Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1908-10-20
DEMOCRATS ARE DECEPTIVE
Preparing Circulars for Distribution
on the Eve OF Election.
M1sREPREsENT THE ASSESSMENT
Some Things They Fail to Put in
Their CircuIRr--TRft Gaining
strength is Opinion of
Closest Observers.
fFrom a Staff Correspordent3

| LINCOLN, Oct. 19.-(SpeciaL)-T demo-
| cratic state committee has given orders to
the printers for the publicat or of a circular
which, IN point Of deception, equals any
thing ever sent out by Tom Allen, Mr..
| Bryan's brother-in-law.
| The circular will deal with the assess
ment of lands for the year 1903 and II will
attempt TO show that the ratio between
| lands and railroads in 1904 has not been
| maintained by the beard of assessment
of i9OS. The circular will try to create the
impression that the State Board of assess
ment has levied tribute on the farmers to
| remove the burdens from the railroads.
| The circular will be illustrated by car
toons showing the shifting of the burden
from the railroads TO the farmers and other
cartoons which may appeal to the prejudice
OF the unthinking
The copmittee has giveu an order for
! 10000 Of these circulars. and they will be
| held back until next week and then sprung
| in every county in the state throuuguh the
! county chaiTmen. The state committee
Will not take the responsibility Of putting
| out the deceptive matter, but will have
| the same signed in each county by "Aanti-
! Tax league" This will be done to make
It appear that the circular is merely local
matter ard has TO do only with the COM
| munity in which 1t is distributed.
The circular will claim that the repub-
lican State Board of Assessment placed the
burden OF taxation upon the farmers and
attempt to prove It by showing that the
value Of railroad property now Is a less
per cent of the total valuation of the state
| Than 1t was four years ago, while lands
constitute a greater per cent of the total
/ valuation than four years ago
BY this unfair and false representations
the democratic state committee will en-
! deavor to make the farmer believe he is
being robbed and thereby induce him 10
| vote the democratic state ticket
Trth of the Matter.
As matter of fact the lands in Ne
braska were assessed In 1894 when the
new revenue law became operative and
until this year or for four years, this
/ 1904 valuation was the valuation upon which
taxes were levied, In consequence the lands
! OF Nebraska naturally were greatly in
/ creased this year.
The State Board of Assessment, however
did not increase the aggregate value OF the
lands IN the state. That aggregate value
was placed on the lands by the county
! assessors who were elected in the various
counties, some democrats and some re-.
]
| equalize between the counties. as the Law
/ provides, the state board increased the valus
Of lands, while in other counties the lands
were decreased below the figures OF the
! county assessors
| The democratic deceptive circular how.
| ever will say nothing OF that It will show
That the ratio between lands and railroad,
In 1904 Is not the same ratio as in 1905. Tbr
circular Will not say there is no reason why
there should he the same ratio between
railroads and lands any more than rstro
OF l6 to should be maintained between roIf
and silver or any more than the SAM
ratio should be maintained between chick,
ems and dogs or hogs and railroads or cat.
Tie and sewing machines. There Is lust
az much sense In one as the other.
The circular will not show that railroads
ana lands are two distinct classes Of prop
erty and that the law requires each as.
Continued on Second Page)