The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1914-01-30

peal the fullest opportunity TO present
the needs In their respective com
munities. Whether the subjects
which you suggest for presentation e
the assembly can be considered emer
gencies leave you in full conscience
10 reflect upon.
II does not appear from consulta
ton of the records when the license
and tax laws we're placed upon hnal
passage that there was unanimous op
position upon the part OF the five gen
tlemen making up your committee. II
can not but be regarded as highly sig
nifieant that after making an entire
survey OF all that has been done In
this state within n year you gentle
men, representing the minority party,
complain Of but two measures, one OF
which you would repeal and the other
you would amend, This Is a confessed
Endorsement therefore, Of the whole
legislative program with the excep'
ton of two laws, and the executive
could not but appear ungraclous II he
did not give voice to the fullest ap-
probation Of the compliment as d.
rectly implied by this manifestation
OF legislative candor,
You propose a change in the liquor
license law, but while you register a
complaint you make no concrete sug-
gestion. ! need not remind you that
| II is much easier TO criticise a law
| than Il is 10 submit a change in its
provisions which might be generally
regarded as an improvement You
say that the right to select licensing
officers should be delegated to prop.
er county authority" II can not but
| be deep-seated curiosity i'm the
minds Of the people as TO what the
proper county authority" is. Inas-
much as every member OF your com
mittee, II ! am correctly advised, vot-
ed to make the county commissioners
elective then il is perfectly fair to as
sumo that you still hold to this idea.
In the face OF the admitted efficiency
OF the license law, any person who
now oblrudes the suggestion that the
commissioners in the wet counties
and there are commissioners nowhere
else-be elected. mdy have cast upon
him the general suspicion that he
seeks to break down the machinery
which is making law enforcement
possible, everywhere, and in every
community
Your committee makes the observa-
ton that a change be made so that
"the chief executive of this state
may be elevated above the political
entanglements of the license bust
ness
I know Of no more dignified partici-
patton in government. | can conceive
of no more useful executive function
than that the governor, accountable
to all the people and responsible un.
der the constitution and his oath of
office to enforce the laws Of the state,
should be given the fullest police pow
er Of this great commonwealth to
make law enforcement a reality and
not a shadow.
With reference to the taxation law:
The situation created by its passage
presents these two striking character
isties:
First-The unpopularity of the
measure among those whose unfound-
ed fears have been aroused by the
tax dodger; and,
Second-The inclination on the
part Of some public officials whose
security in tenure of office is of SUI
preme concern, to let expediency
transcend principle and sense of duty
Permit me to remind you, gentle
men, that in this enlightened day q
vast majority of the people believe
the highest function of a public off
Ger to be courageous stand for the
right even though temporarily there
may be, in some quarters, considera
bic opposition.
There is not a member of the Ohio
legislature who does not know that
the system of listing property for tax
alton under the old order is the most
glaring travesty, and conscious as we
all are Of this fact the man who hest
tates to act as his intelligence and |
his conscience suggest should, in SELF
respect, hand his commission back to |
his people,
There is pothing new in the provl- |
sions of the Warnes law. 1t is true |
that the people have been deprived OF
the right to elect local assessors, but |
the same legislature which made this
change participated in the movement
to give to them the right to elect |
their representatives in the United
States senate; and the same legisla-
ture, by the enactment of the genera
primary law, gave them the further
to vote directly for the
nomination of all state officers. If
the net result of this change is not
favorable to popular government
then am incapable Of measuring the
of events
The commission appointed by Gov
ernor Mckinley in April, 1893, said;
at is easy for the assessors In the
county townships to see the farmers
land and his horses and his cattle
In the towns and cities, however, per
sonal property assumes other forms
No assessor knows or can know
whether one man has money loaned
/