The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1916-10-16
Editorial
THINGS EVERY VOTER SHOULD
KNOW

petent law-abiding men to the offic
of county commissioners.
1t has met with organized oppos
ton almost from the first. Boycott
of it's business have been tried, advel
tisers have been influenced to tax
their ads out of the paper, dishonol
able means have been used TO tax
job work out of the shop, reports G
the insolvency of the business hav
been circulated, rumors of the organ
ization Of a stock company of the bus
mess of Moscow to buy out the pape
and muzzle it have been heard, EN-
lployes in the establishment have beel
worked upon by enemies of the paper
efforts have been made to hire then
away physical violence has beel
threatened the owner of the paper.
An organized and desperate effor
has been made since the primaries t.
put the paper out of business. All thes'
things have been done because tht
Star -Mirrorwas uncOvering a deplora
BILE condition in county politics, ant
many people ignorant of conditions an(
innocent of any selfish or dishonorable
motives have been drawn into the at
tack upon the paper by the false re-
ports made to them by men they have
heretofore trusted. Some have believ-
ed in the honesty and sincerity of the
paper and have stood by it without
knowing the facts, others knowing the
facts have come to the support of the
paper.
We tried to clean up the republican
party locally in the primary. We OPP
posed the ring that is responsible for
present conditions and their candidates
for office. We said that two of their
candidates for commissioner-Wo Woody
and Lyon-had violated the road laws,
and before the election returns were
all in the supreme court of Idaho sub
stantiated our statement.
We backed primary candidates who
were not violaters of the. law, and were
not machine candidates. Where the
Star Mirror is much read, and the facts
were thus known, the independent can
didates got the majority of the votes.
With their entire forces mustered-us
ing all the road overseers, election
judges, jury lists, justices of the peace,
ccnstables and indigents that they
could influence, employees in the court
house, tax-dodgers, hangers-on, per-
SOnal friends, false reports, and lying
fidavits-they barely put their candi-
dates over at season of the year
when all the machines strength can
be mustered, and the farmer is too busy
to go to the polls.
We are for clean politics, and for
honesty and competence in office, and
we will fight and have fought machine
politicians, law breakers, and incompe-
tents. even when they seek to shield
behind the name srepub-
ican," which name they have SO dis
sraced in Latah county.
1t has been charged that the Star
Mirror is in collusion with the demo-
rats and the Potlatch Lumber compa-
ly to defeat the republican commits
'ioners. It is false charge. We are
n no combinations but we share with |
very other voter who believes that |
he law should be observed and that
he taxes should be levied equitably-
nd not in such way that soI1e es
ape and others pay more than their
hare, as has been done by Lyon,
Woody and McIntire-a determination
o defeat such men as Woody. Lyon,
nd Oversmith, and to break up a pol
teal machine that has defied the law,
ssessed hundreds of thousands of dol
ars in taxes illegally, and made the
armers of I4atah county pay thousands .
f dollars in taxes that they should
ever have paid at all.
lie OLdi-Mlll Ol lOlNS0 LAC lSSuC |
lie present proceerings against the
to compel them to OBJ
,rye the law. The commissioners had
xplained to them in April how they
ad been violating the law, and what
ley could do to comply with it, and
avoid law suit at the expense of
le county That was long before
lere way any political activity. They
suited their advisers, and gave them
understand they didn't care what
e law said, they would levy the taxes
they pleased.
Any taxpayer was at liberty to bring
| action to enjoin their illegal proce-
Ire. How many Latah taxpayers
lew they were acting illegally? How :
any could afford to prosecute an ac-
IN? How many would bring an. ac-