The northwestern bulletin-appeal., 1924-09-27
REPUBLICANSOPEN
STATE CAMP PAICN
Candidate for Governor Outlines
Party Platform In Keynote
Speech.

Cnrfscanson, Republican candidate
for governor. formally opened his
campaign here tonight before an en-.
thusiastic crowd that packed the
Armory.
After discussing war and postwar
conditions which resulted In q drop
In the price Of agricultural products
while taxes remained high. Mr.. Chris
tianson said:
ID II any wonder that the farmers Of
Minnesota were confronted with one
OF the gravest crises In the history OF
agriculturei
Relief for Agriculture.
What steps did the government take
% relieve the farmers situationf Z
What steps could Il take!
l. 1t took action to reduce the in
terest burden Of the farmers. Through
. decision Of the United States Su-
preme Court the validity Of the Fed.
eral Land Bank Act was sustained.
and the banks resumed operation. In
Minnesota, q constitutional amend.
ment which sponsored, was ADOPT.
Cd. authorizing the creation of q state
credits system to supplement the ac-
III.
The object Of creating these govern
mental functions was not to give the
farmer more credit, for much Of the
farmers trouble arose from the fact
that he had already used too much
credit. The object was to reduce In
terest rates In order to tighten the
burden Of the farmers Indebtedness.
And that object was accomplished,
for Immediately the interest rates on
Arst farm mortgages dropped ~ to
3 Per cent. The saving from reduced
interest rates alone, II applied every
year on the principal. would In the
course OF twenty years discharge
every farm mortgage In Minnesota.
EXPENDITURES Reduced.
II. The government set itself to
the task OF relieving the people Of the
burden OF excessive taxation. Much
Of that burden. to be sure. was axed
and could not be removed. Ohliga-
tions had been created upon which In
terest must be paid. Salaries had
been raised to meet increased living
costs. and official salaries are rarely
reduced. New instrumentalities Of
government had been created. often
at the demand Of the very groups that
now criticiEe the government for in
creased expenditures. Public tnstitu-
lions had TO be created or enlarged
20 repair the physical and moral
wreckage Of the war; and public I'M
provements were made on Q more Law
ish and expensive scale than before
In response to an extravagant-and
irrisistible--public opinion.
But despite these handicaps. which
were almost insurmountable, progress
has been made toward normally. In
Minnesota, the legislature by refus-
ing approximately $15,000.000 in re-
.quested appropriations, held the 1923
budget down to $4,000. 900, at the
same time appropriating nearly S.
000,000 more for state aid to schools
than had ever been appropriated be-
fore. II this additional state aid had
not been given, the 1898 appropria-
tions would have been almost $1,000
900 below those of 1921. Thus It may
be seen that there has been q reduc-
tion In the cost Of conducting all Of
the states activities during the pres
ent biennium of about $1,000.000 per
year below that of the previous two
year period.
Favored Budget Plan.
The financial achievements Of the
national administration. during the
same period, have been phenomenal.
A budget system has been established
and the judgment of an impartial and
disinterested agency, not the impor-
tunities of the recipients Of congress
sional appropriations, determines the
amounts to be made available for de-
partmental expenditures. The result
has been q reduction of such expendi-
lures from more than $500, 900. 900
for the fiscal year ending June 80.
1921. to less than $500, 100000 for
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1924,
and a reduction Of the national in
debtedness during the same period by
81, 100000. This record demon
strates the efficiency Of the budget
system as an agency of tax reduction.
I have long advocated the establish
ment of budget system In Minnesota.
At three different sessions OF the leg
islature I have, In collaboration with
tie present Republican candidate for
lieutenant governor. presented and Sc
cured the passage Of O budget bill
through the House Of Representatives
II elected governor OF Minnesota, I
shall use the influence Of the execu-
tive office to secure enactment by the
legislature of an effective budget law.
Cooperative Marketing.
III. The Republican party has
helped agriculture In Minnesota by
enacting legislation to promote CO.
operative marketing. The first effec-
tive step in this direction was taken
in 1919, when a cooperative market
ing law was passed which not only.
recognized but specifically guaranteed
to the farmers of this state the right
to bargain collectively for the sale of
their products. II IL source of sat
isfaction to have been member of .
legislative group that drafted and In
troduced this measure. No longer
can farmers be put in jail for doing