The Farmington times. [volume] (Farmington, Mo.) 1874-1902, 1902-04-03


paign boy hired republican stump
speaker that ;hrEtatr board 81 equal
iyation. which h composed ~ the gov
crnor. secretary of state, auditor.
treasurer and attorney general, in the
discharge uf their sworn duty, dis
criminatc iu favor ~ corporations IN
fixing assessments
This is o. serious accusation, and If
true shall drive from public llir every
man vs." H. thu. faithlcss tu public
trust.
let u- look nt the records and sre
II the charge - true The democratic
party challenges o. comparison ~ rrr-
urd- un this important suhi-,; as well
as IN all other matters pertaining to
the conduct ~ state affair.
What are the facts
The records show thnt during the
six YEAR, the republicans were In
power iu Missouri, the railroads were
permitted 20 escape taxation alto.
grthrr.
Taxes were high IN those days. The
people we're s"rrIy embarrassed TO
f5i7et tbc dcmants of the state, but
these great corporations were per
mittcd tU 60 srut free.
Not republican newspaper, nor q
republican, orator. has ever had the
fpirncs= to mcutiou this chapter in
the history ~ their party, nor the
courage ." attempt an explanation
of such grus, official fav"ritism.
Now irt us look at the democratic
rcrurd
The assessment ~ railroad proper
~ IN Missouri has steadily increased
under democratic control until il
reached last year total ~ S,2,565.-
1890. This i~ exclusive of street
ruitwayr aud railroad brilgrz which
swell the total t. siIp,G7i.I5,.
From nothing under republican rule
10 over SSn,DlN.OeO under democratic
management g. the record the rrpub-
lican party managers must face.
The railroads of Missouri. includ-
ing all branch lines. nov bear an av.
crugc assessment of Sil. .Il0 per mile.
Certainly. II Missouri democratic Of
fcials have been fuithirzs Ia assess
ing railroads. our intelligent and SO
licitous republican friends, can point
to some republican state which
would serve ns an object lesson In
well doing.
Missouri II bounded on the EAST,
north and west by republican states.
Many oT our railway .yzt"ms traverse
all four 81 these great states. Mis-
souri certainly has none the best IF
either in railrund Development. A
comparison Of the four states, there.
fore. gives the relative merits Of
their respective assessments.
The official figures for 1900 make
the following showing:
Val nee Mile Val pc- Mile
Illinois .... ... Gisf Town .... ...., t.ssI
kHnrRe. .... o.. CSC Missouri ESQ. d.. II. t10
So, IL democratic Missouri has been
fuithless In the assessment of rail-
roads, what j. 10 be said II rcpubIi-
can Illinois, where the valuation per
mile Is S3.7O4 less, or Of republican
nhhsas, Nhete ihe Na'oatioh per mle
Is $500 or oi sini"Art republican
Iowa, where the valuation per mile Is
s',tfs less
but this ~ not All Nhile the aver
age aAsesseu 'e'ue per "iie' lhciuuhE
All nranch hheN' IN missouri n W.T.
4s0, the assessment Of the main lines.
such as the Missouri Pacific. Wabash.
:, hoe. sS'aho' FRISCO NJ
y, q H. oanla &c am Nhi'ago q
.,''S'.' en- ,.an .sss g aI ,"' way '''" S'''O''
y" F'''"' ii 'a,Is'
II our repunlfcan friends are sin
cerc and want ta be fair. let rs com
nare the assessment of these main
lines in Missouri with the valuation
fixed by the republican states In
which the roads are operated.
The n,,rlins,s,., r.. 4..s... -