The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1934-10-19
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III Illc SOuIiiWSSgClA part VI Iiic StdtC.
Some of his arguments aroused great
enthusiasm. At Slayton, for instance,
he told the people that Murray county
had paid into the state treasury last
year 5000 but that 1--WE gave back
$4,000" I don't see why anybody
should kick about that, said the Gov
ernor, and nobody did. On the con-
trary the crowd applauded vigorously.
Some prying citizen looked the
matter up in the state auditors office
and discovered that Murray county
last year paid into the state treasury
$108, 1899 and got back from the state
$106,58072. Whereupon it was remem-
bered that the Governor in the winter
of 1888 gained a nationwide reputation
for "tall talk" and the people of
Murray county began to scratch their
heads and to wonder if their Governor
is as insincere about everything as he
had been about their state income and
outgo.
This incident made the people of
Murray county inquisitive. They
looked into the Governors statement,
made at Slayton and repeated at
Granite Falls, Montevideo and other
weSt-state towns that Senators Rockne,
Mckenzie and WeDer (who lives at
Slaytom "put republican politics above
human misery" by voting against the
S., OOO, 900 relief bill The bill was in
two parts, $2,5O0,OOO for relief and $2,-
100000 for certain internal improve
ments projects. The curious citizens
discovered that the senators named.
every one of them had voted for the
So, 5O0,O 900 relief half of the bill blu. had
voted against the $2,500,0O0 internal
improvement part of the bill, and they
further discovered that the senators had
challenged both the constitutionality of
the internal improvement part of the
bill and had dared the Governor to
attempt to enforce it, dare which he
has not yet taken, although ne has
had 18 months to do it in.
Curious citizens also looked up the
Governors statement, made many
times, that he had saved the state
100000 in 1888 and found that it was
not he that had done it, but the legis-
lature, and that the Governor had said
it couldn't be done and had vigorously
opposed it. Nevertheless, at last re-
ports the Governor was still peddling
the story.
The Republican State Central Com
mittee has just had printed new sup
ply of copies of the farmer-labor plat
form. Notwithstanding the fact that
there is strong demand for it. the
republican committees headquarters
seem to be the only place in the state
where it is available.
The reluctance of farmer-labcr
candidates to discuss their platform or
even to mention it recalls the following:
"a party platform is mighty i'm
portant consideration" said one states
man.
''Yes," replied the other, ga party
platform in politics is good deal like
bunker in golf. The rules require it,
but you show your skill in avoiding it."
The farmer-labor platform is a per-
feet example
The recognized betting center OF the
cities is Snyder's in the Minneapolis
loop. Odds at first were 4 to / on
Olson dwindling to 2 to /, then 10 to g.
money.
The "bombshell" edition of the
Farmer-Labor Leader, heralded with a
blare of trumpets that echoed and re-
echoed throughout the state finally
exploded with pop like pea-shooter.
A "tax-free state' was the bomb
shell editions bomb The leader ex-
planned that many months had been
spent in collecting and compiling the
data to show, in an examination of
some SO communities, that Minnesota
by taking over power utilities could be-
come tax-free state.
Charles Cheney, author of Mime.
sofa Politics" in tine Minneapolis Jour-
nal, examined the SO shining examples
and discovered that not one of them
was tax-free.
Then Luverne, the sole Minnesota
community cited by the Leader as tax
free made vigorous protests. It wasn't
tax-free and never had been and it
quoted figures showing that it is paying
a substantial tax. Moreover it was dis
covered that its widely touted municipal
power plant was laying aside nothing
for depreciation, and that when the
plant has to be renewed the citizens
of the town will have to put UP the
kale.
But the solar-plexus blow was de-
livered by the Little Falls Transcript
which noted that the total tax paid in
Minnesota this year is Sis, 740,531 and
that the total receipts of the light and
power utilities in Minnesota is $685.
610,910 per annum, so that if Mime
sofa took them over and charged the