The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1908-05-22
WHAT CRAWFORD STANDS FOR

THE reform bunch two years ago,
with a great flourish of trumpets, fill.
ed the air with all kinds of good
promises. Result-passenger rates
have no. been lowered, freight rates
are higher, telephone and telegraph
rates are higher, taxes are higher and
the peoples money is being spent for
the purpose of keeping in Office a lot
OF hangers on who would subscribe
to any old party declaration that
would give them a chance at the pub
lie crib"
The %Iroquois Chief is becoming
f~acetious, but the quotation from its
columns contains a great amount of
boiled down truth of a disagreeable
character when viewed by those who
hold personal probity above political
consideration.
Mr.. C~rawford's career is marked by
a pathway strewn with broken pledg-
es and failure to fulfill public duties.
His advent in legislative responsible
ity dates from the time when he went
to the territorial capitol under a
solemn promise to support the princi-
pie of equal taxation. Before the
session was over he was found hand
In glove with the corporations-op-
pO2tng antitrust bills. fighting meas
ures to compel railroads to pay double
damages for property destroyed
through the negligence of the com
2anjes or their employees in case set
tlement is not made within sixty days
helping to exempt the Northern Pa
cifc from paying taxes on vast hold
tar OF realty, "sxrlaining,, in the
morning why he couldn't do it. and
again explaining" in the evening OF
Later, when Mr.. Crawford became
the attorney general Of the state, BY
virtue of which he was also a member
of the state board OF assessment, he
manifested the same tendencies to ex.
tend special favOrs 70 the railroad in
terests, and did, in fact, extend them
to the Northwestern company, secur-
ing reductions in its assessments and
making himself SO useful to It that
he was appointed its state attorney
almost Immediately upon retiring
from the public Office to which the
people had elected him.
Later still, Mr.. Crawford stood for
years before the state board of as
sessment, using his influence as a
former member in pleading for lower
railroad valuations.
Still later. the official records dis
closed that Mr.. Crawford used his
influence to induce young men to VIC
late the spirit of the homestead laws
of the country in order that he might
add a few worthless" acres, as he
terms them. to his stock ranch in
Walworth county, and while thus Sc
cretely adding to the %iniquities of
human nature, he was proclaiming his
individual virtues from the housetops
in an effort to be restored to public
trust.
No surprise need be manifested,
therefore. that there attaches to Mr..
Crawford the responsibility of giving
endorsement to the following species
of %offenses against public policy and
good morals:
The Gamble senatorial graft.
The state interest graft.
The Crawford land graft.
The ten per cent assessment graft
upon salaries of state officers to pro-
vide a larger campaign fund to bols-
ter up the Crawford machine.
Nor need there be any astonish-
ment, in view OF Mr.. Crawford's re-
cord. that the present chief executive
of this state stands as an apologist
for these extravagances:
Excessive taxation for 1907.
Excessive taxation for 1908.
Excessive appropriations for state
officers.
Excessive appropriations by the
legislature of 1907, exceeding by more
than q half million the record of any
other legislature in the history of
The state.
It would indeed be a sad common
tary upon human intelligence If the
pecple OF this young state should.
perchance, elevate Mr.. Crawford to
q seat in the United States senate.