The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1916-10-12
LIVE WIRE SPARKS

Have you registered?
Has your neighbor registered?
Have all your friends and acquain-
tances registered?-?? !
If not, get after them for we want
their votes for township organization.
On August Sd we published sum-
mary of the township organization
law, so won't take the space to pub
lish it again. Briefly the law pro-
vides that any county may elect to
adopt a system of township or COM
munity control of their own affairs.
The county is divided into districts or
towns and each town levies its own
taxes and spends it's own money except
the portion going to the state, county
and school funds. Each district or
town is body corporate and handles
its own affairs-in fact is placed on
practically the same footing as an in
corporated city.
The theory is that the residents of
any district know what they want and
can supply it better than outsiders.
In practice it serves to insure each
community getting the value for the
taxes they pay and in taking the roads
out of politics.
When one grasps the full signifi-
canoe Of what this means, he becomes
q booster at once. But there are a
lot of knockers-men who are crying:
at won't work" cit is failure where,
ever tried" We would like to have
one of these knockers point out a
county where it has been tried and
given up. Not only in the state OF
Washington, but thruout the whole
United States.
The truth is that the railroads have
played such an important part in
Washington politics that today we
have one of the most primitive meth
ODDS of taxation Of any state in the
Union. The railroads oppose town.
ship organization for the very good
reason that they have more assessors
and more assessments to keep track
of and today the big "holler" against
township organization is made by the
railroads. But we have yet to see
satisfactory proof that what the rail
roads want is always best for the poor
farmer. But 60 out into the country
where the men and women live who
are benefited by the system and you
will find that ninety per cent Of the
voters are strongly in favor of it.
Township organization is a farm
ers' law. It takes the farmers own
business out of the hands of the pro-
fessional politician and places it in the
hands of the farmers. 1t says to the
man in town: "You run your own aft
fairs and let the farmer run his" 1t
says to the man in the country: "You
tend to your own knitting and let the
farmers in the other half of the coun-
ty look after his" It says to the tax
payer: emo more use grumbling for
now your money will be spent in your
own district instead of $50 of it be-
ing. spent elsewhere to secure votes
for some professional hanger-on."
Truly this is a farmers measure
and we farmers must hang together
to get it. You can't vote for it if
you're not registered-so go to it.
The question Of township organiza-
ton was debated at the Pomona
Grange in Horse Heaven last Satur-
day, tho no judges were appointed to
decide who won. Many of the farm
ers who opposed the measure were
surprised to learn that township is
not necessarily six miles square, but
to quote the law (Rem. & Bal. Code
Sec. 9325) whenever it shall be most
convenient for the inhabitants of two
or more congressional townships or
portions adjoining each other, that
they should be formed into one organ
lied township, the county commission
ers may organize township out of
such adjacent congressional town.
ships or portions thereof" Benton
county is so bounded and divided by
railroads that every organized town.
ship could have railroad running
thru its territory, thus assuring an
equitable division of railroad taxes
turnout the county, and when the op-
ponents realize this fact, their chief
cause for opposition is gone.
Another matter taken up at Pomona
was the question of getting the voters
to register and then seeing that they
understood the initiative and referen-
dunn measures and the question of
township organization. Plans We're
made for going after the unregistered
and for a campaign of education for
tho repistered The two lini1or hills