Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1908-01-16
CURRENT EVENTS.
Clipped from the Exchanges Which
Come to Our Table.

| Clipped from the Exchanges Which
Come to Our Table.
The Argus Leader in summoning
up the record to date of the Craw-
ford administration says bank assess
ments were lowered, farm assess.
ments raised, assessments or mer-
chants stock raised, passenger or
freight charges have not been
reduced, no home stone is used in
the state capitol, no interest on state
funds is turned over to the state, the
state is paying the hotel bills of
the governor at Pierre, tae poorest
appointments the state has ever seen
have been made; nothing but wind,
talk, broken promises and vaulting
ambition. Facing such an arraign-
ment, the truth of which cannot be
denied, the reform" machine still
refuses to believe that the people
will not again be duped.
While the "looters" were in
power they managed the state SO
economically that the money stolen
under the previous republican
administration was replaced and all
the bonds issued at the time of
statehood was paid in full before the
close of the year 1905. In order to
take care Of the defalcation and
accomplish this splendid result, it
was necessary to levy tax of a IL
mills in one year only, and the state
was turned over to Crawford with
out dollar of debt and with suffi-
cient revenue provided to run the
state during the next six months of
his term and leave surplus Of
$22 900. But what do we find by
examining the record since the
"looters" turned the state over to
the immaculate reformers Mr..
Crawford and his legislature made
the most extravagent appropriations
in the history of the state. Mr..
Crawford and his board of assess
ment levied the largest tax in the
history of the state, exceeding the
great bond emergency levy of 1908
by $4,000, although all the tax
authorized and intended was not
levied because Of the approaching
campaign and the fear that Mr..
Crawford.s candidacy for the senate
might suffer more severely. In
spite OF the fact that the state tax
this year is the largest in the history
Of the state there will be deficiency
at its close Of 35,7OS.31. Next
year the state tax will reach the
limit of four mills, mill more than
this year, and at the close Of Mr.
Crawford's second year there will be
deficit Of over 100000. Yet we
would not refer to the reformers as
''looters" for they are only incom-
petent, lot of light weight fnan-
ciers who would rattle some in a
township Office. With such record
we do not wonder that they are
reluctant to defend it, and prefer to
answer with mud and adjectives
with falsehood and deceit.
When Mr.. Crawford took his
office as governor he also took oath
to support the constitution of the
United States and the State Of South
Dakota, and to impartially enforce
all the laws of the state. How
many of our readers think that ne
has kept his oath to "impartially"
enforce the laws when he assisted to
assess the railroads Of the state
How many think that the Rock
Island in village OF 500 popula-
ton with wooden shack Of depot
that has been in use for twenty five
years should be assessed three times
as high as the northwestern in a
city Of 1000, with valuable terminal
and right Of way property, and a
new modern depot worth $50, 600.
IL.