Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 August 1886 — Page 4

I’hursday, Aram 5, 1886.

Republican County Ticket.

"1 11.ERK GF THE CHU'CIT I‘OCRT, * JAMES F. IRWIN, of t'arpentgj- Township. KOK AV*‘lToh. >;EORGRM. ROBINSON, of Marlon Township. *■ FOIt TREASURER, - ISRAEL B. WASHBURN, of Msulon Township. FOB SHERIFF, SAMUEL E. YEOMAN, - Newton Township. FOB RECORDER. THOMAS ANTRIM, if Kenner Township. ° you svkvekGk, JAMES C. THRAWLS, of Marion Township. FOR CORONER, PHILIP BLUE, of Manon Township. V.,R COMMISSIONER 2SI». DISTI.’KT. JAMES F. WATSON, of Marion Township. DISTRICT TICKET. FOR REPRESENTATIVE, ISAAC 1). DUNN, of Jasper County. ' 7 FOR STATE SENATOR, SIMON P. THOMPSON, of Jasper County. FOR PROSECUTOR, R. W. MARSHALL, of Jasper County.

Congressional Convention.

The Republican Congressional C ontention foi* the Tenth District v ill be held at Valparaiso, Ind., <>,. Thursday, August 19, at 10 o clock a. in., for the purpose of initiating a candidate for Congress. The basis of representation will b one vote for each 100 votes and ore for. each fraction over 50 \ >tes cast for Calkins in 1884. 1 acl. county will be entitled to the following vote in said convpn>n: Carroll—♦ ...—. . ’ --23 C iss' htTalton' T- : Jasiier .... ...... 13 Cake 22 Newton 11 l\»rter 25 lulaski lh White 17 Total vote .... .179 Necessary for ch0ice..........89 H. E. Pattison, Chin. Rep. Gen. Coin. 10 Dist. Monticello Herald:--She Rensselaer Message is reminded that taxation in White county for county purposes was 90| when it was 85 cents in Jasper county. The fact that a reduction is promised for next year in tliis county fugues nothing in favor of the democratic party. Agitation of i the question by the people and the I approaching election are sufficient to account for this proposed reduction. DtmocracjTis a Very” promising party, but whoever heard of its redeeming a promise upon which important events hinged? Whoever heard of its paying a debtor introducing any measure of finance to relieve the people? The editor who is trying to defeat the republican party in Jasper county in order to vent its spite on the county auditor, has repeatedly stated, in effect, that that officer was responsible for the present tax levy, through his ..influence with the Board of Commissioners. Ife publish in another place, to-day, a statement, signed by twoof-These-v jminissiorters, that ought to be a t-ufficient refutation of this charge. Wo will supplement this statement, however, by saying that two of the commissioners have , assured us, positively, that Mr. .Robinson had not the least share in determining the action of the Board in fixing the rate of taxation for this year. He was engaged in ■ tiler duties and did not even listen to the discussion of the subject by tile com ers, still less did he Offer any advice or suggestions vqx.ii the master. The third com- ' ynissioner has also made statements to this same effect to various parties.

