Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-02-02
Aancastrr fntelligenrer.
FRIDAY EVENING, FEB 2. 1893.
A Beautiful Confidence.

The tax bill proposed by the Grange
committee proposes to have all taxes COL
lected by boards Of control in cities anu
by the commissioners OF counties. AS
at present there are no such boards OF
control in cities, doubtless the Grange
committee proposes that the Legislature
shall elect them; but their creation
should have been provided for IN the
bill of the committee, which is moreover
very crude IN it's propositions for the
distribution of the proceeds of taxation.
This is to he done by the cities and coun-
ties a general fund is collected from
which the officers of the cities and
counties meet the acquisitions made upon
them by the officers of townships, Dor
ougbs, school districts, wards, cities and
state. The idea is to meet every expense
of public administration out OF one
fund. The amount required for county,
CITY, borough, township, school and road
purposes is to be fixed by the officers
who require them, and they are to be
collected by the counties and cities, and
are to be paid out of the common fund
on the requisition Of those for whom
they were raised.
The confiding character OF the Grange
committee who prepared this measure
has been illustrated in their conviction
that their fellow citizens will all cheer
fully report to the tax assessors all their
taxable property. This beautiful trait
of the committee is again demonstrated
in their confidence that all the town
ships, boroughs, school districts, &c.,
will make no greater demands upon the
county commissioners for their expenses
when they are to be paid out of a geneT-
al fund than they would if they had to
pay them out of a fund raised from the
pockets of their own peculiar people.
The briefest acquaintance with human
nature will tend to cast doubt upon this
faith of the Grange committee. The
people of the townships will he very
likely to want the best kind of macad
amized roads, and may even aspire to
the belgian blocks of the cities. The
country school districts will want as fine
school houses as any in the towns. Who
shall say them nay? DO they not pay
their proportion of the taxes in the
general fund. and should there not be an
equal and exact distribution of tina,
fund, and one that will enable every part
of the county to be provided with as
good things as any other part Are
the cities any better than the boroughs
or the borOughs than the townships
or course, the cities have 4 greaterropu
lation concentrated together than have
the boroughs, and the borOughs greater
than the townships Consequently theil
needs are different. and the taxes the,
pay per square foot Of ground are create
and would enable them to pay for thei
more expensive needs, il they were al
lowed to use them for themselves. Th'
country districts should be more modes
than to ask as much money to be ex
pended upon them as the cit.
districts require. But modest! i
not a particular characteristic o
most people. We fear that the ex
pertinent proposed by the Grange Gem
miitee would show that the rural dis
tricts ard tie small towns would wan
all that the big towns get, even though
they do moi contribute so mach to tls
general fund provided for the variou
expenses of the county.