Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-09-05

manner now practiced at Harrisburg.
The very best members of the legis:a-
ture are at Times powerless to carry out
the will of their constituents, unless
they consent, in violence of their con-
sciences, to arrangements and deals
with corrupt men who are nothing less
than public pirates. During the past
20 years reform measures have only
been enacted by the courageous union
of Independent Republicans and Demo-
Gratis, after desperate conflicts with the
powers of evil.
The Battle For An Honest Ballot.
My distinguished colleague, our
worthy candidate for the office OF lieu
tenant governor, Mr.. Guthrie, will
doubtless speak to you with clearness
and effectiveness upon the subject with
which his name has been long and hon
orably identified. He has been a host
in himself in the battles for honest
elections, and in the present contest
his influence will be felt amongst all
classes OF our, people in favor of the
complete carrying out OF this long need
ed reform. l merely desire to call your
attention to the fact that in 1891, in my
official capacity as the state executive,
! addressed the law-making body as
follows:
The constitution requires that all
elections shall be free and equal, but
such elections are not secured by ex-
listing laws. Nor is our ballot secret.
Fierce political conflicts between par
ties have given birth, here as else
where, to many phases of corruption,
to the use of money by rich candidates,
to fraudulent registration, to intimida-
ton by corporations and by large en-
ployers of labor, to false counting, and
to marked, altered and suppressed bal
lots. These contests have revealed the
existence of a purchasable element in
our midst, subject to all forms of po-
litical debauchery. A great popular
and Is states of the Union have al
ready responded to it. All political
parties in Pennsylvania have made
open profession in favor of securing the
most perfect attainable expression of
the public will, and the only question
that we now deal with concerns the
most expeditions and efficient method
of its accomplishment. The Australian
system is the best agency yet devised
for purifying elections. 1t is neither an
unteSted election experiment nor a
questionable expedient. Upward of S5,-
000,0U0 of people conduct their elections
by its machinery. 1t is not the method
OF any one, country or people, but finds
home wherever a free and accurate
expression of the public will is de-
sired. Ballot reform offers not only
free and pure elections, but free nomi-
considered legislation which will Sc
cure these or any portion of these re-
suits"
The Australian system was not
adopted. In its stead an imperfect bal
lot law was passed and accepted by the
friends of ballot reform as at least CIV
ing the advantages of uniform and
official ballot 1t was believed tnat per-
fected legislation would be promptly
enacted, but the political machine has
stood between the people and ballot re-
form and rendered all appeals for
more perfect system futile. Yet, al
though the senior senator from Penn
sylyania, to whose autocratic will legis-
lators have been subservient, a little
while ago publicly declared that If the
organization of his party failed to full
fill its own repeated promise to secure
honest and effective ballot reform, it
would sink finally into merited in
broken, by command of the organiza-
ton itself.
How the Farmer Is Oppressed.
Upon no class of our citizens has the
evil of political machine domination
borne more oppressively than upon the
farmer. Without detracting from the
importance OF other pursuits and occu-
pations, we may observe that the tiller
of the soil always stands at the front,
the ever faithful mainstay of the in
dustrial world 1t is a significant fact
that in our state the general course
of legislation, under the direction of
the baleful influences to which we have
referred, has been towards building up
all forms of monopoly at the expense
of agriculture. The farmer has been
taxed greatly in excess of his just pro-
portion for the support of government.
In some localities the possession of
land has become a burden instead of
source of profit. The demand for relief
has been denied. The appeals of the
agricultural interests, through the for
NAL action of great number of Far
mers' Alliances and the earnest repre-
sentation of facts in the columns of
rural journals, have all been in vain.
Permit me to repeat and emphasize
what | said upon this subject to the
law-making body in my annual mes
sage in 1898:
The inequality of our tax laws still
continues. l have suggested on two oc-
casions more equal distribution OF
the burdens of taxation. taxation to
be just should be distributed as nearly
as possible on all alike, and should be
even as practicable upon all classes of
property. In our state, values chiefly
constitute the basis of taxation, the
value of real estate and the value of
personal property Nearly all the rev.
enueS of cities, towns, bOroughS and
counties school and road tax, are de-
rived from values as basis of taxa
ton. If the two forms of property,
real and personal, are equal in value,
under just system they should equally
bear the burdens of taxation. Real
property, comprising the farms and
homes of our fellow citizens, is apprais-
ed at two billions of dollars for tax
purposes, and personal property, in
which is classed all property not real,
is in excess of this appraised value of
real estate. The whole amount real
lied for all purposes is approximately
sac, ,000 900, of which real property pays
about $50, 100000 and personal property
$10,000,000. Appreciating the principle
that taxation should be laid with some
regard to the encouragement and diver
sification of industry, and believing
that in our state this idea has been
kept constantly to the front, neverthe-
less, | am of the opinion that real es-
tate has undoubtedly borne the burden
of the day in taxation. In order to pro-
mote and encourage the industries of
the commonwealth and to invite capi-
tai and enterprise, real estate, especi-
ally in the form of farms, has become
so depressed as to need relief in more
equal distribution of taxation. There
i. ssA To-. i