The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-12-15
GEORGE ON TOM JOHNSON.
Thinks He Is Destined to Become
Great Power in Democracy.

C7enry George in New York Journal.)
Intense interest in the whirlwind of po-
litlcal events here during the past two
days seems to have obscured the sig
nificance Of a remarkable political occur
renee.
Poif =, or at least Democratic politics,
has Won a new aspect there since Tues
day. John r. Mclean. in the southern
part Of the state, was carried away in
the tide of Repubiicanlsm that reelected
Nash to the gOVeTn0rshIp with an III
creased vote, while Tom J.. Johnson, in
the northern part OF the state, cut down
Nash vote tremendously.
More than this, while the rest of Ohio
in last Tuesdays election. with the eX-
cepuOn Of Columbus, which was torn Dy
dissension, was gong headlong 10 the
Republicans, CuyahOga county, which in
cluues Cleveland, the home OF United
STATES Senator Mark Hanna, and which
is normally Republican by 1000 majority,
was carried by the DemOcra..c county
and legislative ticket BY maJOrlLieS rang
ing from 800 TO 6.OJ0
TINS political revolution may very prop
erly be ascribed to Tom L. Johnson as,
by request of his party, ne named the leg
islative ticket and was consulted about
the makeup OF the county ticket, and
both county and legislative candidates
ran on the issue he made-taxation-
Moreover, he was the central figure IN
the canvass, giving the hardest blows to
ton from them. He got out his big cir
Gus tent, which had done such good serv-
ice IN former campaigns, and made his
usual hurricane campaign. The tent seats
1900 persons, and every seat was filled
every night from the beginning TO the
end Of the campaign, for where Mayor
Johnson is there something is doing"
There were many set speeches, but the
answering of questions was the chief fea-
ture. and the mayor himself was the chief
ansWer5r, doing il with a quickness and
frankness that made his audience cheer
with delight, and caused too VenruresOme
critics who had risen to put "pOsers" to
sit down with very mixed feelings.
Inc Republicans endeaVored to make
national questions the issues of the fight,
and, TO use an Ohio Characterization,
kept firing from behind Mckinley
tombstone"
But Mayor Johnson, who was elected
last spring to the Cleveland mayoralty on
the issues Of public ownership of public
franchises and taxation, had attracted so
much attention to these questions all over
the state that he, through his Ieutenants,
was able to write the franchise and tax
alton issues into the Democratic platform
for the gubernatorial fight Practically
all the literature sent out by the Demo-
cratic state committee during the cam
paiSn was the franchise and taxation lit
eTdJure supplied by the Cleveland MAYOR
IN the counties containing the largest cit
les the party candidates for the legisla-
ture are elected, not separately by dis
/ tTiCJS. but as a unit, by counties; and as
I the Republicans had q normal majority
/ OF 1000 in Cuyahoga county, the delega-
ton OF fourteen men-fOur senators and
ten representative appeared to be Sc
[ cure for that party.
Mayor Johnson has. since his Inaugural
uOn as mayor at the beginning of the
year, been making a great fight on the
/ taxation question. A board of assessors
that ne. appointed raised the appraise-
ment OF the public service corporations
in Cleveland go 10000 and he has begun
proceedings to raise the assessment of
/ the large land owners about SEQ 900, 00J.
/ This has brought down the tax rate, of
course, and has proved to be extremely
popular.
In addition to this Mayor johnson got
after the steam railroads of the state and
started Tight to compel the state board
OF railroad tax apportiOnment to raise the
/ assessments of the railroads so that they
snail equal the assessments borne by the
farmers and other taxpayers
This equalization of assessment would
/ take S,lS3,lS4 q year from the railroads
/ for public revenue and relieve general
/ taxpayers to that extent The equaliza-
/ ton board, which is composed wholly OF
I Republicans. refused to comply with
Mayor JohnsOn's request, saying that il
/ had no power to go behind the assess
ments made by the county assessors.
: Mayor Johnson will now begin mandamus
proceedings to compel the board to act
as he asks, which, he declares, is accord
ing to the letter and the spirit of the law
Of Ohio.
6 q
But not content with a fight in the
courts, Mayor Johnson set himself 20 car