The roundup record. [volume] (Roundup, Mont.) 1908-1929, 1912-09-20
Musse'sheIl County Socialist Platform

We, the Socialist party OF Mussel.
shell county, in convention assembled,
reaffirm the principles of Internation-
al Socialism. and endorse the State
and National platforms of the Social
ist party of America, and as measures
directly beneficial to the working class
and calculated to carry us forward
to our ultimate goal, the cooperative
commonwealth, we advocate, and
pledge ourselves and our elected Of
ficers, to the following working pro-
gram:
We promise to publish a complete
report of the proceedings of each ses-
sion OF the county commissioners in
every paper in the county immediate
ly after the close of the session, also
to audit the treasurers books and
publish report of same at least once
each quarter.
We promise that our county trea-
surer, If elected, will deposit the
county funds in all the banks in the
county, said funds to be divided as
nearly equal as practicable among the
banks, to draw interest and be secured
by surety bonds
We promise to reduce the assessed
valuation On ploWed land, thus en-.
couragins rather than discouraging
the development OF the county and to
assess n. +. land equally with any
other unimproved land. This will more
than make up for the reduction on
plowed land.
We favor a heavy tax on railroad
land, for the reason that large in.
dividual or corporation holdings of un.
improved land is detrimental to the
county, and heavy tax will force
the large landholders to either dispose
of their land to actual users or to give
it back to the public domain where it
rightfully belongs.
We believe that good roads are es.
sential to the development of the
county, and we promise to do our
best to improve the present roads and
to make new roads wherever needed
throughout the county. We will, as
far as practicable, establish roads on
section lines, and We are in favor of
giving the road work to the farmers
and homesteaders, rather than to con.
tractors. We advocate the abolition
of the profit system in all public work.
Whereas, the people of the state of
Montana, having secured for them.
selves an effective initiative and refer
endum law, we promise to try to Sc
cure legislation through initiative en-.
actment, beneficial to the working
class which cannot be secured through
the legislature. We also pledge our.
selves to use our influence to secure
an amendment to the state constitu.
ton whereby mining properties may
be assessed and taxed on the same
basis as all other real property. At
present the mining companies pay only
about one-tenth Of the taxes they
should pay. Also whereby the min.
eral reservations on N. P. land may
be taxed. We consider these reserva.
tions real property and they should
be taxed as such.
We promise to use our influence to
secure legislation making all officers
elective thus doing away with the ap-
pointiye office plum tree which Is
one of the main springs in the old
party machines.
All candidates on the Socialist tic.
ket sign their designations before cleo.
ton. Said designations are undated
and will be held by the County Central
committee of the Socialist party. and
if any officer should allow himself to
be corrupted, or in any way fail to
faithfully serve his party, he can, and
will. be promptly put out of office.
We pledge ourselves to do all in
our power to secure woman suffrage.
We further promise to use our in
fluence and all just means in our
power to influence the voters OF Mus
selshell county to support the pro-
posed laws by initiative enactment
submitted for referendum at the COM
ing election. and to fight to the last
ditch the deadly Donahue militia bill,
known as House Bill No 220. which
will also be submitted for referen.
DUN on the 5th OF November. We es-
pecially urge all voters to vote against
CONTINUED on page 81