The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-11-01


tend to question your sincerity for
minute. All we ask is that you vote as
your conscience directs.
Belleville Telescope: We don't care
two whooos whether you vote for Tom
Kelly or not But if you do vote
against him be sure that you make no
mistake in marking your ballot If you
want to scratch Kelly, keep out of the
circle and make cross x in the square
at the left of the name of the candi-
dates for whom you wish to vote. But
don't scratch any other Republican on
the ticket.
Wellington News: You probably can't
beat Tom Kelly by voting against him
for state treasurer. because the normal
majority will be so large that he VIII
get in. but you can express yourself as
being against supporting doubtful char
acters on any ticket. And in votinS
against w. H. Craddock you will not in
| terfere with his chances for election.
he has no chance in the world to beat
Bailey this year, but you can announce
your disapproval of that kind of nomina
| ton by voting against him. And say,
| Mr.. Republican, don't you go around
| yelling about the corruption of ". H.
| Craddocl< if you intend to vote for Kelly.
| And say. Mr.. Democrat, don't you SO
around yelling about the corruption of
| Tom Kelly If you intend to vote for
| Craddocz. because he has record just
| as bad as Kelly. Kelly robbed a county,
ana. 01dQQCck rOODeQ 1ndlV1QualS- IL
| you believe that honest men should be
| supported then you will have to cast
| ballot against these two men. Don't do
| like VIM. Stryker does-denounce every
man on the other ticket as being dis
| honest. whether he is or not, and then
vote for the most corrupt man on earth
| If he's on your ticket. Be fair, and if
you intend to vote for a thief don't
abuse member OF the other side while
| he does the same thing.
Some time ago the fusionists chal-
| lenged the Republican state committee
| for a. Joint debate between Senator Fred
Dumont Smith. the Trainer of the pro-
posed tax law, and Major A NJ Harvey,
over the merits of the bill. The Repub-
licans replied that the bill had not been
endorsed by the Republicans and is not
a Republican issue, and they would not
accept the challenge.
But down in Edwards county, the
| home of Senator Smith he has made
| the bill an issue by championing it, and
a short time ago the Republican county
| central committee of that county chal-
lenged the fusionists, to debate the
merits of the bill with Smith As soon
as the fusionists could engage Harvey
| they accepted the challenge and the de-
bate took place this afternoon. Here
are some of the arguments advanced by
| Major Harvey against the bill:
| THE legislature of 1901 created a COM
mission to prepare a tax bill to be sub
united to the next legislature for pass
| age 1t was a party action and was
proposed and intended that the bill
should represent the Republican idea of
| taxes. The lieutenant governor and the
| speaker of the house deemed it proper
to create the commission without the
appointment of a single Populist or
Democrat Four thousand dollars was
appropriated to pay their expenses and
the commission prepared a bill in ac-
cordance with the theories of the Re
publican party. When the present cam
| n
| committee boosted of having prepared
this bill and in its handbook entitled,
State Affairs demanded the support of
| the people at the present election to en-
| able them to put this bill upon the stat
ute books. Later in the campaign, Mr.
| Bailey in a published interview. called
attention to the proposed law and said
it was the purpose of the Republican
party to pass it and that this law fur
| nished his answer to Mr.. Craddock on
the taxation question.
1T would seem that this would make
| the proposed law a legitimate issue in
the present campaign, but since the fu-
sion forces have analysed it and dis
! cussed it's various features, Mr.. AL
| baugh, the Republican state commit
| tee, and not a few Republican candi-
| dates for the legislature have complete
| ly repudiated the measure, and within
the past week have caused to be pub
! lished in the various Republican papers
of the state, d statement t6 the effect
that it was never intended that the bill
| should become law. This exclamation
leaves the Republicans in the attitude
of trying to work confidence game
upon the people of Kansas instead of
| proceeding in good faith to correct the
evils in our tax system.
in their report, the commission boast
that they have provided a law that will
not admit of the election of man who
does the actual work of the assessing.
The only criticism they make on the
Ind Iax &c hot ia f@,-
elective assessor. Proceeding on this
| theory. the bill provides for two new
state offices, with a salary of So, 500 a
year each. and one new county officer
in each county, and a number of deputy
assessors in each county of the state.
The deputy assessors are to do the act
ual work of assessing, and for fear that
they should not assess property high
enough, it is provided that no deputy
shall be allowed to work in the town
ship in which he lives but must go to
some other township, and that a man
| from some other township must come
to his township and do the assessing
there. These deputy assessors are made
directly responsible to the county asses
sor, and the county assessor is not re-
sponsible to the people who elect him,
but is responsible alone to the state tax
commission. The state tax commission
can remove a county assessor at will
and after his removal the governor can
appoint a man to succeed him for the
remaining of his time. This is the same
kind of ReDublicanism that has placed
13 district judges upon the bench in
Kansas by appointment from the gov
ernor, when they ought to have been
elected by the people, and has provided
for the appointment of seven more in
like manner during the next year 1t is
the same kind of ReDu blica nism that
refused to accept the resignation of the
district Judge in Atchison county until
it was too late to elect his successor at
the ensuing election.
1.-The commission report that the new
law will cause the assessment of prop
ertv at its real value and Furthermore
that the operation of the new law VIII
raise the assessment of personal prop
erty in the state until it equals ths
assessment Of real estate. This means