The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-10-14
One Candidate Of the GOOding-
Brady Machine Is Placed in
Very Bad Position.
MAY FACE CHARGE OF
FALSIFYING THE RECORDS
Case of Robert LansdOn Is Re-
ferred to County Attor-
ney for Action.
Special TO The Tribune.

WElSER, Ida, Oct. 13.-The follow
ing appears on the records of the pro.
ceedirgs of the Board Of Commissioners
OF Washington county, who adjourned
Yesterday afternoon after week 8 ses-
sion:
SIT appearing to the board that at
the January, 1905, meeting of the board,
Robert Lansdou presented his claim TO
this board for credits in his account
as sTax Collector for the year 1904,
that said claim contained an item of
$I0.50 for which credit was asked and
allowed by tins board, January II,
1905, and now at this time the original
receipt being presented to the board,
and il appearing thcrcfrom that this
tex was paid in full and that no credit
should have been allowed, these facts
and records in connection with the mat
ter pre referred TO the County Attor-
uey.r
Robert Lansdon, whose name appears
in connection with the above, is the
candidate on the Republican ticket for
Secretary OF State. lie is the man of
whom Gov. Goodiug said at the Poca-
tello convention when he named the
slate there, ~ want Lansdon on the
ticket with me as he is n man with
whom / can work, and be was nomI~
mated accordingly.
Strange Story Is This.
The facts in the case are as follows:
In the fall of 1904, Lansdon being
! County Assessor and Tax Collector, +.
NJ: Brown, prominent sheepman OF
| this county, came IN to pay his tax.
The assessment on his sheep for the
year was Sl63.50, which he paid, re-
ceiving a receipt from Lansdon for the
amount IN full settlement for his tax
for the year, At tho January, 1905,
meeting of the Board OF Commissioners,
about three months after Brown had
paid his tax, Lansdon personally ap"
| pearcd before the board and stated that
Brown was entitled to n rebate of
$4,000, that during three months of the
year his sheep had ranged in Idaho
| county, an adjoining county. The tax
law of Idaho regarding the taxation of
sheep, cattle or horses provides that the
owner pays taxes according to the time
his stock ranges In a certain county.
| For instance. ii they range in Washing
| ton county nine months and Idaho coun-
ty three months, threcfourths OF the
tax is paid TO Washington and one
fourth to Idaho, and the owner is given
q rebate for the time ne is out IF the
county by showing a receipt from the
Assessor of that county.
The Commissioners acting on the pre-
sumption that Lansdon had such re-
| ceipt granted the rebate. In the fall
of 1905, Brown again came into the
assessor s Office TO pay bis taxes for
the previous year. He was Informed
by the Deputy Assessor who was pres
cnt that he was entitled to a rebate
for the time his sheep were in Idaho
county the previous year. Brown was
very much surprised and stated that
he was not entitled TO any rebate as
his sheep has never been cut of Wash
ington county. Asked If ne had ever
received any rebate money from Lans-
don he said he had not The suspicious
of the Assessor being aroused he I'M
mediately begun an investigation lie
wrote the Auditor Of Idaho county II
Brown had paid taxes for the year 1904
III that county; the reply was that his
sheep were never in the county. The
Assessor then hunted MP the tax receipt
book and found that the duplicate
had been tampered with, that the fig
dres made by the carbon when the dup
licate and original were first made had
been erased and the fgnres $l23.50 had
been written instead. The work was
very bunglingly done.
Original Receipt Found
Immediately on making this discov-
cry the Assessor set about securing the
original receipt given Brown by Laus-
don. After considerable correspondence
this was done and is now in the posses
sion of the County Auditor. Ii shows
that Brown paid as tax the sum of
Sl6350. and that he had never received
cent of rebate nor was the amount
vebated ever turned back to the county
by Lansdon.
The County Attorney was Immediate
" notified of the matter and instructed
TO bring LaGsdon, who is making cam
paign speeches in the northern part
Of the State before the board for in
vestieation, lie was notified by tele-
gram Wednesday afternoon. but up TO
this time has net put in an appearance.
What action will be taken upon his
arrival is not yet known, although
lawyers aud we'll informed persons say
nothing short of a charge of felony
and falsifying the records can be
l thought OF.
/ The effect Of having q man on the
State ticket who may be charged with
\ a felony can have but tho one result
! defeating the entire ticket Even now
Republicans who have stood by the
Goodirg machine through all it's trou-
bles are forsaking it as they say il
is too much for them to swallow.
Tne present Assessor who discovered
the discrepancy is a Republican, the
Board Of Commissioners are all Re
\ publicans. the Prosecuting Attorney is a
Republican, therefore the Democrats
l cannot be charged with starting il ur
\ as a political scheme. The outcome
is being watched with interest all over
the State.
p. & g. Paint makes your old iron
| Il ,,,.y A-k, y,rr