Monticello Herald.— -We thke it all back ae to Jasj>er county having two republican papers. IVs two democratic newspapers, the new publication having suddenly shifted to the position of a reformer, with abonf all that term implies. J. N. Moore, of Lowed, who was the Greenback candidate for Congress in 1882, was in town yesterday looking up his chances for the democratic noifiinaticm, this year. J. N. is anxious to get there and don’t care by what route he travels to do if. It is our opinion that he doesn't know even half as much as Tom Wood. Prof. E. E. Smith, of Lafayette, has decided, at the suggestion of friends, to be a candidate fo 1, the Republican nomination sot the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The people of Jasper county know the profefc sor so well and esteem him so highly that we believe the Republicans among them will be a unit in favor of his nomination. He is a graduate of Kentucky Unive’sify, has been teaching for nineteen years, nine of which have been in Purdue University ; and he is, how President of the Indiana State Teachers’ Association: His work in the positions above mentioned, in County. Teachers Institutes and in the educational journals, speak' better for'..his competency and worth than'any words which Ave can write. _ An instance which we can vouch for as true has come to our knowledge, which shows two facts very clearly. One the utter Falsity of the claim that taxes are lower in White county than in, Jasper; the other the, great bearing the comparative highness or lowness of the assessed value of lands- has upon the question of whether taxes are high or low. A well known citizen of Rensselaer owns 80 acres of swamp laud on the very east line of Milroy township. Lying along side of tiiis 80, but over the line in White county he owns another 80 acres. Both pieces are swamp land, unimproved, and of absolutely equal value. His taxes last year on the Jasper county .tract were §1.90 on the White county piece they were were 87.80; or more than four times as much on property of the same real value. We have always felt that the exceeding low rate at which property especially real-estate, is assessed for taxation in this county was a great mistake. It makes a high rate ,of taxation necessary thus causing our people to believe that their taxes are much higher than they and it also gives to democrats and disorganizers a chance to raise a cry of “remorseless taxation” with, enough appearance of truth to influence many people of little judgment in our own county and furnish, ammunition for the enemies of the republican partv in other counties. It also causes people living remote from the county to form an exceedingly unfavorable opinion of the character of our lands and other real property. It is true that a low valuation tends to beat the state out of some of tfie taxes, i which are rightfully due it, but in Qiir opinion that is one of the very strongest reasons why the asseSstinents should be just and—fair. The action of the State Board of Equalization in increasing the as- ! sessment 10 per cent in this county is sufficient proof- that that body thixight that property- here was appraised too low*, and especially is that the case, where it is remembered that in only one other county was so great an increase made, aiid only in a very few - was any increase made at all. But even with the increase made by the state board, real property is still assessed at too low- a rate, as compared Avith jotlrer, counties, as m only one other county in the state is the average assessed value ot land, per acre so low as in Jasper county.

County Taxes and County Revenue.

‘ The editor of the Message is engaged in a frantic attempt to induce the people of Jasper county to believe that they are being subjected to a taxation that is inordinately iuid disproportionately high; and at the time he is trying to convince them that one man, the present auditor of the county, is almost solely responsible for such high taxation. This latter part of the scheme is so palpably malicious, ho evidently and absurdly false, that there is not the slightest danger of any person of sense being misled by it. Even were it possible to establish the fact that taxes are too high «in this county, the people an* too well informed not to know that the county auditor is not', froffi the nature of his, official-functions, in any important responsible for such a state of affairs- The county commissioners, the trustees of the townships, the judge and other officers of the circuit court, and in a less degree the township assessors are the functionaries who Eave discretionary power in expending, or are causing to be expended, the public moneys, and if taxes are too high some or all of the occupants of these offices and chiefly the county commissioners are responsible. The assertion made by the nondescript sheet above mentioned that the auditor “runs” tlie Board of Commissioners and for that reason is responsible for the .county taxes, is not only a silly and absurd falsehood but an outrageous insult to those honorable" and conscientious public servants, Hie present count-y commissioned. Beyond making certain false and malicious assertions and insinuations regarding the county auditor, and. an indefinite allusion to the amount expended in the county for the relief of the poor the Jjfess.-q/r makes no attempt to show that any public money, is squandered, embezzled On, misapplied Iman way, but upon the one point of the rate per cent of taxation alone, and especially as compared with certain other co unties, it relies for arguments to convince its readers.- f Now we propose, in this and perhaps some subsequent articles .to establish in as brief a manner as possible the following propositions: Ist. That a comparatively high rate per-eent. of taxation upon the assessed valuation of a county is not alone conclusive proof that the taxes of such county are inordinately high. 2nd. That no honest comparison can be made between the rates of taxation in different counties unless the rates of assessments, and the amounts of the county revenues derived from sucli taxation are also compared. 3rd. That the cssage has been intentionally misleading, dishonest and altogether untruthful and unjust in the comparisons it has made between this-and other counties, in the matter of taxation. Now we take it for granted that no person possessed of any degree of common sense and common honesty will deny that in a county like Jasper, poor in wealth and sparse in population, with many expensive bridges to build, many difficult loads to maintain, a comparatively large number of poor people to support, an excellent but necessarily expensive school system to raise money for, the heavy expenses of four terms of circuit court to meet every year; that the expenses of tire county government and the consequent taxes are necessarily higher in comparison,than -in—more, wealthy and; populous counties; In other words, is it not evident that in counties having ten, twenty or thirty millions of taxable property the rate per cent, of taxation ought to lie less than in countie^-havingimlythree or four milliofis of valuation? In counties like Wabash or. Hendricks, for instance, a tax of 50 cents on the hundred dollars will yield a revenue of 850,000, while the same rate of taxation inJas- : per county would yield less than 815,000. . \Ve w ill now proceed to make a fair comparison betfreeu Jasper and other counties, in respect not only to the rate per cent of the taxation but to the amount of revenue derived, and the comparative highness or lowness of the-assess-ments. In the oflice of the county treasurer are printed tables showing the rate of taxation for the various purposes, from thirty different j including our own, for the year 1885. In the ls ossoor of last week was a statement giving or pretending to give the. rate of taxation for county purposes in 26 of these, jnclnding Jasper. With characteristic dishonesty only those epunties in which the rate, was either lower, or could he made to

