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-HISTORICAL SOOIËTY OF MONTANA HfiUMA. i THE CARBON COUNTY CHRONICLE $2.50 PER Y'EAR —r x -—= RED LODGE, CARBON COUNTY, JjONTAXA., Wl.D.NKSLiAY, U( I'OULU : I'.'JI. VOL. 1, NO. 31. GOVERNOR DIXON USING METAL MINES TAX AS SAND BAC"-EDWARDS u a scorching letter on taxation ques-'j ition. Insists on debating campaign Issue with the Governor. Frank J. Edwards, Candidate for Gov-, ernor on Farm Labor ticket writes I ! Branding as a deliberate falsehood statements used by Governor Joseph M. Dixon in refusing to debate cam- on paign issues with Frank J. Edwards, ; gubernatorial candidate on the Farm- as er Labor ticket, Mr. Edwards has ' no written another letter to the gover nor, under date of October 16, renew ing the challenge and calling for a show down of facts. Mr. Edwards letter, in full, follows: I Helena, Mont., Oct. 16, 1924 Gov. Job. M. Dixon, State Capitol. Dear Sir:—In your speeches at Bil lings and Great Palls, you gave your reason for refusing to debate with me by stating that it was common talk, p that 1 am in the campaign to throw j mud for the interests at Butte and j that I am financed by the Anaconda 1 ! company. This, of course, is a deliberate false - 1 hood. There is no such common talk. | It is your talk and the common talk L of those who are in league with you Your whole public career is sur- ! P rounded by falsehood and intrigue, You were never elected to an of to loot the state. fice without the support of the Ana conda company. 1 have never had the support of the copper trust or the railroad trust nor of any of the entrenched Inter est*. And your intimation «r «»er to the contre-y camvrt be Ne u «*Wf on a single fact or circumstance. Your effort to evade the truth must be sup ported by falsehood. Unlike yourself, ! have never worn a copper collar. Unlike yourself, I never will. Your public career and conduct justify the assertion that a copper collar can be removed from and may be replaced around your neck at any time. You have made yourself the issue in this campaign. Your misrepresen tations and exaggerations are now the issues. Those matters of economic im- ! portance to this state and her people have been obscured through your po every move is by way of an indirect And characteristically, you f are now running for office with no definite corrective program and re lying entirely on the possible weak litical subtlety. I You never proceed directly. Your course. There may have been some honest nen with honorable intentions asso ciated with the drafting of the initial ed mines Ux measure which is now your alleged issue. However, your attitude in this direction savors of something known only to yourself.! You have stressed the importance of expert advice in tax matters and you were permitted to import a tax expert Mr. Nels P. Haugen, from Wisconsin, to assist you and yet in the most im portant tax matter and the one which you contemplate raising by far the greatest amount of revenue, you had seen to it that the name of Nels P. Haugen, tax expert, be completely dis aociated from the mines tax measure. Last March you said, under your ness of those opposing you. ■ signature, that the mines tax meas prepared by the "committee In July and since t be ure was on agriculture. 1 then you have been saying, mines tax measure was carefully pre pared by the "Montana Ux commis eion.' The nrnes tax measure having emi nated from at least two sources of oripin and none having expert ad vice from the indispensible Mr. Hang and the complete dissociation of yourself from all initiative procedure sociated with you. This is a matter of great public concern and tto facts should not be held from the public. These facts and others which ap pertain to the history and substance of tbe initiated mines tax measure should prove quite dearly, directly and circumstantially, thr' you, the gover nor of Montana, are personally and for personal reasons, associated with a! en, indicate the existence of a plan known only to you and to those secretly as plan that is in legislative circles, des igated a "sand bag." You have complained very tearful - y ()f th(J reactionary disposition of Montana legislators, and yet you have not explained how you are going to prevent the next legislature from re pealing the