sion on the question of couuty fi- nances. The Republican organs of course do not desire to state the truth, at least they do vot. The auditors’ report for 1602, made in February, 1903, the year the last Republican board of commissioners went into office shows tha! they found a balance in the treasury of $25,000.00. At the settlement for the year 1905, which was filed in February, 1906, there was found to be an indebtednbss of $32577.72 There was, however, more indebtedness existing than the sum reported by the auditors. This amount wes at least $5200.00 The various items of indebtedness which are contained in the last item were well known to the outgoing board, but they failed to report them or leave any evidence of their exis- tance on record, and their claims were not known to the present board until after the county statement fr 1905 was made public. The real debt therefore at the end of 1905 was $38,277 72, possibly more. The Republican board therefore had gotten away with the balance of $25 - 000.00 on hand at the end or 1802, and left a debt of $38,277.72, they therefore expended during their term of three years $63 277.72 more than their in- come. The income for 1905 at 3 mills on » valuation of $11,936,912 00 is only $35,- 810.73. When commissions and ex- onerations are taken from this amount there is not over $30 000 00 remaining Other revenues of the county come from the return of state tax, on maneys at interest, tax on unseated lands, and a small sum from liquor licenses, and some from the tax duplicates of pre vious years, but all told the annual income fell far short ¢f meeting the great expenditure made eac:: year hy the last board of commissioners Ro that counting the surplus they found on baod and the debt they left going out of office, they had expended during their term of office, $683 277 72 more, at least, thao they took in. It certainly was not good manage ment to let the revenues run behind a reasonable and just expenditure, They had it absolut in their power to keep the county of debt. They knew, or ought to have koown, what and Of iy out PENROSE ANv THE FARMERS A special plea is made by The In- quirer to the farmers of the State to keep Penrose in the Senate by electing Penrose Benators to the Legislature. Penrose is needed, The Inquirer would have farmers believe, to keep the Canadians from invading the Pennsyl- vanis markets with their poultry, butter, eggs, wheat and oats. The in- telligent farmers of this State very well understand that they are obliged to sell their surplus of farm products in the same markets with Canadian farmers and to accept the same prices When we become heavy importers of farm products the farmers may have the opportunity to add tariff rates of duty to the price at which they sell; but pot till then. Protection doesn’t protect the farm- er; but it puts the tariff screw upon him every time he drives a protected nail into the protected lumber of his house or barn, or builds 8 rod of fence with pro'ected wire, or buys a pro- tected machine from the Harvester Trust, or a protected sewing machine for his wife, or wakeo up in the morn- ing to dress himself in protected shirt, coat, breeches and hat, eat his break- fast oft protected pottery, put in his winter wheat with a protected plow and harrow, and when he goes to sleep al night wrap himself in a protected blanket. Ob yes, the farmers are! beginning to find out how thoroughly | they are * protected.” Penrose has | heiped “protect’’ them, after the man- ner of his kind. They need him some | more, A mau of the type of Fred Bmith, of | Rush township, ought to receive the | support of the voters all over the county, no matter what their political | beliefs are, in preference to Mr. Hur. | ley, the candidate from Philipsburg, who just bicame a resident of this Probably he left Biair county becanse he was office hungry, and thought the chances better in Centre ( where he was little known ) to get on the Republican ticket. Fred Smith has long been a resident of this county, and has interests here that will keep him within the county. With Hurley it Is different. He might leave any day that he thinks there is no chance for an office, S—————— ee —————— The arbitrary man has nothing to commend him ss being fitted to fill a public office. Keep shy of him. No self-respecting Republican can vote the full Republican county ticket. on November 8rd. dently they did not. Heretofore, in the issue of September 24,1908, it appeared that the present board expended in 1007, $18,666.58 less than @id the other board in 1905, The present board, the msjority of whom are now before the people for re-election, have been as generous in building bridges, or more than the other board. They have paid $7500.00 to the building of a soldier's monu- ment, they paid $600.00 reward offered for the recapture of the prisoners, who, after having killed Jerry Condo, es- caped because there was no one about the jail to prevent their walking out, With all this the present board gets along with an expenditure of $18,666 56 less than did their predecessors, Much is made of the fact that millage was increased from three to tive mills. That this was necessary was clearly demonstrated by the last Republican board. They undertook to get niong on three anills, and left a Inrge debt for thelr successors to meet, The assessed valuation of the county taxable far county $12,227 { Bross ) the purposss is now 135 00, five mills on this yields $61,135 67. 