, 1903-01-15

81 The Republican. 1t
and able state paper.
nee is made to the matter OF
Aation of taxes. a question that
uppermost in the minds of many
Ddhring the late campaign. In the opin-
ion of the governor. assessors should
be required to list the property of a
taxpayer after personally qualifying
him, under oath. as to each item in the
schedule. in order that all personal
property, as nearly as possible. may be
assessed at its actual value. 1t is urg-
ed that the board of Republication be Civ
en- the power to fix land values in the
several counties. in order that Unequal
tiles between counties may be ad-
justed. 1t is also recommended that
the constitutional provision in relation
to the assessment of the output of
mines be complied with.
These recommendations by the gov
ernor will meet with the hearty en-
dorsement of all the people. 1t is a
.a>s hho"h W cN'is "tll-poSltu tlllLeu
that if all our property were returned
al. it's actual valuation, the taxes of the
householders would not be more than
fifty per e II of what they are at pres
-ent. Relief is -demaEdot and it is to
be hoped the Legislature will give us a
law that will go a long way toward
remedying the evils of unequal taxa
ton.
The university is praised for its ef-
fciency and it is recommended that
an appropriation covering a period of
years be made for the purpose of con.
structing a gym" and to pay for the
heating plant recently installed.
In referring to the state penitentiary
the governor comments upon the large
increase in the number Of convicts
therein, saying it was a matter of
much concern to him until an investi.
CATION disclosed the fact that of those
committed during the past two years
II per cent were not residents of the
state. but were brought in here as com
mon laborers upon railroads and other
public works. It is pointed out that
either the present building at Raw
Inns must be enlarged or the one at
Laramie kept in use. No direct recon-
mendation is made. Wisdom would
suggest that no further penitentiary
buildings be constructed while we have
adequate accommodations at present
to accommodate all needs. Possibly
the number will be reduced during the
next few years as rapidly as it increas-
ed during the past two years, a the
railroad work in the state is now about
completed, at least SO far as the i'm
provement of main lines is concerned.
It is the belief of the executive that
the wolf bounty for the coming W.
years can pc met by an appropriation of
500, 600. This news is gratifying to
the people at large who have been chip
ping in for the benefit Of a class for
the past decade. If the bounty appro-
priation can be cut in two this session,
perhaps there will be sufficient power
and wisdom in the Legislature of W.
years hence to cut it out entirely. Alb
solute equality in the matter of taxa
ton is the thing to be desired. Our
stockmen are perfectly able and cap
able of taking care of themselves and
should not occupy the position Of men
dicants-at least not forcibly.
Attention is called to the fact that
reports of state officers are made and
filed with the executive, but that the
people never have an opportunity of
seeing many of them. no provision be-
ing made for their publication. There
is nothing SO essential under a repub-
lican form of government as that the
people should be kept fully informed
as to how their affairs are conducted,
and how and for what use the public
are expended. This cannot
be accomplished except by the publ
cation of the principal reports
Railroad men will appreciate the eff
fort Of Governor Richards to obtain for
them a law whereby they will be per-
mitted to vote at some election district
on election day. It is only fair they
should have the right of suffrage and
in all probability a law will be enacted
which will permit them to vote wher-
ever they may be on election day.
The legislature is asked to use econ
omy but not parsimony.
AS a state paper, the message is d.
rect, fair and able; just such a docu-
ment as the people of Wyoming had
reason to expect from a man of the
broad experience and business ability
of their chief executive.