The Washington herald., 1920-04-20
BY RAYMOND G.. CARROLL.


Springfield, Ill. April 1S.-Nothing
IS easier to promise than that II
elected to office the cost of govern
ment will be cut. Nothing is simpler
TO pledge than that if put into power
taxes will come Gown. But here in
sleepy, old. tree-shaded Springfield
there is concrete evidence of pre-
election promises kept and cleo
tion pledges lived up to.
Which must ne very heart eiIiug -
the spirit of Abraham lincoln. that
seems to hover in the gray smoke
Of the rich coal mines visible all
around and whose martyred body
rests beneath a magnificent :nonu-
ment in the beautiful Oak Ridge
Cemetery. just two miles from the
office in which he practiced law and
the house he occupied when elected
President.
Lpwdcn Has "kept word.-
The living man who has kept his
word to the public is Governor Low
den. leading Presidential aspirant.
Frank o. Lowden began life as a
plowboy, and his career of upward
struggle has remanIic features that
rail splitter. tie was born a, Sun
rise. Mimi, son of the village black
smith, l believe, and taught school
when Is years o'd In Hardin County,
Iowa. He came to Illinois for a
law course, was admitted to the bar
and began t. practi I. lie was con-
sidered one of the most succc ssful
trial lawyers in Chicago. where he
organized the American Radiator
Co, the American biscuit %. and
the American Can Co. amassing a
fortune of sl,500.O0G before his MAJ
riage. twenty-four years ago, to a
daughter of George NJ. Pullman. He
owns farm on Rock River.
Until Lowden came, Springfield
had stood still from the reconstruct
tion period after the civil war. 1t
ran the State on a charter of 1870
vintage, and to the horror of the
venerable chairs in the ancient Le-
land House. there is now in session
n constitutional convention rapidly
installing plumbing and electricity
into Illinois law
Lowden approached his. problem
without a band. He made haste
slowly and quietly One morning
Illinois woke up and discovered that
Springfield was rejuvenated.
Governor Reduced State Taxes.
In every place that I have visited
the compelling question has been.
Did Lowden really reduce State
taxes? Ofhcials elsewhere were in
cilned to doubt it. and they wanted
detailed light of the claim. Well, I
nave had State Auditor Andrew Rus
sci and Representative William H.
II. Miller. who lis a candidate for
state treasurer and the legislative
tax expert. figuring on it all morn
ing. Their findings are before me.
Here are the facts:
In 1916 the people of Illinois paid
state tax of s20,O16,695. In 1919
1t was s16,440,699. The difference is
exactly s3.575.996. or a reduction of
IL As per cent.
Representative Miller said: Gov.
Lowuen has done the seemingly i'm
possiDie-he has increased the as
sessment, and not only reduced the
tax rate. but brought down the State
taxes more than $3.50o.000 annually.
l might say this does not include
$2.oo0,000 for schools and 81 o00 mn
Tor waterways. With them included
the reduction is $500, ,00o."
: Equalization Board Reorgnni.ed.
An unwieldy board of eaualiza-
ton OF twenty-five. nonexpert. cleo
i've members on part time, each GET
ting $1,000 yearly, was cut to a tax
commission of three, expert. an
pointive members on full time at
$1,000 each. They raised the total
assessed value of property in the
state from s2,502.0S6,e76 in 1916 to
s4'llo,l74.9O7 for 1919. They put
the assessment upon a one-half in
stead of a one-third basis, but low
cred the rate from so cents per 500
in 191S to 40 cents per 500 in 1919.
On the lists noticed the Lowdsn
commissioners had raised the as
sessment of the Pullman Company
from sb.o0o.000 to 100000.
Whatever a. local community
spent 1t determined. The economies
Of the Lowden administration were