The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1910-06-15
slIascRlPrloM RATES.
THEN AND NOW.

The territorial tax rate for the nv
years Immediately prior to statehood
was GA mills-more than i've timei
the tax rate for the first two year
under state government The repubIi
cans even will not deny this.
But they onei as a defense Of higi
territorial taxes that they were levie'
on valuation Of only so cents on th'
dollar. Some Of their papers declare
that the valuation was only 80 centl
on the dollar.
For the sake Of argument let US ad
nit their contentious. What follows
The Santa Fe railroad was assessed
at a valuation Of $4,000 mile before
statehood and has been assessed at 8
valuation Of 7,25O mile since state
hood. The Rock Island was assessed
at s5,4OO mile before statehood and
has been assessed at valuation ol
s44,10O mile since statehood.
Taking the valuation Of these roads
since statehood as correct valuation
WI find that prior to statehood the,
were taxed at only (about) one-eightl
Of their real value, AT the same time
according to the admissions OF the re-
publicans themselves, farmers, miners
merchants and mechanics had theii
property assessed at one-half It's real
value.
The only defense the republicans Of
fer for that Ga mills tax rate is in
itself more damaging than the rate
itself 1t is a cold blooded admission
that the republican territorial authori-
ties assessed the prokerty OF the com
mon people at rate otyaIuation souE
times as high as that Of the above
mentioned railroads.
Even admitting the truth Of the con
tention ofthe few that property was as
sessed at valuation Of only 80 cents
on The dollar, that would still show
that the property of the common pto-
pie was assessed two and one-hali
times as much, according to value, as
the property Of the railroads.
When the republican congress-, hav-
ing appropriated more money BY many
millions than any previous congress
ever did, Is charged with gross ex-
trayagance, the party answers that We
now have a greater country than ever
before and that it requires more moa
ey TO run it than formerly. When e
democratic legislature appropriates
money to provide necessary institu
tlons for a newly created state, the re.
publican press forgets its 3wn party
record and iIl the mails With denun.
citation Of the democratic extrava
gance.
Yet every institution established BY
democratic legislation was imperative
Iy necessary. Nowhere in the state
was there a penitentiary. The state
conyicts were kept in the state prison
at Lansing, and Oklahoma was paying
Kansas $4,000 each year for the
maintenance Of our convicts. Money
was appropriated. penitentiary was
erected at McAlester, the prisoners
were all brought back from KanA &.
and the $4,000 heretofore spent fol
their maintenance in Kansas is nov
spent in the state OF Oklahoma
Would a republican Legislature repsaI
this law, abolish our penitentiary. ana
send our conyicts back to Kansas?
When statehood came our asylum
facilities were snamefully inadequate
and humanity demanded that add
tional buildings be erected for the in
sane, the deaf, and the blind. It il
TO the everlasting credit Of the demo
cratic administration that proper
quarters were provided for the state:
unfortnnates, even though partisan
opposition branded such policy as :
shameful waste Of money. Would 3
republic administration abandon oul
unfortpnates to the mercy Of chance
cAaFliablc institutions ana leave oul
unfortunates TO the mercy Of chance
and fate2 Is there single paren
who has a stricken child IN one o
our asyInma for the deaf. blind or in
sane, who believes that the monel
spent Ia providing such institutions
was money wastedg = Democratic
Press.