initiated mines tax meas ure, should it be favorably voted up on in November. Should the next legislature take to the copper collar as you have in the past, there will be no effect from the initiated mines tax measore even though the people vote favorably upon it. Speaking for myself, should the peo ple vote for the mine* tax and should I be elected governor and should the next legislature attempt to repeal the initiated mines tax measure, I will veto such repeal, and to the extent of my influence, I will endeavor to carry out the will of the people. This statement you have withheld, p ** now Perhaps, too late for such declaration on your part. And such declaration, at this late hour, would re< l u * re S' 0 ". for the first time, to ex press your confidence in the initiated mines tax measure, from legal and meritorious view points. Such declaration on your part would L °P erat * to your diwdvanUge should (you be re-elected and should the peo P !e fayor the m >nes measure and 'should you tocome desirous of defeat sucb measure at the next legisla tive session as a part of your obscured Your arinual *v«age deficit has not »been «"uch lea« than a million a year, 7716 mines tax contemplates addit on al revenue of only one-half "million. What provision have you advocated and which would take care of the re The greatest tax dodger in Lion- . tana—the one that owns the most property, makes the most money and pays proportionately far less taxes in I this state, is the Northern Pacific rail- j way company. Had you provided for | another one-half million taxes from program. The term "sandbag" as herein used may sound a little harsh or severe— but let us see. ! bave been in a position to claim credit 1 f° r *-° create sources of revenue fbat would enable the state to operate within its income under vr_ir maining deficit. the Northern Pacific, you would then mamurp j Then > >' our K reat symathy for the f ax P"yc r ® generally throughout the state would have prompted you to low-j er thelr taxes b >' «bating their bur den to " thers of our tax-evading mon ey-making institutions. I ment. L , W,th 8Uch P lan ,n mlnd there w ° ald have come under your observation, the radroa d s other than the Northern Pa c,f, c. The Montana Power company, the telegraph and telephone, express, Pullman, etc. The summation of your activities disclose • questionable effort on your P art 10 make Provision for only one-half of your annual deficit by levying a special tax on a producing in * industry while the remaining annual def 'dt and a reduction of tax es generally might have been provided ^ or by way of applying special taxes those which are essentially milking institutions, and which produce noth-; ' na ' " ave and except dividends tar their foreign owners. In announcing ycur candidacy for ■ governor four years ago you declared 'bat Montana would remain hopeless unless a constitutional convention were called to supply the very neces sar y remedies. Following your elec tion this great and only panacea for Montana's political and economic ills W8S forgotten by yon. This oversight n ' a y have been a P art ot y° ur ««cut deal w,th tbe Anaconda company when you «greed to the present one and one half tor cent mines Ux on "net pro ceeds. And the same declaratory sUte ">ent conUined a specific reference bbe MonUna Power company as a Ux evader. This also escaped your memory between the time of the 1920 campaign and the closing cf the 1921 legislature session. This may also bave been a part of your agreement in, connection with your one and one-half tor cent metals mines tax. a! (Continued on last page) Two Boys Are Sent To Industrial School he css of Andrew Mvrosh came for final hearing before Judge Robert C. Stong, und he was thereup on committed to the Industrial School at Miles City. The case of Julius Berg, also a de linquent, came up for hearing. The defendant and hie mother appeared and waived service of counsel and trial by jury. A hearing was had be fore the court and Judge Stong or dered the boy committed to the Indus trial School at Miles City. on Washoe Club Women To Have Big Day Nov. I Thirteenth Quarterly Convention of Carbon County Federation of Women's Clubs to be held at Washoe with the Washoe Women's Club as hostess, Saturday, Nov. 1. Program Morning Session 