appear so, were mentioned; and no comparison at all was made between the total amounts of the revenues the counties mentioned would; derive from their county tax. T|ie Message is much in the habit of stating alleged propositions in. italics. We will imitate the example, for once, with the great difference that our proposition shill be absolutely true. Of the 80 con lilies irith which the Message might hare com 1 / >ared Jasper countg, four tcere not. mentioned because their cbuutg fares were, higher, and of the 25 mentioned 18 tcere- more or less misrepresented. In Jasper county the tax for 1885 was 85 cents one.the §IOO assessed valuation. The counties which were left out intentionally, with their rate of taxation are: While, cehts on the 8100, and 15 cents extra to pay interest on county bonds; Crawford 81.00 on the hundred; Stark 81.10 on the hundred, and Adams 90 cents on the hundred. Of the 18 counties misrepresented 15 have a poll tax for county revenue, which Jaspercounty has not, and from which they derive from 82,000 to 86,000 annually and of- this poll tax the Message makes no mention. In six there are special taxes for county - purposes which should have been given in a fair coinparion. In five of these, especially, there are bridge taxes of from 8 to 25 cents on the hundred, that ought, by all means, to have been included because in Jasper county, as most of our readers know, thejroad and bridges are paid for out of the general county revenue. _

The next point we wish to call atfehtion to is the total amount of revenue for county purposes which some of the counties, mentioned by the Message, derive from their rate of taxation, and the great unfairness of that paper in seeking to make it appear that the rate of taxation is the sole-standird for determining whether taxes are comparatively high or low. At present we have, no documents from which we can give the exact

amounts of county revenue- in the year* 1885, for any of the counties mentioned by the Message, but if we take the rates per hundred for that year and the property valuation for 1886, as just returned by the state board o of equalization, the results will be near enough for comparison, although not fair so Jasper county, from the reason that the state board has just increased the assessments on realestate in this county 10 per cent, xvliile in most other counties it is less than in 1885. The rate of taxation of 1885 on the property valuation of 1886, then would give in round numbers the following county revenues: jasper county $25,024 White . ‘ .49,700 Cass 71,075 Carroll 30.304 Fountain 64,571 Orange. .21,287 Sullivan. 36,672 Knox ..................... .54,725 Pike . 2.6,544 Wells 30,890 Parke 43,560 Pulaski 21,839 Clay.... ....27,372 Marshall . ........ .30,438 Howard 29,250 Morgan. .30,429 Elkhart ’ .. 50,129 Huntington 32,732 TfankTm......... ........ .46,192 J ackson 19,823 Ripley 18,985 Newton .....16,197 ' Hancock .......... , [ St. Joseph -. 39,280 :Noble.. ..:: ...41,347 | In addition to these sums fifteen lof these counties levied a poll tax for county purposes of from 50c. to $1.50 on each poll. In the above list we have given the county revenue for each of the counties mentioned by the J/essage as showing that Jasper countypeople paid more taxes than the ; people of these counties. In the light of these facts how false, mis-leadingand-malicious appear these • ’words from the Message: ■ I With what proud majestic mien the . plucky people of Jasper county may ' boast that they pay more taxes and • have poorer roads and meaner public improvements than one-fourth of the people of the State of Indiana- ' These sums, as we remarked i above, are obtained by using the I tax rate of 1885 and the assessed ; valuation, of 1886. They are ap- ■ proximately correct, but are much j more unjust' to Jasper county than to any other because the asses sed t v-.ludiion of Jasper county, a& just .adjusted by the State Board of Equalization; is considerably greater now than if was last year while in nearly every one of the counties compared with Jasper, the valuation is lower than it was last year. It is further unjust to our county in that the value of the railroads are not included in the

