Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-05-08
Taxes.

a I
taxes, and there is no denying the fact
that our taxes are enormously high; but
how are we to remove the burden? We
need local improvements we need money |
tosdefray the expenses of conducting our |
various public institutions, and there are i
thousand ways that demand the use of
money, and this must be drawn from the
pockets Of the people in the shape of adj
valorem taxes. But, may not all these
improvements be made and these public
institutions be equally well sustained by
a more economical application of the
money thus procured? Are we sure that
we always get an equivalent for our
money we apply to the purposes above
named9
There are undoubtedly thousands of
dollars of the peoples money appropri-
ated in manner that is wholly useless to
the State or the locality where 1t is ex-
pended; and then, frequently, local i'm
provement is contemplated, and in the
absence of the cash with which to accom-
plish the object, the corporation, the
, township, or the county, resorts to the
, expediency of issuing bonds, in order to
procure the means-and this is always an
expensive mode of raising money. A law
a was passed by the Legislature of this
, State in 1876, in reference TO which, and
the increase of our State taxes, we said,
= in letter from the State Capitol, and
;, published in the HERALD of March 22d1
1877, that s'the design of the law was tc
prohibit the appropriation of money by
the officials sofincorporatedv villages, towns
and cities, unless the amount of money
~ was actually in the treasury of the mu
:, nicipality; that no money should, by or
dinance or otherwise, be appropriated il
advance of its collection from the tar
duplicate. But the law, regret to say
has almost entirely failed to secure tn
object for which it was intended; for mu
re nicipal corporations, like too many indi
m viduals in these days, are disposed to liv
at this year ON what they expect to max
l., next year. The result of the law referre
ne to, is that the amount of local legislatio
III has increased on our hands; for now,
e evade the provisions of the prohibitor
es law of last session, when any of these mt
w inequalities desire money (and have nC
lg got it, to make special improvement
their town or city, they rush into the Les
isIature with bill (backed up by the pt
titioners) authorizing their municipal al
thorities to obtain money for the specif
of object therein named, by the sale of bono
nd or otherwise; and the Legislature, wit
,o1 their liberal ideas of personal rights an
franchises, suppose the people to be c
pable of understanding their own nece
Ir. stiles and their abilities to meet their Ii
en- bilities, charitably concede to these 7
ath quests, and the result of this free al
me easy legislation is that the local indebte
ness, instead of being diminished, as
should be, will be increased in our Sta
pu many. hundreds, if not millions of dC
"a" lars. When the people complain Of t
10y burden of high taxes, may it not be tr
'er' that they do not take into considerati
the fact, that largely the greater portt
has of their taxes are self-imposed or asse
Az ed by their local authorities, for Loo
in purposes. The tax rate for general pI
ese, poses, while in the aggregate it seems i
due nense, is, III fact, the last portion of t
out tax we have to pay. OF course, we mi
raise money by taxation, to defray I
current expenses of conducting our
AXE cal or municipal governments. In @
th townships and counties we must ma
Cne roads, build bridges, school-houses, a
The support our liberal and excellent SYST
nth of free schools; all this requires of
md that we shall reach down into our poi
ates I3t Inc anG ho,,I ~ he eo 81
ously considered, whether it is wise
mortgage our homes and our farms to
edl- extent that will require years of toll q
lace taxation to cancel these liabilities