Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 August 1886 — Congressional Convention. [ARTICLE]

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.