Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1902-10-23

AT length broke under me and now has
left me.
Weary and old with service. to the mercy
OF a rude stream that must forever hide
me.
Applied Democracy.
Several references have been made
in these letters to the excellence of the
administration of public affairs in Mis-
souri, under Democratic control The
superiority over such neighboring
great states as Iowa and Illinois is so
great that thousands of farmers from
those states have bought fine farms in
Missouri in the last two months. They
find taxes Incredibly lower as COM
pared with the states they are leaving,
while the great institutions of the state
are as good and in some cases much
better. Missouri will pay off her last
bond this year, while almost all of the
counties are free from debt. The city
of st. Louis recently repudiated its
Republican city government and is
now busily engaged in sending to the
penitentiary a large number of the
boodlers who for years robbed the peo-
pie of that city. One of the great dali
lies Of st. Louis in rejoicing over the
improved state of affairs says:
Where once the city was curtailing ex-
Denses in order to keep pace with the rev.
enues business administration has in
creased license collections sufficiently to
justify increased expenditures. The in
mates of the city institutions are cared
for better than formerly. Street cleaners
are again at work.
The police courts are operated on prin-
ciples conducive to better results than for
many years Grafters are in the minority.
Receipts from the courts have been more
than doubled under the system of daily
reports to the mayor and the refusal to
remit fines except in extraordinary cases.
If the above were all that had been ac-
complished by electing Democratic Off
cials, the people would he fully repaid for
| turning out the old ZisSenlaG;n 1raagsters
However. the betterment in the fiscal son.
dition of the city is only small part of
the Improvement.
By the unearthing and vigorous proSe-
cution of hoodlers a Democratic circuit
attorney has made the life of the corrupt
briber and bfibe giver a continuous night
mare. Some have been driven out of the
country-a punishment almost worse than
| Imprisonment, as the return of the con-
| have been sentenced to terms in the peni-
| tentiary. A number of the delegates are
| in Jail awaiting bond.
Meanwhile the combine in the p1 esent
| house of delegates is under investigation.
| Members of the majority who ara be-
| lieved to have conspired to pass ard de-
| feat legislation which will not bear the
searchlght of publicity are momentarily
| expecting trouble.
All of these things have impressed the
| citizens of st. Louis more than any par
| tisan action of recent years. The people
do not greatly care which party is in the
ascendency as long as they can have good
government They wish obedience to the
letter and spirit of the law. They think
that business principles should govern
the conduct of public administration.
They believe that boodlers should be
prosecuted and punished to the full ex-
tent of the statutes. They have no use
! for favoritism
Because they have been getting this
sort of service from Democratic officials
they are willing to indorse the party for
furnishing the men who are willing to
give this service.
Republican Campaign Thunder.
The st. Louis-Globe Democrat says
editorially:
The public corporations in Missouri that
contribute to the Democratic campaign
fund are assessed only SO per cent for tax
alton, while a private owner of property
in st. Louis pays on 20 per cent. This
discrimination is due to the favoritiSm of
the state board of equalization. consisting
of the governor auditor treasurer, sec
retary of state and attorney general, some
of whom handle the campaign slices of
cash.
That sounds very well to a man who
doesn't know the real facts. In the
trial of the famous Brown" case in
Kansas City few months ago the tes-
timony showed that some corporations
had made some small contributions to
the Democratic campaign fund and
| that they were unsolicited. The same
testimony showed that these same
corporations had made much larger
contributions to the Republican cam
paign fund. An assessment of 33 per
cent ON corporations is greater than
the average assessment of the property
of private individuals in the state of
Missouri outside of the city of ST.
Louis, where the present assessments
are the same as they have been for
years back. The rate seems high when
compared with % per cent assessments
that prevail in many of the Demo-
cratic counties, but it must be remem-
bered that the Republicans gave st.
Louis the poorest city government in
the world for year after year under
that same 20 per cent assessment,
while the present Democratic city gov
eminent is giving an excellent admin
istration with the same tax rate and
the same assessment.
Missouri has lower tax rates and
lower assessments than any Repub-
lican state in the Union, and the CD.
can't rub it out That is where old
Ananias' shoe pinches.