
great object of a campaign speaker is
to conceal thought and by so doing be-
fog the minds of the people. In that
he is the most complete success | ever
saw. Some of the hearers OF the Re-
publican persuasion were spellbound
and sat with their mouths open utterly
obliviOus of the fact that he was hui
man and q lawyer and more liable to
misstate than state facts. | feared
the chairman would disjoint his neck,
as his head bobbed up and down like
duck in thunder storm by way of
approval. But haven't time to note all
that he said. must say, however, that
his pcroration on Mckinley was grand
but wonderfully overdone. The I'M
sophisticated might have been led to
believe that Mckinley was about the
only patriot on earth and worthy of
alteration, and he conveyed the idea
that he had been wonderfully traduced
by James II. Lewis, when it is motor
ious fact that Lewis is not in any
sense a mudslinger, and l defy any
one to say that James Hamilton Lewis
ever assaulted the patriotism of VIM.
Mckinley. He denounces his admin
istration; his vacillating position on
the money question and his position
on the tariff question and he has a