values on which the above revenues are computetf, and in nearly all the counties mentioned the Value of the railroads is much greater than in Jasper county. The above figures prose- the 'remarkable fact that, in 26 counties, selected and cited by the Message in its unfair attempts to prove thAt taxes here are comparatively in 20 of them the county revenues are greater than in Jasper county. . In 1884 the county tax in Jasper county was §1.20 on the hundred dollars valuation, or 35 cents higher lhan in 1885 and 46 cents higher than in 1886. There was also a county jailtax of 10 cents on the hundred dollars. The county revenue for that year was unusually large. Large enough to pay all outstanding county orders; large, enough to meet all the current expenses of the county government; large enough to pay more than §B,OOO for bridges in the county; large enough to pay to the state a deficit of several thousand dollars in School money; large enough to liquidate about 85,000 of indebtedness on the county jail and still to increase the balance of county revenue in the treasury by about §5,000. And yet in that yeai? notwithstanding the fact that county taxes were abnormally nigh, higher than at any time since the war, in 48 of the 79 counties of the state the countg reveniics tcere greater thdn in Jasper ebuntg, and among those were 12 of the- loic ta.r counties above cited by the Message. This article is already too long, and further discussion of the subject must be deferred until next week, at which time we shall, have something to say about the very of real property, in Jasper county, and the effect such assessments have in making taxes appear comparatively much higher than they really are. We shall also compare the financial management of Jasper county with two or three of our neighboring ’counties, which the Message has macle an especial point of citing.

The Senatorial Contest.

The fourth attempt to defeat our nominee for Senator bears the same marks and brands as appeared in the campaigns ot 1874, '"7B and 'B2. The sunns style ot abuse is sought to be heaped upon our committees, conventions and nominee. The opposing candidate is run each time as an Independent and is required to smother qrofcni, all his political bias, and show some political consanguinity or affinity to each voter on a still hunt of the district. > In each quadrennial contest the opposing nominee has lived near Remington and by his coachera is pictured with a personal character as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, as prudent as the Savior, and as having a solid Vox populi at Iris back. A select clan of claquers open and conduct each campaign against our nominee by speaking the praises of their man and the vices, real and fanciful of ours. A brief study of these outbreaks may not be amiss. d geograph i c ally, -theologically, psychologically, philolologically and politically we can observe the future by the past as the same sa* lient points appear in each procession. Immediately following our convention a piebald camarilla of democrats and disappointed individuals of minority,parties in,The. convention and dis? triet, persuade their picked man to announce that “on account of frequent and urgent solicitation on the part of prominent citizens from all parts of the district and from all political parties” he becomes a candidate. Our convention was held July Bth, and on the 21st of the same month, the opposition candidate announced himself. The Afferent and offerent nerves of this quadrennial senatorial Squid aye now quivering from center to confines of the district to unite all elements of opposition and prevent any other person from being nominated at any political con ention, Whatever. The secret cabinet of this cabal will dictate words of endorsement of their candidate for each convention, to build up and foster the idea that such candidate really does reflect an united vox [>opuli without distinction of party. This work of the’Junto is designed to; keep up the courage of their man and excite a missionary spirit of unrest, with a few others. Thus a very good man may be flattered by a Bourbon cabal to spend time and money to gratify his abnormally excited ambition. The whole affair is usually governed and controlled by the Democratic party for its own purposes. The populace see the false and gaudy colbfs ot a people's movement while the Democrat ic leaders chuckle at their power to create strife in the ranks of the Republican party, and gull its members. Three still Senatorial hunts conducted in the same way have yielded success to the Democrats. The old party scarcely ever mistakes its man when It en-

