The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1911-07-21

low rate. In the house a third of the
Republican membership voted against
the low tax rate. Many Republican
representatives tried to defeat It but
did not have the courage to vote
against 1t, while a score of others
ducked the roll call on the bill.
Republican representatives Alexan.
der, Davidson, Ellis, Evans of Cuya.
hoga, Freiner, Harmon, Morris, Rat
life, Riddle, Smith of Muskingum,
Spiegel, Tidrick, Vaughan, WILDER and
Winans cast negative votes. Circum-
stances indicate there is a conspiracy
to knock out the low tax rate law.
Hereafter owners of tangible prop
erty, including farmers and small
home owners will have no cause to
complain that the railroad companies
operating in Ohio are not paying their
portion of the tax burden. The state
tax commission, appointed by Govern
or Harmon, is proceeding on the the
ory that the property of railroad COM
L9nies Nall like all other property,
be ar .t,ssd at it's real value as re-
quired 1y the constitution. When the
tax commissioners conclude their
work of appraising railroad property,
the valuations will be $3.50 900 900 in
excess of what they were in 1910.
Farmers and small home owners in
every county in the state will be ben
Gifted by these increases. The more
the railroads pay the less they will
pay. And no injustice is being i'm
posed on the railroads either. In the
past they have been favored. Under
the new valuations they are given no
advantage over the owners of small
property and there is no injustice
about that.
One of the most important steps
yet taken by an officer in the State
Democratic administration, was that
in Cedar Point recently when State
Dairy and Food Commissioner Strobe
obtained the unanimous cooperation
of city and county sealers of weights
and measures to assist him in cam
paign which he is about to make to
eliminate false weights and measures
in the state of Ohio, and to have ev-
cry dealer use standard appliances.
If this is done the Ohio consumer will
be saved many millions of dollars a
year. Never before has such a per-
feet organization been perfected to
prevent unscrupulous dealers defraud-
ing the Ohio consumer. The dealers
will not be harassed. The sealers Will
advise them how to operate under the
law They will be given every oppor-
tunity to avoid paying fines.
Jovial Henry Newman is running
the state library down in Columbus,
and there has been no criticism of him
Notwithstanding his predecessor, Mr..
Galbreath, sought to create the I'M
preston that the state library would
20 to the demnition bow-wows when
he left Governor Harmon acted
wisely hen he appointed Mr.. New
man to this important position. Men
are likely to get in ruts when they
roost too long in one place. Mr.. New
man will inject new ideas in the Ii
brary work
When the state tax commission
makes public it's valuations on the
properties of public utilities, that
gang of Republican Office holders who
have been fighting low tax rate, will
close up like oysters. Nothing more
will be heard from them. When the
valuation on all classes of property
are finally announced and the work
on the tax duplicates is completed, 1t
will be discovered that the Smith law
is workable.
The trouble is that a few fellows
who would rather work to make the
low tax rate law a failure than to
make it a success, were too early in
their castigations of the measure
Mayor Herman Baehr, of Cleveland,
will wake up to discover that he made
a colored mouse of himself. There
is enough money 'on deposit in the
banks of Cleveland to make the Smith
law workable.
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