Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1901-08-29

state as In the nation. Its tendencies are
the same whether at Washington or Des
Holmes, or Havana or Manila. 1t has been
honest lea efs rassed away~a party held
together by chronic appetite for the spoils
of office. 1t has been corrupt In nation ana
state and our first experiments as coiOl-
ial power, have given to the world the most
scandalous examples of political debauch-
and embezzlement of public moneys: The
first men sent out with the credentials OF
republican leaders have been put In colonial
Jalls or brought back embezzlers ana
thieves.
THE democratic legislators have SHOWN
to the people of Iowa the wrong dongs
of the state officials and the attorney gen
eral of the state has found the duties of
his office more onerOus each year ON ac-
count of the peculation Of state officials
THE republican party for years in the
face Of protests of democrats, In the lace
of the reports of investigating committee
against the demands Of honest followers
of their party, have refused 70 abolish the
office of state printer and binder; They
have allowed the people through these Of
fees to be robbed to the extent OF thou
sands of dollars annually In order that the
office might be given as reward for party
service. They have kept up the exorbitant
prices paid for work In these offices with
the guaranty that the same work could be
done at from % to 80 per cent less by con
that even these prices were not large
enough 10 satisfy the rnpacity OF republi-
Of charging over 5000 In excess of al
ready excessive rates.
'Tne mulct law is another example of
ePT6l H syRHGs Sas as the
cided to take step backward and desert
Its position. The democratic party offered
and still offers for republican state wide
ineffective prohibition, license that would
produce large revenue and leave 1t TO
the cities, towns and villages of the state
to determine their position In regard to the
traffic In Intoxicating liquors. They pro
posed a system for the control of the traffic
that objectionable parties might be kept
out Of the business and the whole traffic
be safe guarded-that while 1t became a le-
Ultimate occupation and industry, Its abuse
by irresponsible parties might be provided
against.
The republicans In order to hold within
It's ranks the liberals and the prohibition
lists evolved from an ingenious and fertile
Imagination the hybrid of mulct law,
through which they were enabled to prom
ise the prohibitionists prohibition and the
liberals the manufacture and sale and the
saloonkeepers a license to violate law OF
the state by paying mulct tax.
1T has the taxing feature Of a license
system and there all analogy ends The
power to license presuPposes the power to
pass upon the merits OF the party licensed
Under the mulct law any man or woman
direct from Fort Madison or Anamosa, II
able to get a keg OF beer on credit can open
saloon and the only thing the municipal
power can do-lts local option, is the right
of the board Of supervisors TO assess an
huulllOnhl TAX against the property Occu-
pied The property occupied may be ten
or twelve feet on the bank of a gully and
the tax can never be collected, but the per,
son operating In strict accordance with the
piOus provisions Of the republican law.
1t is unnecessary to discuss the success
or failure Of prOhibitiOn-Of license sys-
TEN or the mulct law. The facts are IA
miliar TO you all. In Scott county we have
no local Interest in the matter but IN the
interests Of sObriety and honesty we would
Ike TO have some provision for the entire
state that would wipe out the drug store
and other Incentives to drunkenness.
The democratic party demands In state
affairs equality Of taxation for it's citizens
that the corporations Of the state bear
equal burdens with other taxpayers They
do not believe that corporation influence
should be strong enough 10 oblige the state
TO lower the assessment Of corporation
property, while the assessed valuation OF
Individual property is largely increased.
I'm Scott county the assessed valuation
or all property during the last ten years
has Increased over IS per cent while the