The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-09-02
1 QUESTION OF EFFICIENCY
The Position Of County Auditor Should Be-
Filled on Lines Of Service Rather
than Personal Fheadship.

than Personal Friendship.
The Issue of the county auditor
ship at the primary election is very
much more than a queetion wheth-
er County Auditor Halden shall
keep his place as a public servant
or another man shall get the job
and the salary. The position ia too
important to be banded about in
that way. In fact, very few people
realize how important this Office
really is.
The county auditor of St. Louis
county is, 10 large extent, the bus
mess manager of the county. The
County Board is the board of direc-
tors, but it is in session only once a
month, and the man who is looking
after the county's business all the
time is the county auditor.
st. Louis county collects and ham
dies every year taxes to the amount
of four and one-half million dollars,
of which part goes to the state,
part is kept for county purposes,
and the rest distributed to the vari-
Gus cities, villages, townships and
school districts. The county audi
tor has charge of this distribution,
and it takes a man of experience
and capacity to handle it. The
county's share alone is seven hun.
dred fifty thousand dollars a year.
and in the expenditure of that vast
amount the county auditor is the
responsible officer whose duty it is
to see that it is properly spent.
The county auditor, too, has d.
rect supervision of the levying of
taxes and the assessment of prop.
erty to determine how much taxes
each citizen shall pay. Whether
the burden is fairly divided, or rich
people with a pull are able to shout
der part of the burden off upon
the poorer people who have no pull
depends largely upon the attitude
of the county auditor.
Odin Haldeu, who is now county
auditor, and who seeks reelection
to that Office, has shown his capac.
ity to handle it and has gained ex-
perience in that Office that fits him
better than any other person to con-
duct it's duties properly. His policy
has constantly been that of insist
ing upon fair division of the tax
burden. He has upon many occas-
ions taken positive action by which
persons best able to pay taxes we're
compelled to pay their share when
they were trying to put part of that
share off upon the many who are
less able to pay. His administra.
ton of the business affairs of ST..
Louis county has been marked by
sound business judgment and a
brave insistence upon fair deal to
all parties.
Mr.. Halden has often been called
the best county auditor in Mlnneso.
ia, and this is tribute to his strict
performance of his duty to all the
people-a tribute that he has richly
earned.
Under him the county auditors
Office has been thoroughly systema-
tized, competent men placed at the
heads of the various departments,
and the business of the Office placed
upon a Systematic, efficient and adj
mira bly, effective basis.
If you were stockholder in a
business organization whose tran.
sactions were as enormous as those
of St. Louis county, and you had a
business manager in charge of
those affairs who had been tried
and found to be capable, you would
keep him. You wouldn't turn him
out and give his job to another man
simply because that other man
wanted Job. The voters of St.
Louis county are not going to vote
that way at the primaries, Septem-
Der Goth, on the county auditorship.
They have a man in charge of the
business affairs of the county who
has proven his capacity to handle
them honestly, faithfully, efficient
ly, and with strict justice to high
and low, great and small, rich and
poor. That is why they are going
to renominate Odin Halden for the
Office of county auditor on the Re.
publican ticket at the primaries,
September 10th.
For County Commissioner Sixth District.