Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 September 1904 — A MEAN LIE. [ARTICLE]

A MEAN LIE.

The most contemptible of all lies is one that is but a half truth, for. while seeming to deal fairly, its whole purpose is to mislead and deceive. Here is a sample of a mean lie which the Republicans are sending to a subsidized press over the state: “The new tax law added to the revenues of the state nearly $1,500,000 annually; for the two years immediately succeeding its ensetment the total increase in revenue, to be exact, was $2,830,976, and yet during these two years the $8,000,000 state debt was decreased not a single cent. During the third year of the operations of the new tax law, Democratic fiscal officers paid one-fourth of the increase in revenue, or $340,000, on the state debt. The next year they paid $570,000, and in January of the following year $400,000.” In the foregoing extract, which is a part of the matter sent out by the Republican state central committee, it is admitted that the Democratic state administration began to pay off the state debt in the third year of the new tax law operation. The reason why no money was paid on the debt earlier was because all the large railroad corporations, the Pennsylvania. Big Four and several others, refused te pay taxes under the new and increased assessments, and enjoined county officers in every county in the state from collecting the taxes. The litigation thus inaugurated was in the courts three years, and when the railroads were finally beaten at all points the taxes were paid. The corporations ware encouraged to make the fight against the liw by the open denunciation of tbs measure by the Republicans nt tbs Fort Wsyna convention and by the speech of Chairman Fairbanks, in which he declared the law to be “odious.’’ By this nttittude of Mr. Fairbanks, then s recognised candidate for the United States senstorship, and tha open denunciation of the law by his party, the state was compelled to pay interest on a large part of the debt for three years, when bnt for such encouragement the corporations would have paid their taxes and the payment of the state debt would have been begun at once. "A vote for Republican state and legislative candidates Is a vote against the state debt” is the Republican slogan in this o&mpaign. Yet the Republican legislators voted against the tax law in 1891, the state convention in 1892 denounced it and the party made its campaign of that year on money furnished by corporations with the understanding that the law would be repealed if the Republicans came into power. 'This is the record that they now ask the people to indorse. If Senator Fairbanks were as confident of election to the vice presidency as he is certain that he now has a national Job, be would not wait till aftar the election to resign; and if Congressman Hemenway had similar eonfldence In tbs future, he would not be the party nominee in the First district, bat would confine himself wholly to lining op federal office-holders for the oootrol at legislative waventhag