9:30 a. m. Mrs. C. C. Crossen, county president and Mrs. S. M. Soudera, past state president, presiding. Assembly Singing—"America The Beautiful." Invocation—Rev. Varner. Welcome Address—Mrs. Harry F. Thom, president, Washoe Club. Response—Mrs. F. B. Bates, presi dent Joliet Club. Secretary's report. Treasurers report. Piano Solo—Miss Gleason. Address—Mrs. C. C. Crossen. Assembly Singing. Brief explanation of the Iniative and Referendum Beasures—John T. Spencer. State Convention Report—by coun ty delegates. Afternoon session, 1:16 p. m. Song—"Out Where The West Be gins. „ , ftniertams A1 Jolson Anri HHior A And Utner Actors Address—"Woman's Place in Polît es," Mrs. S. M. Souders, past presi dent, Montana Federation of Women's Clubs. Duet—M rs. Pound and Mrs. George, Character Dancing—Miss MonvU Plunket. Address—"The Problems of Our Young People", Rev. Guy Winston Churchill. Reading—Miss Gosnell. . Violin Solo—Mrs. Westervelt. Reports of Committees, All sessions will be held in the Wa I shoe hall, j - | President CooHdgC I Î 1 ~ — Washin £ton—Presidential and stage hours clashed this morning at the j White House and at the conclusion of two hourg of roerry att ] e it wag dec i ared a draw , John DreW| A , Jolgon and about 4Q otber mernberg 0 f tbe Coolidge and Dawes stage club won in determining the hour for a breakfast engagement by arriving at the White House at 9;30i after the pregident had waited an hour and a half past his usual breakfaat time Mr Coolidge gtepped from tbe are . na of wjt and fun however> promp tiy Bt 10;30 to meet the cabinet at the rcgular houI>i jugt M hig gueJ|ta jn the mld8t of a serenade were ^ in thc chonig of <. Kecp X.lidg« " It WRg a HveJy morning ' in the breakfaBt and later an the whitÆ Houge |awn wherg the actorg enter _ uined Mr amJ Mrg Coolidge mt onIy w j tb gongg bu t w j(j, impromptu gpeecbeg Jolson mixed in a few "presidential j 0 k eg " and waa successful in his threat to make Mr. Coolidge "b ugh 0 „- i oud »> when jt came the glng j ng of cam . paj(rn gon( , s Mrg c^j^e joined ini with an enthusiastic soprano. VISITING WITH PARENTS Miss Marea Martin returned Friday from Great Falls, after three years nurgeg training, to visit her parents Mr and Mrg M E Martin of thig CHy after two yearg and nine monthg training in Bozdman Miss Martin graduated last Spring from the Boza man D eacone8g HospiUl at Bozeman, Montana and took SUU Board exami a nation in Helena, She then went to Greatfalls and took special work in i, abrutory and x . ray Migg Martin expecta to resume her work after a ghort time in, --—_____ John G s k i nner and F w . Lyle made a business trip to Roscoe on (Wednesday. FATAL ACCIDENT ON Tuesday affe»#JOn at about three o'clock Louis OwkK i of Washoe was »bile accident at the killed in an as 1 Foot of Bearci ■ hill. Five persons riding tile Ford car, including were Mr. Gruden, Ut daughter who was I- Rado Tuscan, who lot fatally inju ed. driving the c«f was seriously, i no one seem. w the accident occoMWÉL except when the young lady .ppu* the breaks, that the car kept « Joing faster until it finally overtu rn e d, pinning her com pletely under til#" rar. She escaped with slight bmtl» Rado Tuscon is at the Reed hoiffital at Bearcreek, While Dr. is attending him reports that hi» «éhdition is somewhat i better, he cootA Hot state whether he would recover from the accident or Louis Grudef.J* survived by one ! daughter, ago* 'Dim years and two : stopdaughtem, '12 and 16. Mrs. I Gruden waa #*»jed several years I ago, after ntf^Mbne the father was ' compelled to his children in an orphans' homtf Be came to Washoe and secured ««*, saved his money not I and built a ho aee and then brought his family %0 fife with him. The sympathy ofm««>inuinity i 8 extend-, ed to hia itniijilrr in their sad loss, j I , WOMEN ING [ women of Red fing at the Court |t 1:30 P. M., which : [by Mrs, R. A. Nut fcumming of Miles j [ladies, first taking R» men can play in The Repul Lodge held a House on sFrt I men I „ _ .. 