The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1915-04-30
REAPING THE
WH|RLWIND.
From The Wind SOwed In.
Campaign
The SubOrdinatiOn Of Interests
Of The State
To His Own Selfish End By
Present Governor
And The. Result Is Now Being
Made Apparent
In The Returns Brought In
By Tax Assessors

Frank B. Willis as candidate sowed
the wind. Today as chief executive of.
ficer of the state he is reaping the
whirlwind. With malicious intent he
subordinated the interests of his state
to his own selfish end and the result is
now being made apparent.
The attack on the Warnes tax law,
which for the first time gave Ohio an
approaching honest tax duplicate, was
taken by tax dodgers everywhere to
mean that Willis was their candidate,
and that, him elected, they would not
need return their holdings in the fu-
ture. If this attack had not been suf-
cient, the jockeying method the chief
executive used in the legislature with
his Bitter bill, and his Parrett bill and
his Whittemore bill, and al other
brands of bills, finished the job. The
entire system disorganized by the gov
ernors later patronage grabbing tac-
tics, the tax payers demoralized, is
there any wonder that there is a fall
ing off in the returns being made?
With the governor, himself, standing
for the wealthy taX-dodgers and their
relief" from the ''russianized' system
which made every citizen-small home
owner or rich stock owner-pay his
just share of government, is it any
wonder that the small householder
thinks he has right to slip back and
forget the possession of a second hand
piano, and carpet sweeper, and such
ership of his own watch and his little
wife's wedding ring? Is it any Won
der that the old feeling of distrust has
returned with a governor on the job
who foreswore possibility of RESPONSE
bility before he had taken the Office to
which he was elected? Who let the
raiding utility interests come in and
organize the assembly which should
mark the success or failure of his ad-
ministration? And can you blame Will
lis for trying to establish an alibi for
his crime?
No wonder some fifteen thousand
householders in Cincinnati who last
year paid taxes for the first time, with
two hundred extra Willis appointed as
SCISSORS, think "the good old days"
Senator Harding talked about, are at
hand, when they won't have to pay
no taxes no more"
Refusal of the administration to pro-
vide means to continue road work in
Ohio may keep many counties in the
mud for some time to come. This is
due in part to the manner of appropri-
ating funds by the legislature, and
partly to an opinion of the present at
torney general holding illegal the let
ting of road contracts until the money
for such contracts had been appropri-
ated. The result is that much of the
work for which contracts were let
last year is not yet under way and
no immediate prospect appears for it's
beginning. When James Marker was
commissioner of the highway depart
ment, under ruling of the former at
torney general, the work was allowed
to proceed in anticipation of settle
ment, and the result was a great pro-
gress in road work in the past two
years. Now the commissioner. no mat
ter his ability, is helpless. A bill Of
fered by Representative Alton B. Et-
ling to correct the defect by transfer
ring 100000 from the general fund
to the road fund, was blocked this
week by the speaker of the house. In
asmuch as the Republican platform
carried plank declaring against the
state highway department, its Grip
pling is not surprise.
Unless the Hulswitt bill, so badly