'ske from this the commission for collectors, exoner- ations errors, and there is not turned into the treasury of the county mare than $54,00000. Two mills on this valuation for ernvenience would net §24 000.00 a year, or $458 000 00 for two years. Out of this sum the pres, nt board has paid about $30.000 00 of the debt left by the old The voter will bear in mind that the tax levy for 1908 is not yet collected and is taken into consideration in this statement, and when the Gazette in- and board. not ints that $72,000 00 has been" realized, it is done for the sole purpose of mis. leadiog the people From the expenditure of the board which went out of office at the end of 1905, and from the fact that the expen diture for 1907 was $98 600.98 it is clear that the eounty cannot be run on a three mill tax » year. The expendi. ture for 1907, had there been no debt, would nbout $15.000 less above given. With this showing, which is absolutely trae, have heen than the amount the members of the present board now before t' « people should be re-elected by 8 very large msjority. Ambrose Bloteman, (he clerk for the Republican board of county commis #loners who left Centre county in debt for some $40 000, made osth that the millage for county tax would have to be raised at least two and one-half mills. His calculations were that it would require 5 mills to pay the ex- penses of the county. The present Democratic board followed, and they succeeded in conducting the business of the county on a less millage, and at the same time adopt and carry out a pay as you go policy, wiped out the debt created by a Republican board of commissioners and have a cash bal- ance on hand, Such management entitles Messrs. Dunlap and Weaver to a continuation in office. If every voter could see the financial needs of George F. Weaver ; if every voter could réalize hia ability from an educations! stand-poiot; if every voter could compare the two men— Mr Weaver and Mr. Taten—Mr. Weaver wonld receive nine-tenths of the votes cast on November 3rd. Mr. Weaver is a one-armed man ; has always been obliged to struggle to earn a livelihood, Mr, Tuten never did a day's manual labor in his life ; never knew want in his life ; has held office for three years, and duting that time was 80 much absorbed in the news- paper work that he bas not even learn- ed the routine duties pertaining to the office of Register. A vote for Mr. Weaver will be a vote to lift a poor, worthy man from want. And he will ——— A ——— If you vote for Fred Smith for sheriff you will be supporting a man who has paid taxes in this county for many years. He did not come to this county on an office hunting expedition, he is a fixture here. He is an honest, up right gentleman, with a spotless record. His neighbors speak of him of a man who is deserving of recog- nition, A A A AAA Taylor-Hurley-Brown — that Is a combination. Birds of a feather flock together. The voter who knows the character of Taylor will be able to Judge his associates. I — A ——— The present Democratic county com- missioners practiced economy when. ever possible, and in doing so acted fair to everyone. J. C. Meyer, Ee¢q., the Demcoratic candidate for assemblyman, Is not a vile man, You ean vote for him with 8 olear conscience, FASE In the last issue of the Keystone Ga- tended to do harm to F. F. Smith, of Rush township, the Democratic nomi- The item is reprinted in full, with the full knowledge that it is false from top to bottom. The voter ean judge for himself whether the Gazette was warranted to make the charge after reading the letter ap~ pended forwarded by Mr. Smith, The Gazette cannot claim that it was misinformed, because the figures given by Mr. Smith are on record and could easily have been obtained. When the truth does not serve the Gazette it does not hesitate an {ostant to use a falsehood, Here is the Gazette's statement : The Democratic papers have been making such a tremendous hullabaloo about Fred ¥. Bmith, the Democratic candidate for sheriff, baling such an extensive farmer, that we have been lead to make inquiry, and upon investigation find that his “ farm, " which is located in Rush township, contains nineteen acres and 20 perches, nest measure, This, however, is not his entre “farm " as that embraces the whole of Rush township, since he drew within the last two years over $700.00 from it as Hosd Master; apd when a * farmer * is able to draw more than ove dollar a day from his township for each working There is symethiog ust know where received to the tax-payers. wrong somewhere and we don't | it is He pcemas to be a Sova To quote a min correctly is to use bis own language. This was done in the case of the Gazette, and now Mr, Smith's letter is printed bere. There is a diserepency. How shall this te adjusted ? The Gazette simply mnkes a slatement without quoting authority, while Mr. Bnith quotes records. Tho records will Giszelte must be the falsifier Mr. Smith says : PHILIPERBURG, OCT MR 8 W SMITH, Editor Oentre Reporter the the from sland, i slre i DEAR BIR in the last issue Keystone which Is made the Insinuation het | am po farmer because f land in Rosh township, and have received s salary of $700 00 as road master of same he facts are that! land and have, by hard knocks and great care made them (oto = little farm made sod am making a and family Pa. vindiy deny the alisck upon me of the Gazelle fownshij own thinty+lx acres of now living for mywlf The records show that for the year of 1906 | $255 00 for my services in that capacity. Yours respectfully, F. F. SMITH. mm —————— Exciting vongressions! Contest The Barnesboro Star, published by John C. Miller, formeriy of Bellefonte, says : We learn that there is a spirited contest for Congress in the 21st dis. trict, between the present incumbent, Charles F. Barclay, Republican, of Sinnamaboniog, and W. Harrison Walker, Esq., Democrat, of Bellefonte. Although the district is strongly Re- publican, the friends of Mr. Walker express strong hopes of his election. Mr. Walker is one of the prominent attorneys at the «entre County Bar, and immensely popular in that coune ty, and io fact has a large following wherever known, not only in his own party but on the other side as well, He is a mao of scholarly attain- ments, of strictest intergrity, and if elected will, without doubt, represen his constituents conscientiously and be a credit to the district. He is a wise and prudent politician and indefatig- able worker, two qualities that count in a political eampaign. His antagonist realizss the condi. sion of affairs and is making a heroic effort to keep his party voters in line po