1 ur' A ' j W ® » X l grateful to a Republican administra - 1 was prosijgl a«| ting. Mrs. j^ J. Clly talk«« j| up the part ^ bringing about success for the Repuh I been ticket. She said that the LaFol Î lette force« are well organised and have plenty of money, and she was surprised to find in her travels atout the state, that the Independent candi date had many ardent workers. Mrs. Gumming urged the women to start in at once and work hard to get out a large Republican vote and made the statement that 45 per cent of the vote cast in Montana was cast by the wo ition and a Republican'^Congress for g iv i ng U8 the vote. Five times in six years) women asked for suffrage and every time the democrats saioiu cred the request. When the suf frage bill came before the Republican Congress, in just two weeks, the bdl was passed ratifying this amend ment." ou , , .. She 8 ®° ,poke the Ch ' d Lab ° r bU1 Bnd the Womens Minimum Wage ^ bo*-* 1 and suggesting that the women . need not ^ 'n'« r ested in politics or h * ve 8ny P ol ' ,lcal amb t10 "' should be interested in seeing that the l»™ »re passed which will to of great benefit to them and to the coun try ' thu * protectlria *** future mother ' hood of the nation and preserving, «ther than destroying childhood, and _ in this way the women really exercise their rights. ® 4r *' Gumming offered suggestions of various ways that the women might employ in getting out a large vote and encouraging thc busy housewife to go b b® polls on election day, thus show ing her appreciation of the gift of . suffrage. ini After Mrs. Cumming's talk, there was a short discusaion among those present and it was decided to orga nize a Republican Women's Club in Red Lodge, and also to organize clubs in other towns :n Carbon County. Mrs. Minnie Downard waa chosen chairman to perfect these organizations, it ik, the pbin of thc women to hold a gen eral maSR meeting which will be for the purpose of bringing all the women together. This will be entirely in formal and the women hope to have some of the principal Republican can to didates make talks at this meeting. in the date of which will be announced later. a — | Henry Cranfill has returned to Bear ! creek from Mullen, Idaho, after an ah sence of eight months. Mr. Cranfill on reports the Coeur d'Alene district In good shape The absent voters ballots are ready for all voters who are qualified to vote and will not be in the county on the day of election. Quite an inter est is being shown by absent voters, there being more than 100 applica tions on file when the ballots were re ceived. Any one who is to be absent from their voting place may secure one of these ballots from County Clerk C. E. Thompson. Farmer-Labor Electors • , - , . , __ Ask Independents' Vote Banner-Labor party of Montana, Ella ^° rt ^ ut Bearcreek and J. M. Johnson of Helena ' h «ve presented Frank In man ' aet,nK manager of the Montana cam P ai «' n for LaFollette and Wheeler, wltb s '*U'ed statements, he says, call infJ u P° n their fH »-nds not to vote for Two presidential electors of the them but to vote for the LaFollette " beeler Independent electors. A third 8uch BUtomt ' nt is expected to be ob Umwl from 0116 uthur Farmer-Labor eiector ' Inman 3Uld - withi " a al >ort t,me * •'•""•»y the same as that signed in Helena by J. M. Johnson says: I The telegram received from Ella Lord, which contains a statement sub ' l ' as one oI the Farmer-Labor elec tors ' bel "*viug it to be for the best j lnterest uf the LaFollette-Wheeler In I dependent ticket respectfully ask that the voters of this slate and my friends vote on November fourth for the elec , tors on the Independent ballot. I taking this position sincerely trusting that my statement may help to in sure the election of LaFollette and Wheeler." am MTS. t CrgUBOH Qualified : j Austin, Texas.-An injunction to prohibit the name of Mrs. Myrlam A. Ferguson, Democratic candidate governor in Texas, from going on the j ballots was denied by the Texas *u reme court today. The court also held that Mrs. Ferguson was qualified i in every way to hold office, if elected. I The court declared invalid that por tion of the statute seeking to give a private individual the right to bring suit to test the eligibility of a candi date for election. The eligibility of the candidate is exclusively within the I P° wcr of the legislature as laid down 1 by the constitution said the opinion. l by the constitution said the opinion, - 1 According to Ruling Shooting of Dan Mc Grew" May Have Had ^ ^ Setting in Missoula Missoula—A story baa been circu lating in Missoula recently to the ef 'f® 