Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1908-04-30
INDICTMENT"
CONDENSED
Charges That We're Formally BROUGHT
Against Crawford Many Weeks AGO,
Hut Not Yet Answered by Him

bus NVs III nuOUCAOu W ullu
COe /. Crawford, in his speech az
cepting the nomination for the terri.
torial council at Harold, October
1888. pledged himself to the following
platform resolution:
Resolved, That all classes Of pro.
perty in the territory should bear
equal share of taxation"
He went back on that pledge, went
back on the platform, and went back
on the convention which nominated
him, by voting for the iniquitous
gross earnings bill, by the terms Of
which the Northern Pacific was re-
lieved of paying taxes on vast hold.
ings of realty. The record of Mr.
Crawford'S vote may be found On
pages 160-61, council journal of pro-
ceedings. The vote was cast March
s, 1889.
According to the official record Of
| the proceedings of the territorial
council of March Z, 1889. Mr.. Craw.
| ford, two days following his vote to
| exempt from taxation every alternate
section of land embraced in the Nor
| thern Pacific land grant, voted
| against the antitrust bill. as shown
| by the council journal, pages 1855.
| The same bill came before the South
Dakota senate in 1890 and Senator
kittredge voted for it and Mr.. Craw-
ford again voted against it. (See
~ fha Tnuvno1l
In 1889, the territorial legislature
by unanimous vote, repealed the
gross-earnings law. When the rail
road company awoke to the situation
it fastened it's lobbyists to Bismarck
and sought to have the law re-enact-
ed. 1t provided a free junketing trip
for such of the members as would
accept its hospitahties. Mr.. Crawford
took the trip. Soon thereafter Mr..
Crawford voted with the railroad
company, as planned by it's lobbyists,
to re-enact that unjust law. His vote
is recorded in the council journal of
March s, 1889. pages 76O-el
service as member of the senate
beard of assessment was one Of
especial subserviency to the interests
of the railroads. Mr.. Crawford was
present at the meetings of the board
only when railroad assessments were
under consideration, and then he
moved and voted in several instances
for heavy reductions of railroad
valuations, as clearly shown by the
record of the proceedings of the
board for 1896, pages As and A. With
i'll sixty days after retiring from this
public office Mr.. Crawford became
the state attorney for the Northwest
erI railroad.
In 1890 the lower branch of the
memorial to congress for consti-
tutional amendment to elect United
States senators by popular vote. 1t
was known as House Bill 38. The
same day March 81 that 1t passed
the house, it was presented to the
senate and was referred to the COM
mittee Of the whole. The ne, fo 1l;tSang
Recommendation, and the report was
adopted upon the motion OF Coe |.
Crawford, and the bill was thus put
to sleep. (See senate journal, page
S21.) There was no other vote in
the senate on this memorial, and no
attempt was made by Mr.. Crawford
to have the same passed. This is the
anonymous literature accuses Sen.
ator Kittredge of voting against.
During the seven years following
the retirement of Mr.. Crawford from
the state board of assessment and
equalization, he frequently appeared
before the board to ask for reductions
in railroad assessments, or to prevent
material increase of such assess
ments His position as former
member of the board necessarily had
weight in considering railroad valua
lions, for his own record as q mem
Der of the republican party and office
| holder under 1t was in line with his
pleadings as railroad attorney and
lobbyist. And yet Mr.. Crawford
seeks to create the impression that
railroad valuations for the purpose OF
taxation were determined by Senator
Kittredge during all those years!
Coe I. Crawford voted against the
bill '.to establish and maintain
Soldiers Home in the Territory OF
Dakota" The proceedings with re-
gaGd to this bill dn are found On If Pass ss
In 1885, Abe Van Osdell intro
duced a bill to require railroads to
ray taxes upon their lands the same
as ordinary persons were required to
pay, namely. upon their assessed
valuation. The bill was defeated and
it gave rise to general discussion.
Two years later 2 bill to repeal .hs LINE, the
SIOSS-Cdl AiAS0 90 p1coOu wy
branch of the territorial legislature
only to meet the fate Of being abb
stracted on its way to the upper
branch. This set the praries of the
Dakotas afire with agitation, and as
q result legislative conventions adj
opted resolutions demanding equal
taxation. The convention which
nominated Mr.. Crawford at Harold,
October 4, 1883. passed similar reso-
hutton. The legislature which con-
yened In 1889 unanimously repealed
the law on January "a. Forty days
later, on March g. after the Northern
Pacific had provided great free
junketing trip, Mr. Crawford voted to
re-enact that vicious law His vote
is recorded on pages 760-61 OF the
council journal.