Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1904-09-30

who favored the merger OF competing
railway lines; it defeated for Justice
of the supreme court the attorney gen
eral who prosecuted the merger; It
nominated for attorney general the one
man In the state of Minnesota who con-
tributed most to the defeat of the
Jacobson per cent gross earnings tax
bill in the senate Of 1889 and who, as
chail man of the judiciary committee
OF that senate. submitted and cham
pioned a report which declared that
the present law was territorial con-
tract, that the legislature had no right
to change that contract, that the bill
was unconstitutional, that the tax
could not be collected by law If the
amendment was adopted. Mr.. Young
was the leader of the senate opposition
to the bill. He voted against it and
the measure was defeated that session
by single vote, the final vote stand
ing 30 for and 81 against the PROPOSE
ton to increase the gross earnings tax
from to per cent. What a situa-
ton! The candidate for governor de-
clares the per cent gross earnings tax
the chief issue of this Campaign, his
nominating convention remains silent
On public question involving $500, 900
q year in railway taxes. The candi-
date for attorney general was the one
man who defeated measure on the
ground, as he argued, that 1t was un-
constitutional; up to date we have had
no contradiction from him Indicating
change of mind about the legal COM
plexion of the problem. The question
Of increasing the tax rests with the
people and if ratified by them the only
! question becomes one Of collection of
the taxes. l submit this question:
Will you entrust the collection of that
| 100000 to man who is on record
| with an opinion that it cannot be col
lected and that the proposition to COL
| lect 1t is unconstitutional? It seems
to me that, taking advantage of party
prejudice, some one is trying to de-
| ce1ve the public. sincerely hope that
| the people will ratify the measure. be-
| cause believe no injustice will be
done any one, and If the people shall
ratify that action and II they shall
| elect myself and my colleagues on the
| ticket we promise to enforce the col
lection of the tax, believing It to be a
Just tax.
USE OF DISCRETIONARY POWER.
III am elected governor Of this
state, as naturally hope to be, shall
abide by anu enforce the laws as they
are on the statute books. Ii the laws
are wrong they should be corrected.
but no public officer has q right to as
sumo that his position or authority is
greater than the law Of the land. The
| constitution is more than a convent
ence; it is a sacred instrument; the
law Is more than a mere vehicle for
| the comfort and convenience of any
! particular class. 1t is the declared will
Of the people, by which we must abide.
# public officers will ignore the law
little can be expected Of the people as
individuals. By his own party officials
the Republican candidate for governor
is accused of deliberately ignoring the
law in the settlement of claims of the
state and OF using discretionary power
not given him by law. BY the use of
this discretionary power it is alleged
that state claims against trespassers
were settled at small percentage of
the amount due the state. In answer
| he says he did the best he could under
the circumstances. Who is to be the
| Judge as to what was best? Clearly
it was the duty of his department to
| Insist that the legal machinery Of the
| state be set in motion to collect every
dollar due the state of Minnesota.
If he had the right to settle claims for
less than 100 cents on the dollar, and
If he was the sole appraiser of the
| amount he could collect, what Is to
prevent future officers from settling
| future cases at their own discretion
and thus divert the school fund of the
state into improper channels through
all the years to come?
The school fund of the state is an
institution sacred to the people and to
divert any part of it to other than
proper channels Is against public pol
icy, unfair to the people and contrary
to the law Of the state.
The state has the right to exact alb
solute honesty in all Of it's public off,
Gals and discretionary power not con-
ferred by law but assumed by the off,
GERS of the law can be 80 abused as to
border upon dishonest service and in
vite just criticism. My opponent in
this campaign, in. reply to the pre-
ferred charges OF public officer CON-
| mIssiOncd to investigate his record as
public official, says that he did moth
ing he was ashamed of and adds that
he would do the same thing again.
That is not satisfactory answer,
yet 1t may be taken as an index of the
course he might pursue should he be
elected governor of this state. The
duties of the chief executive are to
administer the laws of the state with
out fear and without favor to any in
dividual or set of individuals Good
government is the result of obedience
to the law and it is the duty Of the
officers to enforce the law as It Is and
not to govern by standard Of what
the individual thinks the law should
be.
The exercise Of a discretionary
power and thus setting at naught the
laws Of the land can only result in
government that is contrary to the
best interests of the state. It is al
legged that by the exercise of this dis
cretionary power great gain has come
to private individuals and corporations
and great loss to the educational insti-
tutions of the state The state has