The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1924-10-31
CROWD To HEAR
VICTOR |. POWER.
ADDRESS ONE OF THE BEST
EVER LISTENED TO IN
THIS CITY.

For over an hour Tuesday even
ing at the Washington Auditorium,
Victor L. Power of Hibbing, candi-
date for Congress in the Eighth
Congressional District, spoke to a
crowd of over 500 people on the
issues of the day and particularly
the government ownership issue now
menacing the country and especially
the range towns.
An impromptu parade was staged
to the Auditorium headed by the
Community Band and followed by
automobiles bearing "Vote for
Power" banners and a crowd of
people also bearing banners with
the same readings. The stage was
occupied, in addition to Mr.. Power,
by a representative body of Ely
citizens, Messrs. Jas. Moonan, M. j.
Murphy, Peter Schaefer, Leonard
Slabodnik, DR.. j. E. Thompson, Mar
tin Skala, Alderman Gust A. Maxi,
W. E. Englund, Jos. Gerzin, F. K.
Farrell and Kenneth Duncan. w.
E Englund acted as chairman and
introduced Mr.. Power in a brief adj
dress in which he called attention
to the attack on he American Con-
stitution as embodied in the plat
form of the LaFollette party.
Mr.. Power wasted no time in
platitudes regarding the intelligent
appearing audience, "fine buildings
and excellent weather" with which
range audiences have been har-
rangued in the past at political adj
dresses, but launched at once into
what he had to say. And, take ii
from US, he said it in plenty. He
read the planks of the Third party
platform and then proceeded with
facts and figures to rip. them to
pieces. The government ownership
of public utilities, railroads and
mines came in for a large share of
his talk.
Being thoroughly conversant with
conditions in the range towns he
produced figures to prove what it
would mean to US should the gov
eminent ownership of mines be
adopted. He cited precedents in
which he brought out the fact that
under government ownership no
taxes could accrue from the mining
properties and that to conduct at
fairs in he city and school district
as now conducted, raise in the
rate Of over 800 per cent would be
required on the remaining property
on the tax rolls. He cited the
names of individual property owners
in the city and gave the amounts of
taxes paid by them and the prob
able amount they would pay were
the mines taken out. He also gave
the constitutional pow of the
state to collect or levy taxes up to
a certain percent and under this
allowance this district would be able
to levy for school purposes the mag
nifcent sum of $4,000 per year
under government ownership of
public utilities.
By long odds, his was the most
thought inspiring address
delivered in the city in years and
many who had leanings toward the
LaFollette ticket, left the hall with
the firm intention of thinking this
over. Mr.. Power did not ask his
hearers to believe him but to take
down his figures and verify them at
their leisure. He also showed what
the taking over of the railroads by
the government would mean to the
taxpayer, what it would mean to
the railroads and the stockholders
and what it would mean TO the
country in general.
He cited the state owned Dakota
propositions as a fair example and
showed where the state owned -four
mill in North Dakota, established by
the Farmer-Labor adherants at state
expense, was at the present time
losing $4,000 daily to the taxpay-
ers and this loss has been a daily
occurrence, sometimes much larger,
ever since the mill was established.
Everyone who listened to Mr..
Power was impressed by the sin
certify of the man. His logic, dyna-
mic personality, command OF
language and figures impressed al
with the virility and fighting quail
tiles of the man and the majority
of those present felt that IN Mr..
Power. the district would have a
Congressman who would be cham
pion of the district, the state and its
people and one who could be OF
immense benefit to the United