Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1901-04-16
TOM JOHNSON
Says he has an Ambition to make Good
Mayor.
special to the Louder.

Special to the Leader.
Cleveland, o., April 15.-Tom 4.
johnson has been mayor OF Cleveland
just twelve days and during that BRIEF
tenure Of Office he has come into ma
tional notice. If he executes the plans
he has prepared, he vii continue to be
center around which curiosity aud
the interest of a great many people re-
| volve.
The positive announcement comes
from the political managers of the
mayor that he is not going to enter
the race for Governor, that he is not
candidate for senator to succeed SEN
ator Foraker, but that he has found a
fruitful field as mayor of Cleveland
If this plan is carried out it will be a
rief to many who have aspirations 10
be Governor of Ohio or Senator from
Ohio. Mayor Johnson's political plans
are uncertain, but he has reached one
conviction thus early in his new career
and that is to take things as they come
and not try to cross the bridge until he
reaches it, He has made up his mind
to make as good mayor of Cleveland
as he possibly can and he is convinced
that no political future can possibly
await him in this Republican state OF
Ohio unless he makes remarkable
record as mayor OF this city.
To this end that he may make what
he is pleased to term No. ] record
in the office he is filling, he has de-
cided to work out two great municipal
problems. He is student of both the
problems he proposes to work out
some say he is master of both-others
that he is dreamer and has yet to
master the first principles of the ques-
tions he has undertaken to settle in
this city. Mayor Johnson holds that
there are two great questions before
the municipalities of this country. The
one is municipal control of semi-pub-
lie franchises and the other complete
readjustment of taxation. In private
ownership of public utilities and in
the inequalities of the present system
of taxation, Mayor Johnson sees two of
the greatest evils which confront the
citizens of the republic.
On both of these questions Mayor
Johnson has settled convictions. On
both he is prepared to compromise and
will compromise if he has to. He be-
lieves in the single tax. This Is be-
yond his power to bring about. He be-
lieves in absolute municipal control of
franchises and this too he can easily
accomplish in this city during the next
two years. He is building broadly
however. and has worked out plan OF
readjustment of the taxes of the peo-
pie of Cleveland which he may accomp-
lish during the term of his office as
Mayor of Cleveland. He has appointed
a competent man to draft maps and
prepare a list of the people paying
taxes in this city. These maps and
lists are likely to reveal that the great
burden of taxation is on the shoulders
of the poor people and the middle
classes. He has a positive convection
that the result of the investigation he
is now making at his own personal eX-
pCnse, by the way, will reveal So plain
Is that taxation here is unjust and un-
equally distributed that he is pr epared
IT, enter court of equity and demand
that corporations and individual; who
are es escaping their responsib. .litics III
t." matter of paw,rG :aX"S ehHll lao
compelled to liquidate their obligations
He cannot by this method reduce the
taxes for the poor but he can so raise
the taxes on the rich that the eventual
result must be a tightening of the
burden of taxation on those who are
now shouldering the load.
This new theory of the Mayor is i'm
mensely popular at this stage of the
proceedings. 1t has at once brought
the mayor into favor with the masses
and it's political as well as it moral
effect will be very potent.
On the question of municipal own
ership of franchises, the mayor is
known to have definite plans. In the
first place he says that at least two
street car franchises will expire before
the term of Office is over. He would
like 10 have the theory of municipal
ownership tested by purchasing the
lines whose leases expire. 1t might be
well to observe that there are a great
many who do not believe that there
are any franchises to expire for seven
years yet. Mr. Johnson thinks he has
discovered that the franchise on the
st. Clair line and the Kinsman street
line, both Senator Hanna's properties,
are either up now or will be before
his term Of mayor is up. If he can vim
dicate his claim he proposes to try and
have the city buy and operate these
lines and if he fails in his attempts
he will insist that the franchises be
sold to the highest bidder. He con.