The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-10-28

L. Wood. Vote for him.
considerable allowance, when their
minds revert back to administrations
Given this state by this some repub-
lican railroad machine.
Here is a plank that will also interest
the voters:
"We favor such change in our reve.
nue. law as will require corporate and
other property, now exempt, to pay its
equal share of taxation"
Every republican state official except
one in the past two years has stood
like a stone wall on the state board Of
equalization in opposition to every ef-
fort to compel the railway and express
companies to pay a fair share Of taxes.
The W men who have been the most
subservient to the corporations in this
respect are Phillips and Roddle and
these two corporation servants are
nominated on q pledge to "require"
these corporations to pay their share
of the taxes. The express companies
are now paying less taxes than they did
in the first year Of statehood.
We give this platform this attention
because it is the utterance of a hith.
erto great party on which the laeders
hope to regain their lost power in this
state. In the main, the claims, de-
mands and assertions are incoherent
and where they are definite when
judged by the record of the partly they
are ludicrous. The people of this state
have been, able to secure important re-
forms only by turning the republicans
out. The republicans promised us the
Australian ballot law but this was only
secured by electing an anti-republican
legislature-that of 1891. In that ses-
sion the populists and democrats had .
majority and gave the people the Aus
tralian ballot.
The record Of the party on the rail-
road question, as We have shown. is one :
long and shameful record of broken
pledges. :"
They charge Governor Lee with vast.
ing the public funds. The amount of !:
assurance required to make such =
charge is monumental. This party il
responsible for the Freudenfelt defalcar :,
ton, for the Taylor steal and a score OF
other scandals and neverin its history
prosecuted q republican defaulter, ex-
cept the farce of the Taylor trial. For
the first time in the history of this
state we have now, in Maris Taylor, q
public examiner who examines and, in
Lee, a governor who has the nerve to
dismiss his W appointees when they
fail to do their duty. After Treasurer
Taylor had stolen 1850, 900 and actually
left the state. the republican examiner
reported the funds all right and Cover
nor Sheldon publicly addressed the leg
islature commencing the "honest and
capable administration" of the treas
urer who had already run away with
the state money. Is there a voter in the
state who believes that could happen
with Lee and Taylor in Office?
We assert without fear Of contradict
tion that uLder Governor Lee there has
been the first good business admins
tration the state has aver known. 1t
would haye been still better had the
state treasurer been in sympathy with
him. For example no one but a repub-
lican could have issued 800, 900 in H.
legal bonds, as Mr.. Phillips did. 1t
was openly charged at Mitchell by
scores of republican delegates that Mr..
Phillips has pocketed a large amount
of interest on state funds probably
$50 ,OGO-which properly belongs to the
state, yet be was nominated for COVER
nor. He has prevented the proper tag
alton of railways. He refused to ad-
vance funds for abe mobilization oil
state troops, hoping to force the g.ver-
nor to call a special session of the leg
lslature. though there was plenty of
money in the state treasury and Lee
was compelled to borrow the money
outside on bis personal note and the
entire expense of raising the two regi-
ments was less taan a specia! session
would have cost.
n state finances are now in better
condition than they have ever been.
This is due to revenue bills passed by
the last legislature and the careful ad-
mlnistration of Lee These reyenue
laws are mainly the oil inspection fees.
the elevator and liquor license and the
insurance fees, all of which laws were
utterly opposed by the republicans in
the last legislature but which pay the
state about Sl5O,OOo a year and relieve
The taxpayers to that extent.
w. r. Kidd.
Chairman Peoples Party State &c ntral
Committee.
John A. Bowler.