dorses him. Even Dr. Patton frill probably act with the Democrats if they endorse and elect him. f . , This year our party built, organised and conducted a large, fair and representative convention. Its members and, those voted for are satisfied. There was a common desire to secure *a good nominee. Each member of the party had an easy chance to secure a free vote and fair count in selecting such . nominee. No sooner, however, was the result known, than a motley few began throwing dirt. The Goodland Herald was engaged as the Junto’s oi;gan, Because its liditoi was of the Democratic official household and a good blower. This Herald on July 24th published several columns of assertions hinting that each Republican committeeman was a conspirator, each member of the convention was corrupt, and each spectator a thief. These Assertions were indefinite and therefore broad enough to picture our brethern on July Bth,’B6. as composing an ‘‘iniquitous, brutal and dangerous’’ assembly, and our nominee as a very bad man. Two dozen more like blasts from the same paper are promised. Fair expectations of full proof of all assertions or retraction were prom - ised by the same paper to lure its readers into believing its falsehoods. In '74. ’7B and ’B2 like assertions were accepted as self-proving and on July 31st, the Herald claims a new rule of proof which is inferred Irom the success attending former campaigns. It is in these words: z . “It now remains for the people to disapprove the assertions in November next.’’

That rule of proof ought not to be endorsed by any fair mind. ,The manner and time of trial is very unfair. All its vile statements arc thus to the proven by “standing in at the election.” Judged by this rule all the scurvy squibs, slurs, slanders and libels spoken and published in ’74, ‘7B and ’B2 have passed into judgment as true. The Herald confesses that no other proof will be offered. Must all its vile assertions stand as true until- disproved by the popular vote? Must the good name ot every committeeman. delegate and candidate stand as smirched and scandalized* from now until after the election? If so the • “poweFbf invention alone can curb the conduct of the mudslingers. I’o us who are used to the usual rilles this scheme looks gauzy. Look at the Postmaster’s plan of calumny and proof and if you are Longest say whether yon approve it. This Junto dictates to conventions and voters by a system of p:u<j :inade which it claims must stand as true until after the election. This novel rule stamps the whole scheme as an insult to any honest man’s sense of Justice. The outward manifestations of this clique are—extreme tenderness for the dear people—a horror of any other party fealty—hostility to all other organized effort— and an intense love for bolters and scratchers in some other party. Its accusations are a reflex of its own—obliquities. On August 11th. ’B6, the Junto will take the Damocratiu con- • V vention by the nose and lead it according ..to its dictation. For a promise of the final out-put of the combination the old party will deny its own name aud, follows these complots in personal defamation. A pretty jingle of words will*be adopted as a device to attract all possible opposition to our nominee. “Should any Republican brother Wied., astray by this hypocritical cant his virtue will be proclaimed by these dictators publicly and his simplicity mocked at privately. The words ‘Tin g” and “machine” will be used in a vagabond sense by this-scheme of fraud and backbiting. No man's nature is changby. abuse.. He remains the same ~ man still. Our candidate has led an upright life but he Is required by these marplots to bear their villitic.ition in meekness awaiting a secret ballot. Honest men of all parties should hesitate before joining this slanderous and libelous raid against the personal character of binion P. Thompson.

A TRUE REPUrue Republican.

How Brother Hutchings got in llis Work.

Rev. G. W. Hutchings, the colporteur in the service of the American Bible Society, who canvassed Jasper county last fall and 'this spring sends us the following brief summary of the resists of his labors: No. of families visited in Co. 1721 “ “ without a bibie 230 “ “ “ supplied lh;> Individuals without Bible supplied 177 Number of miles travelled on duty 905N'nmber of days service in the Co. 108 - No.of books sold in Co. 797 No. donated 236 Value ot books sold $297.6$ Value of books donated 59.80 Total • $357.43 Rec'd. donation to A. B. soc’y. $1*4747 Expenses including freight 65.47