The weekly examiner., 1901-06-08

IuO uldyOI Oudt GI0 I01tl ulcI- ket value of the road was 5000, ,OO0 as shown by it's bonds and stocks. The physical property of the road, he said, applying to the rule observed by the railroad company in making it's return, was several times more valuable than given by the road. Much of it's prop erty was omitted, he said.
 According to the mayors figures the road should be assessed at $71, ,058 a mile instead of 1,028 a mile, which was the figure it returned. The aud itor of the road and it's general counsel, J. M. Lessick, refused to make any at tempt to refute the mayors statements.
 ''We stand on our return,'' they said
 One of the criticisms that Tohn- son makes of the county auditors is that they not only grossly discrim- mate in favor of the railroads and against farmers, city home owners and other small taxpayers, but that they do this while receiving favors from the railroad companies He brought this matter pointedly before the board, when, in defiance of notice of the mandamus mentioned above, il proceeded to appralse arbitrarily. He asked the railroads auditor whether his road issued passes to county auditors. The railroad auditor blush ingly said that he personally had not issued any. He might have said more, but that the county auditors interrupted him We quote, again from the Plain Dealer:
 .ssThe road does issue passes" spoke up Auditor Craig.
 "Have you got one?'' asked the mayor.
 s'I have.''
 'sAnd so have r. .'and so have I,'' answered other auditors.
 s'I want to know if Johnson charges that because we may have accepted passes from the railroad that such fact influences our votes or is the reason why we do Dot appraise the roads as he would have US do ?" demanded Aud itor Laws, of Harrison county.
 1T do not charge that"
 s'You had better not''
 The doughty auditor from Harri- son evidently supposed he had scored a point. But he had only made an opening for the mayor to read him a lesson on judicial morality,t the sound ness of which will be appreciated .bys the people, even If the official con sciences of these auditors were not sensitive to its rebuke:
 "But I do charge,'' cried the mayor, tsthat you men who sit here with passes in your pockets are not fit either legally or morally to partici- pate in the appraisement of this road. And I want to say to you further that I am going to attack this and every appraisement made by auditors pos sessing passes issued by the railroads. Every such appraisement is illegal and I will prove it in the courts, even be- fore a judge who himself may have railroad pass in his pocket. Do make myself clear ?''
 At the termination of this case that of another railroad was brought up, where the doings of this board of au- ditors was still more shameful, they having thrown aside any pretence whatever of being independent agents in the matter, only the mere chattel tools of the corporation, while ostensibly the servants of the people and drawing their salaries from the public treasury-for here they resolved to shut off entirely further investigation by Mayor John son, not deigning to answer ques- tion by him propoun6ed.
 But the end is not yet. He is to carry the matter from court to court If necessary, and if there is no satis- faction to come from the highest tri- bunal, then the court of last, resort the people-will be invoked.
 This is the kind of man that is needed at the helm of government at Washington, and needed badly. He IS as far beyond temptation as he Is above reproach. The modey power could never coddle him, TO more than can the corporate powers. He Is as honest and patriotic as ever Lincoln was conceived of being, with surely much more than the martyrs frmness. And his fighting qualities are all his own. Oh, for a good four years of Tom Johnson in the chair of Washington and Jefferson and Jackson, with a peoples congress be- hind him to pass him up the laws The reign of Plutocracy would soon be driven from the land, and the nation at last become-what 1t never yet has been--a government of the people, by the people. and FOR the nenn1e