Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1909-05-06
speeial from One State Capital.
JRFFERsoN C1rY, April %.

plified during the past week by
Representative Kies of Cape Girar-
deau county, the chairman of the
House Committee on Ways and
Means, and the spokesman of Gov
ernor Hadley, on all matters per-
tanning to the revenue and the
means of raising it. AS chairman
of the committee named, Kies is
the champion of nearly dozen
mea sures intended to both increase
taxes and to find new ways of
spending the money derived from
these sources. In common with
most of the Governors plans, the
Kies bills want commissions at
fancy salaries appointed by the
Governor to superintend the col
lecting of the funds sought to be
obtained by the enactment of the
bills he offers at the Governors
request.
One of the numerous money pro-
ducers in the Kies- Hadley trade
mark blown in the bottle is the
direct inheritance tax. Having
voted, not once, but often against
the taxing of beer and wine, Kies
seems to think it eminently proper
to bring in bill that seeks to put
a special tax on the property that
may be left to the widows and
orphans of the State. Not satisfied
with taxing property to it's fullest
extent in the usual way, the Gov
ernor and his leaders in the House
have devised plan to wait like
vultures about the bed of the dying
and to put special duty on all
that may be left by the deceased
to his loved ones. Property thus
affected may have borne more than
its share of the expenses of the
State during the life of the dead
this amounts to nothing. When
one is dead one is no longer
voter, and his earnings intended
for wife and children must be taxed
to even greater lengths in order to
enable Republican Governor of
extravagant tastes to run the State.
1t would not be a Hadley measure
unless provision for the appoint
ment of a commission was con-
tanned therein, and this is Had
Hey bill. There is to be a collector
of these taxes wrung from the tears
Of the sorrowing and the grief
stricken, and he is to be paid Sc, 800
for supervising the job. His dep
uties, attorneys, stenographers,
ETC., will have salaries amounting
to $4,000 annually. This is a
sample of the craftsmanship that
obtains at Jefferson City since the
| people swapped Democrat for a
Republican in the Executive Man
sion. But there are two great
facts in the bill that appeal to Gov
ernor Hadley with peculiar and
winning force. One of them is
that it raises more money, the way
L does not count, and the other is
that there will be nearly dozen
more good pieces of official pie
for distribution at his hands.
Armed with revenue and offices,
Hadley does not care whether the
people pay two cents per mile fo1
railroad travel or three. Over the
protests of the Democrats of the
! House this iniquitous measure was
sent to engrossment. Strong
speeches were made against it by
Representatives Barker, Cross,
Crossley, Jones, Hawkins and
others, but Lloyd had passed the
word along the line and the men
who do his bidding felt the lash oi
the caucus till they yielded.
| Kies was not satisfied with en-.
crossing one bill Of this sort, and
| he changed the full rendition bill
originally drafted by the Board Of
Equalization, to suit himself, and
then brought it into the House fol
engrossment. Some of the Re-
publicans, who have been home
since the Legislature met, coulo
not stand the worst provisions O.
this, and voted with the Democrats
i to eliminate them. The bill was en-
crossed after amendment, agains
Democratic advice and votes
tits not half so bad as Kies ant
Hadley wanted it, but it Is too bac
to receive any votes from the op'
ponents of Kies in the House
Had not Kies, probably at the
dictation of the Governor, beer
: eager to make partisan matter O
this bill, it could have been passed
I through both Houses without any
i particular trouble. For, as drawn
at first, it had the support Of al
the members OF the Board o
Equalization. But Hadley anc
Kies do not relish the economy il
either the raising or the expendi'
ture of public money. Kies al,
tered the bill till Attorney Genera
Major, Auditor Gordon and Secre
tary of State Roach did not know
it, and, naturally, called down OF
his head the penalty of not keep
ing the faith.
Kies is the only member of th'
Legislature who has openly boast
ed Of his opposition to two-cen
fare. The Democrats of the House
openly charged Kies, and through
him the Governor, with desiring Il
shift what taxes the brewers pay
to the farmers. The arraignmen
: was terrific and the Cape Girar
l deau county member showed hi
nervousness, as he has not dom
before, in all his service in tn
House, He pushed his altered
bill. shorn by the Democrats of it
sharpest sting, across the line
hut lat the ord he thauLad thar