The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1934-10-04
(By r. w. Hitchcock)

In order to be sure that next
years tax rate is sufficient to meet
the needs Of the state it will be
necessary to fix the rate at IL mills
or more. In fact, if all obligations
of the state are provided for, as
they should be, it will be necessary
to increase the rate from the pres
emit 11.O6 mills, an all time high
in Minnesota, by about two mills.
If some departments cover up or
hold back levies which should be
spread this year, for obvious rea-
sons, 1t will pile just that much
additional burden on next year and
such action will of course, obviate
'the necessity Of increasing the state
levy by full additional two mills.
The state auditors office Is
charged with the aduty of comput-
ing the state tax levy, and the COM
putation is made from the needs
certified to the auditor by the var
ious departments. This work has
been done for many years under the
supervision of Matt Desmond, de-
putty state auditor; no more able or
conscientious official ever served
the state. Mr.. Desmond will make
the rate just as low as it can pos
sibly be made, and in this he will
be staunchly supported by his chief,
Staff King, state auditor.
This years rate, 11.06 mills, after
four years Of Olson administration,
is the highest in the history of Min
nesota, and when the governor was
campaigning for his first election he
said that the then rate of ST mills
was highway robbery"
Martin A. Nelson, republican can
didate for governor, has at his
home in Austin one of the finest Ii
braries in Minnesota on economics
and history. Mr.. Nelson has al
ways, from his very youth, been an
enthusiastic student of the SUBJ
jects. He is widely read and care
full thinker. That is why his
speeches are so logical, so sound
and so accurate.
Hardly had Governor Olson re-
piled to the brilliant reasoning and
rigorous indictment of the four
years of Olson misrule contained in
Martin A. Nelson's keynote address
by denouncing the address as mud
singing" when the Farmer-Labor
leader appeared on the streets with
charges of grave robbing and wild
ow and orphan plundering" against
various prominent Minnesotans,
some of whom are republican candi-
dates for office. The charge was
made in connection with the inves-
tigation by State Insurance Com
missioner Garfield Brown, who has
held office for four years at the
sufferance of the Olson admins
tration, of the affairs of the South
ern Minnesota Benevolent Society,
a cooperative insurance company.
After relieving itself of the adjec-
tives already mentioned and many
others as well, the Farmer-Labor
leader appends this remark, "Com-
missioner Brown gave the officers
and directors a bill of health and
renewed the license"
If the Commissioner Of Insurance
gave the officers and directors of
the company a clean bill of health,
what is the Farmer-Labor leader
hollering about.
What happened was this: a farm
er officer and discharged employee
OF the society, in his disgruntle-
ment, swore out warrants for the
arrest of seven officers Of the So
ciety. On appearance before the
Justice of the Peace the charges
were promptly dismissed for lack
Of evidence
Who Is doing the ''mudslinging?"