The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-09-03

gymen will be present and ohiciate,
Terre Haute Express.
tFrom the Indianapolis JournaIJ
Democratic Taxation.
We made an exhibit yesterday OF
the comparative average taxation for
county and township purposes 81
Democratic and Republican counties
| in this State, the data of which were
furnished from official sources, By
which it appears that the former tax
| their property 81 20 on the 800
| while the latter tax but 81 cents on
the 500. The difference In favor oil
the economy, honesty and intelligence
of Republican local administration is
80 cents on the 500. That is upon
its face, blasting fact to Democratic
pretensions to the possession of pow
| err. and combined with the record of
their 81, $500 losses by theft, forgery
and increase of the public debt in the
State administration, makes such an
argument of incempetency and dis
honesty as no other party could sum-
mon impudeDoe enough to face for a
moment. But the argument is seen
to be of double force when closely ex-
amined. One dollar and twenty-nine
cents tax on the hundred dollars of
assessed value of properly for purely
| local purposes-for the State taxes
ara not included-is by far the most
Onerotss burden the people haze TO bear.
Mark this: for it is the secret of ep-
pressive taxation, and the utter refu-
tation of all Democratic clamor
against high taxes. The average
of Democratic county and town
ship taxes is 81 % On the 800.
The State taxes are: State 10
cents, schools Is cents, sinking fund
10 cents, or Al cents altogether on
each 500. Democratic local taxation,
therefore, Is more than three times as
Larqe as the GchOLe Of the State t0Ddtion
Is not this an ugly fact to be faced
| by a party that has no war cry, no ar
gument, no appeal, but high taxes"
and the burthens of the people? F"
The shameless bypocrites who them
selves, where they have the pow
er tax the people three times as much
as the State government doesl Tho
| heaviest taxes paid In Indiana to day,
are paid upon the exactions of Dem
ocratic local administrations. They
clamor at the Republican assessment
| for State purpose of Al cents on the
800, and yet think nothing of taxing
81 80 to 50 for county purposes. These
local taxes are the burdens that press
the farmer heaviest. He pays the gen.
| eral government little or nothing. He
pays the State but 81 10 on the 81 ,000
But he pays Democratic county plum
derers and thieves from so to $50
on each 81 900. Here is where the
load hurts. Every spring, when pay
| day comes round, he must make up
So to pay for Democratic county
mismanagement, to where he makes
up 81 to pay for the Republican man
agement Of State business. LIE the
taxes were always kept clearly separ-
ated, the State from the county, the
tax payer would soon learn to dis
| tinRuish to which party he was in-
debted for three -fourths of all he had
to raise; but he pays in lump, and
only knows the taxes are enormous"
Indeed they are, and nowhere nearly
so heavy as In Democratic counties.
Let US look at another phase of this
matter of local taxation. There mast
be dishonest or incompetent manage
ment in a local administration that
spends two or three times as much as
another local. administration IN a
county of the same or lager popula-
ton and value of property. Now take
few cases of this kind. Boone
County is Republican, Clinton is
Democratic, and both havo been po
litically unchanged for ten years, at
least. The valuation of property
ty in Boone is S8,311, $40. In
Clinton it is $6,988 060. A diff
ference IN favor of Boone of about
81, 5000 Now see what the differ
ence between Democratic and Repub-
lican county management amounts to !!
With 0Re-ffth more property, Repub-
lican Boone pays for county purposes
| but S22, COB, while Democratic Clinton
pays $50,024 Democratic manage
ment, with less property, costs more
than tt1ice as much as Republican
management. just so it has been IN
the State administration. Just so it
| is In Shelby and Rush.
Shelby is Democratic, Rush is Re-
publican, and both have been many
years unchanged. They lie side by
side, are populated by the sans class
of inhabitants, with the same pur-
suits, have the same natural adVan-
tages, and possess very nearly the
same value Of taxable property. Shell
by has SO, 773, 225, and Rush has $12,-
O86,7 D, just about the same difference
in fay VI of Rush that there is In ia
vor OF Boone in the preceding COM
parisol. The Republican county has
about 81 800, 900 more property than
the Democratic county. Yet Repub-
lican Rush collects for county pur-
noses sol O33 %, while Democratic
Shelby collects $54, 189 SO, more than
twice as much. =,
Take another case. Allen is the
strongest Democratic county in the
State. Wayne is the strongest Repab
lican county. The former is the
longest settled, but the latter is By
much the most rapid in growth. Both
are thriving, .enterprisiDg counties,