The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-06-01

at as a result Of full discussion and
repeated presentations of the subject
'at the polls. The acts which THE
court is asked to restrain are not
those of public officials who are pur-
suing enterprises of their own devils
ing. Those acts express not simply
the judgment Of the state legislature.
To authorize their enactment the peo-
Pile of the state have yedrawn their
constitution. That is the highest and
most deliberate act of free people.
These constitutional amendments
authorize and direct the state to do
what the defendants are threatening
to do. Their acts are simply the
carrying out Of the mandate of those
constitutional amendments.
~ is hopeless to expect a popula-
ton consisting Of farmers scattered
over Il vast territory, as the people of
this state are, to create any private
Business system that will change the
system now existing. The only means
through which the people of the state
have had any experience in joint ac-
ton is their state government. If
they may not use that as the common
agency through which to combine
their capital and carry on such basic
industries as elevators and mills and
SO fit their products for market and
market them, they must continue to
deal as individuals with the vast
combinations of these terminal cities
and suffer the injustices that always
exist where economic units. so differ
ent in power, have to deal the one
with the other"
In order to keep within the law in
the creation and operation of their
several state industries the stock
holders of this public service corpora
ton, North Dakota, have amended
their state constitution nine times.
Every citizen of the state is a stock
holder in these industries. Every one
of US should be interested in making
these industries succeed.
Your directors are interested in
working out these problems for the
best interests of the state, its people
and its products.
Taxes
The tax issue is very live one at
all times, and in recent years much
has been said about the taxes of our
state being higher than those of other
states. The best way to arrive Mt O
conclusion is by comparison. Upon
comparison of our taxes with those Of
other states in which conditions are
pretty much the same as ours, it is
consoling to learn that our tax rates
are less than theirs. In the COMPARE
son made>by the National Industrial
Conference board in the Cost Of
Government in the United States"
for the year 1926, Nevada heads the
list with the highest per capita taxes
in the United States, Minnesota ranks
sixth in this list, South Dakota ninth,
Montana seventeenth and North Da
kota twenty-fifth.
In 1925 state taxes in North Dakota
were reduced about 100000, and it
is fact that only eight other states
in the Union made any reduction. in
taxes in that year. We plan to make
Il further reduction in state taxes in
1926.
Highway Department
A great deal Of good work has
been done in the state highway de-
partment. A law was passed at the
last legislative session which placed
all state highways under the supervis-
ION OF the state highway department.
The highways Of the state are a very
pOb tDuV ssudVSbSt a. tue StutC y DU8l.
ness. The highway commission has
just recently let contracts for the
of two bridges across the
Missouri River at cost of about
81 900 900. All the work in connec-
tion with these bridges has been
done by our own engineers in our
own engineering department. No
commission has been paid to anybody.
We are developing state engineer
ing department that is second to none
in the United States.
Our nation is republic. On July
18th this year we celebrate the 15Oth
of the signing of the
Declaration Of Independence. That
document declares It to be q
self evident truth that all men are
created equal and entitled to life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
BY the Declaration Of independence
and the adoption Of the constitution
of the United States, this nation
abolished for all time the so-called
divine right of any man or group Of
men to govern Us except as the con-
stitution provides. The federal and
state constitutions are the basic rules
by which we are governed. As growth
and development Of the nation and
{ the state have made such necessary,
these cOnstltutjons have been amend