Rensselaer Republican, Volume 24, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 August 1892 — THEY DON'T WANT THE TRUTH. [ARTICLE]

THEY DON'T WANT THE TRUTH.

The Pilot has been clamoring for some time past for an explanation regarding the local tax matters, and at the same time making al sorts of wickedly slanderous charges against our county officers. Last week Mr. Charles E. Mills, our present county assessor, prepared a clear, frank and absolutely

truthful statement of the county tax matter, and which, being the truth, fully exposed the false and malicious character of the Pilot’s charges. This article that paper published over Mr. Mills’ own signature. In the same issue of the paper appeared several editorials criticizing and vainly .trying to break the force of Mr. Mills’ appear these sentences; addressed directly to Mr. Mills: The tax payers of Jasper county pay 526,084.99 more this year than last, and Mr. Mills says the state took $12,833.44 of this $26,084.99. Now, kind sir, who got the rest? We paid it: you tell the people where it went.

Mr. Mills took the Pilot at its! word and prepared another article, giving just the information asked for in the above quoted paragraph, and Monday morning tendered it, for publication, to the local editor of the Pilot. Be was informed, however that the article could not be accepted. “The Directors” had held a meeting, last Saturday, and decided that it would not do to publish any mwe true statements about the county taxes. Mr. Mills’ former article had evidently completely demoralized the whole outfit, and another like it wonk knock them clear out Tffey are “running the paper for politics effect” and didn’t want any more t ruthful statements about the tax matter. '

The following is the article which the Pilot Refused to publish;

Editor Pilot:- Misrepresenta- ■ tions, falsehoods, libel, slander, horrizontal additions and irresponsible | utterances by unknown authors do not count with honest people. We I challenge the party who enjoys the unusual privelege of criticizing our article before it is published, to identify himself. To come out from his hiding, that the people may know from what section and party he hails, oh his mission of reform-

in his editorials the editor asks us to explain. To let the light of truth into hiS addled brain. To teach him a fhw lessons in simple arithmetic. He admits that we have stated correctly the amount of increase in State and County taxes, and he now asks' us - who got the- nest?

‘We paid it; you tell the people where it Went.’’ Wilh the greatest of pleasure, we will tell you all about it. The levies made by the Township Trustees for the yeay 1891, show an aggregate increase over the whole amount collect- ■ ed for the year This sum, together with the balance of the levy for 1891 will be distributed among Ihe 13 Townships and two corporated towns when it is collected, and will all be used for the purposes for . which the levies were made, by the Trustees during the current and fiscal year. The “Special School” will not be sufficient to supply the actual needs of all the Townships this year. Righuhere in Marion Township some new

school houses are needed, but caimot be built this year because the tee will not live enough of the ‘spec ial school fiind” to spare for that purposo; Last year the school year was cut short, because the tuition evy for 1890 was not large enough to conduct the usual term of school, in all the. Townships. ( This no doubt, is one of the reasons why the Pilot man is so faulty in his arithmetic, he probably only got as far as subtraction. ) > This year, the school year can be lengthened out to from six to seven months of school, this cannoV fail to be highly satisfactory to all believers in progressive education. If the tuition fund would only justify nine months of school-- it would be better still.

The road tax shows the greatest increase of all, and every dollar of this fund will be expended, and more money is sadly needed, as many, very many of the roads in Jasper County are in a deplorable condition. The Township tax will all be needed, and not a dollar of -surplus will remain in any of the township funds, levied for the year 1891. In fact, every fund is deficient in money, to do the work that properly ought to be done. The Trustees are , all of them practical economists, and believe in distributing the burdens of taxation as evenly, and. as lightly as possible, and consequently they all of them made their levies as fight as they dared to make them in order to offset the heavy taxes that will have to be paid into the State Treasury. They roundly resent imputations that they are in any way identified with any scheme or system of robbery by which the hard earned money of the people would be piled up without necessity. .. They are every one of" them men who have earned a competency by honest toil, and are not schooled ? like our Pilot man in the tricks and wiles of this wicked world. They are all of them respectable taxpayers, (and, for aught that we know the Pilot man’s taxes only consist of a poll and a dog.) It is interesting to observe, with what tenacity the Pilot man sticks to the statement that the in-j crease in Jasper County taxes is $16,703.94 piled up for uq purpose but “to Thake TEe Kdmfi's eyes of the people?” Study for a mojnent the plan that he has adopted in arriving at the above conclusion. With characteristic impu.dence, and a skill born of long practice in the art of deception, he. in his eager attempt to defend his wild state . ments, on the principle that a lie we stuck to is as good as the truth, actually adds to the taxes of 1891 $3,352.39 miscellaneous taxes collectef in 1890, but which do not appear on the tax duplicate of 1891. What does he mean by this action Is it an application of the principle of “robbery” that he is talking so loudly about? « Why not deduct thi553,352.39 from the taxes of 1891, and thus wipe out the $1648.80 increase in County taxes, And thereby become a philanthropist and ease the burdens of an ovec-Ux. ed people ? The same juggled figures will answer in either case, will equal propriety, and would be equally correct. But a man who will not speak the truth himself, will not accept the truthful statements or proven facts of others; but will, like the embezzler, try to cover up his ahorio"?. and resort to any . means to ffifike his column add; blindly trusting to chance to hide his boodler efforts. And yet, the Pilot man, guilty as he is of all of the above doubtful practices, poses as a sample of party reform. “Turn the ring out” Give the Pilot man a chance if you want a taste of genuine boodler methods.

Charles E. Mills.