4 that the tr «K«dy w Wdi is'the r theme of Robert Service's poem, "The Shooting of Dan McGrew," had its 8t,irt on Weat Frunt ' b * Gor den fity According to the story,I Dan Mc Grew, later known as "Dangerous Dan." was an ordinary gambler Fic t lon. too, has it that the woman known ag Lou, also was here with a home ' on { j nto the midst of this compatible pair) it j B «aid. cgme a piano player f rom the East ivho stole Lou away ) from Dan. So f*r, to good. Then the scene shifts from the F'.ast to Alaska, the setting of the immortal poem. Mc Grew went nckth and swaggerd among the rospeating camps as "Dan gerous Dan," an appellation of his own selection and, it i< said, wholly in con I sistent with hia niakeup. i There McGrew found Lou again, the - «tory goes, dancing in the Malamute aa l°on while her husband played—ami in 7>an won L*>u back again. The end is ^ ound ' n the poeni It is averred by the narrators that Lou later on r'^ 8 toner and settled down to nro ik, saic respectability. 7 r ~ i - Like Father, Teddy mar Eimira, N. Y.—Theodore Roosevelt, Republican candidate for governor, said Saturday that if he became gov-j emor he would continue his fight for a law making it a misdemeanor pun ishahle by a $500 fipe for a landlord to bar children from his premise».« In Fights For Children Have you a house or appartments to rent 7 Let us help you. "bSERICKSON promises to WIPE OUT OVERDRAFT WITH NO TAX INCREASE Charges Extravagances of Dixon Administration And Promises to Abolish Useless Boards And Commissions. J. E. Erickson, Democratic nominee for Governor on Thursday night addressed n large audience at the Beartooth theatre here, in which he as sailed the present adrnnisratiun as hing the most extravagant in the his tory of the state. He told the people how, if he were elected governor of Montana, he would hold down the expenditures of the general fund until the debt were entirely wiped out, which he said he could do in four years, if given the chance. Judge Erickson gave figures which had been obtained from State Audi- j tor Porter, and which he said was the ' best authority he was able to obtain, and in the course of his speech ho said; "On October 12, 1922 Senator B. C. White of Buffalo addressed an inquiry to Geo. P. Porter, State Auditor, ask-'ent ing him to state exactly what the ov erdraft was on the General Fund of the State of Montana on 1921. lowing: January 1st, I In reply, he received the fol 'Dcar Sir:—In response to your in quiry I beg to state that the overdraft. on the state of Montana January 1st, i 1921 was $1,257,869.02, as per the books and records in this office. Vcry truly yours, GEO P PORTFR State Auditor. 'Hon. B. C, White, State Senator, Buffalo, Montana. ... ., , . . , 1st S t° n Ï r ' Hry Imoumin* *ml , W T ry,iU,t "'X ! , ù I. 1 ' " * Urplu * U ' Vy ' J ** n Created für fori^T the stat,r M T ,um j , * Um ; 8,1 of L the !* tMr *' Lansferred to the General ! , was ala0 ?ld00 ' <K>0 i« , i fund leviwi after the various ^ 8r had ceased, Th.s amount ^ as «-kew.se transfarred to the gener-' 8 f " nd ' 80 that in real,t y the «ver ™ January 1st, 1921 was less than three lIuarten ' of a dollars. Lenersl Fund Levy Increased | In ortl ' ir to provide sufficient rave- j nue to run the «tat« government and ! to take up the floating indebtedness at that time, the people in 1920 authorm ed an increase in the general levy one mill on every dollar's worth of pro-. perty in the state, for the benefit of of the general fund. This additional levy produced during the 22-23 additional of years 1921 revenue for the slate. amounting to $1,298,607. New and Special Taxes "The legislature of 1921 also posed a general tax on coal, crude oil, Cement, gasoline and increased the METALIFEROUS MINES TAX mill and a half on net proceeds of the mines. The fees of the were doubled. Im a secretary were collected H f ° m o, TÙ * ources were collected during the three year period above named $1,266,000. This together with the increase of the gen eral levy amounts to over $2 600 000 of new revenue for the state Remem ber this all went into the state treas 5 no part of which found its Into any of the counties, have enabled the state administration to pay up the three quarters of a mil lion indebtedness which it found and way It should keep the state