The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1920-10-28
DID THOMAS LIE?

~
not to refer again to Mr.. Pud
erbaugh's letter of last week. Blu
his letter is so typical of the nonpar
tisaa leagues method of combating
argument by the simple process Of
branding as false everything that is
said or written in opposition to it
that we cannot refrain from calling
further attention to some of Mr.. Pu.
derbaugh's statements. Gi. .st
First: "The second statement is q
falsehood, that Mr.. Stallard is an or
ganizer." In referring to Mr.. Stall
lard as an organizer, this paper GER
tainly had no intention of belittling
Mr.. Stallard's rank in the league. We
should have referred to him as lee.
turer, not an organizer. For this We
apologize to Mr.. Stallard. We would
not have dubbed him sergeant had
we known he was a lieutenant. We
take for our authority the Washing
ton Leader" the official organ of the
nonpartisan league in this state. In
it's issue of September %, the Lead
er printed on its front page under
conspicuous headline the following
"H. H. Stallard, league lecturer,
now in the western part of the state,
and Jay Thomas, press agent for the
republican state central committee,
have arranged for series of debates
on the question of the nonpartisan
league program.
Information regarding booking
any of these debates may be obtained
from Mr.. Stallard, at the new Rich
mond Hotel, Seattle"
Again Mr.. Puderbaugh says: "Mr.
Thomas said Mr.. LeSeuer was con-
nected with Mr.. Townley's operations.
which was a deliberate false state
ment, because Mr.. LeSeuer was only
the consulting attorney for the
league. Arthur LeSeuer, /. w. w.
attorney, friend of. Bill Haywood, and
widely known socialist, was the first
executive secretary of the league, and
Mr.. Thomas carried with him photo
graphic copies of letters written and
signed by him as executive secretary.
Furthermore, Mr.. Thomas carried
with him sworn affidavits of former
league organizers to the effect that
LeSeuer conducted school for orga-
MIXERS and that high officials of the
league had repeatedly said what they
need was more Art. LeSeuers. The
fact is Stallard knew what Mr.. Pud-
erbaugh evidently does not, that such
evidence is available and denial on
his part would have been met by the
absolute proof in the hands of his op-
ponent. It is one thing to write ran
dom letters making wholesale denials,
but quite another thing to face on the
debating platform an opponent who
has the proof in black and white.
"Again nothing could be farther
from the truth than Mr.. Thomas
statement of the North. Dakota taxes
for Mr.. Emil Albrecht's tax state
ments for six years shows that it has
taken all the years from 1914 to 1920
to raise his taxes 100 per cent on five
quarter. sections in Rolette county,
North Dakota" Let's see about that.
The writer has before him tables pre-
pared by State Tax Commissioners
Wallace, an appointee of Gov. Frazier,
showing the distribution of taxes lev
led for all purposes in North Dakota
for the years 1918 and 1919. Com
missioner Wallace says that the state
taxes-not including hail-levied in
Rolette county were as follows: 1913,
$40, 215.3O; 1919, SAL ,518.01. An in
crease in ONE YEAR of more than
100 per cent. This is the state tax
only, and time without number the
league press and speakers have told
us that the reason for the high taxes
in North Dakota laid with the local
boards over which the league had no
control, and not with the state.
IF the figures of the tax commits
sioner are not to be believed let's go
to the leagues highest source of au-
thority, the Nonpartisan Leader, nat
ional official organ. On page four of
the issue of March 8, are to be found
these figures: State taxes, North Da-
kota, 1918, s1,6sO,155; 1919, $685.
O39, increase lit per cent. In anoth-
err column on the same page we read:
estate taxes, Washington, 1918, &c.
24o. 57s; 1919, s11,o72,ss2, increase
the leader doesn't figure it-figure it
yourself. It's Is per cent. -.
While we are on the subject OF tax
es let's see what William LANCER, at
torney General of North Dakota, says
about taxes. And it should be re-
membere1 that under the "anti-liars"
law Mr.. LANCER can be sent to the