on a cash basis. "But what do we find In the ord 7 We find that on the 80th day of of June, 1924 the general fund overdrawn $3,596,568.46, an increase in the overdraft of the general fund of more than $2,500,000 in three and u half years of the present administra rec was Win. This is the record. These figures have been used on stump and in the press for some time, and they have never been rfuted, and no one has ever challenged their cor rectness. They show that since the nresent administration the burden of taxes has incrased abnormally, and that the indebtedness has likewise in creased. The general fund of the state is overdrawn more than $3,500, 000 and will probably be overdrawn four million before the end of the year, "MV PLEDGE" "If elected governor I will conduct the business of the state on a cash hag's, psvir.g as we go, and will wipe out the present general fund indebt edness of $3,596,000 during my ad ministration and this without any in crease in your taxer, I have been challenged to tell how I ran make this saving I accept the challenge, Under the expenditure called State (Capitol Boards, Commissions and De pnrtment*, the figures under th* pres administration for the three and « half years is $473,315,66. In the event nf my election as governor I W 'H t ut the expenses of these depart men ts and give you the same service as you received under the previous administration. The cost of running elective offices under the present ad mi nistr«tion is $136,017.16 greater than lt WUH under lhv toevlou* "dmin i8rution ' An lontr uh1 am on the Büard ,,f Kxunl >ners. I will reduce thoH '' ex tonditure« 1» a reasonable fig ure ' ,bttt Governor Stewart Conduct I invite your attention to the ed the state government for the three and a half year period from July 1, 1017 t» December 31, 1920 under a "l expndilure of $10,840,626.56; while it costs the present administra tien to run the governmen) for the same length of time January 1. Bf2l to June 30, 1924 a total o t $13,224, 0 82 Thi() ,, „„ incmia# of $2 ,584, 165.26 under the present administra ljon< Governor Stewart ran the gov Krnmcnt umler th , handicap of peak of war prieeg) whi , e the J)resenl ad . min i»tration had the advantage of the (ie clininfir prices of everything pur (chl4od by the stMe . By , imply ho i d . ing the state expenditures down to the Stewart expenditures, the general fund debt can he wiped out and a large sum applied to other funds in four years. MY RECORD "I have been charged with being favored by the big interests of this state. If this means that in the event of my election as governor 1 will treat the corporations of this slate, fairly and justly, treat them the same as I do the farmer, the laborer and the small business man, well and good But if they mean that I will be the plain tool of certain big corporations of this state, then I hurl the dirty charge back into their teeth and ask tbenl ^ exam j ng my aB a c j b . ixen of Montana, which is " F ° r thirty year * 1 have livod ln 8 * ma11 t ° W " in "«Hhwestern Montana,, pr8Cti " inK my P rofeMion in • n'o^e« 1 W " y- Farm '' n, and lab «rer» and small business men have been my clients Four years ago I was selected chair an open 1 ,n .* f,ffht with an empty treMury " with half of the Democratic party de serting its standard and we went man of the State Central Committee and with my assiiciates fought a los , ductl "8 a campaign that resulted in the election of Burton K. Wheeler to • the l,enut «- 1 have "«ver bad the much-talkcd-of big corporations for my clients—I have never rendered them any service, I have never with the party to defeat and disaster. Again two years ago I was continu ed as Chairman and assisted in eon- < , ed 8ny Km °l ume to from them, and am 1 to ° oId m,w to * el1 my * oul an * m V integrity to any interest or any cof^ poration. receiw "I expect to play he game to the ns I believe I will be, I serve notice years, and if I am elected governor, ns I heliev I will be, I serve notice" now that I will assume the duties of the high office with out any strings to it. these come with poor grace from one who was made United SUte Senator, and who four years ago was elect ed tovemor of this state by the very interests to which he charges I be (Continued on page 10.) In any event such charges as