Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1890-01-28
r,NItioN.

T,NAttoN.
Taxation. a. nov administered, la. .
poNerful infusnc, In shrinking the
value ~ farm property. In our system
- taNation the discrimination against
farm property. ani especially that ~
frm real estate, amount. t0 an Outrage
too gliriug "a D. endured. Tho.r Nh"
have not Investigated the bearing. II the
.Vsiem q. nos applied srr not aNafr of
the magnitude ot thi. Injustice. NEVER
IN 10. history ~ the state las u bofn"
lih such severity a. during thu lhsi dec
ads, aui in uo year 90 heavily a. ~ the
prr.snt time. All, ~ cour.e, arr TAMIL
lar With our .ystem. Oncr Ia ten year.
valuation I. lived by the state on
which the state ani county iaNrs ar an
nnally assessed during the next derndr.
Assessors ~ muniripaliti~. make q val
uailun annually on which all iaNrs Tor
the year arr apt.oftions,l among the tax
maven. II their town or city. MI afm
property 4. Visible aud uou. ESCAPES IA"
t..s..ur.' lists. Ordinarily Ia country
towns and rural distfict., for reasons
there I. not nov time to refer Ca, the
a.....or.' valuation of farm real estate
I. listed at the hlghc.t h-arable hgurr..
hi. l. generally found true. The.e
H.t. go Into the hand. ~ the state lie
c-nniil commission ani form the bi.l.
for the state valuation. True, this u
not n-c-..arily 80 by Law, bat practically
80 In fact. for how .enselc.s for . com
mission a. .sy 10 the assessors oi rural
town that the valuation made by thrm-
.cl,c. !. too high.
None of thi. apple. a. invisible prop
crty q. found IN trade, manufacture,
mortgage, stocks, banking, etc, nor
do-- II prrYail With real estate la elite.
aud manufacturing town.. Ia the farm
Ing town. the valuation ll.t- aggregate
more than th. property Nalu.'i Ill ca.h
for: la the elite. ani Ia all circlc- aside
from the farms, nO ope Will pretend tO
deny but the lst l. far short ~ full
value. In az far a. municipal eXpcnses
are concerned IL matters not how high
the valuation, provided II IL evenly
| placed. Hut not 80 With state and
county taNe. where the rural town i
pltis,i against the city aud It, half.hld-
lea values. In my own town for sever
al year. past the state and county tax
together ha. b--n just about twice the
municIpal expenses. Hence thl. inius-
iic- apple. to much the larger part oi
the tax assessed.
For each ~ th. two last decade. thi.
discrimination against farm property
Ia. horne with especial forcc. and par
ticularly 80 In the last ten. The shrink-
age II farm real estate Ia the last twenty
year. Ia. reached full ilfty per cent oi
Il. value. IN the last ten ~ these years
ia. .hrinkagc Ia. bcen thlrty-thrce per
cent with hardly selling demand left.
In thcs. same ten year. the property
anl brslne.s investments In the growing
town aud city have Increased, In the az
gregate, ai low estimate, az least tNrn-
ty-iiye per cent. With an under Nalua-
tlon on the Increase On the one hand,
and an oycr-yalustlon on the decrease on
the other. u I. easy "a hgurc that farm
property l. paving more than double u.
Iu.t share IL taxes. Besides, the man
In bushes. will put i've, ten, fifteen oi
more thousand. IL dollar. additional In.
Ia III. bu.lnc.. and no notice !. taken III
Il by the assessors, bat u a farmer puts
a new .hingie on hi- house (hgurati'elt
.peaking) h. l. taxed for IL. l. the mau
of means going 10 invest hls capital u
farm real estate under These conditions
Not he, II he .tudiously -huns such In
ye-tment. he aids Ia th. shrinkag- al
farm value. aud Ia the general depres'
.ion around him.
RrnrpIrs.
Ih... ar, some of the thumb screws
that are being .et upon the farmer and
hi. property, aud all that time will allow
to l.r noticed la thl. paper. u u no'
strange that farm rrai estate Il no, .ais'
ble. n :. No, surprising that productive
land. are ignored snd men seek business
ia town. II {. plain to see why th'
|. Young men leave the state and go west
Aud these are reasons enough why farn'
arr not appreciated. The ''de.ertet
farm.- of which so much has been al,
and written, aud the ''decliDe of New
England farming" what there u of u
over which the metropolitan papers ha''
been .o deeply Interested are accounte,
for under the.e same heads.
The remedy for this alarming eonil
iion of the agriculture Of the state u Ia
reversal of the causes which hav'
brought IL about;
i I. Money must be- kept at home, ant
IN the town where u IL made.
2. Investment la farm enterprise
/, must be promoted.
=. Agriculture must be fosiered b.
the state.
4. The discrimination In taxatio'
must be- reversed.
5. Public sentiment must BE- correct
I ed.
Q. Home advantages must he writteI
: up, talked mp, taught up, posted up an
. western bubbles blown yp, and th
? children brought mp with an apprecis
/ tiou Of our own surroundings.
al 2. Capitalists must seek Investment
!, In our own state.
: Can ell thls be dones Yes, II men
, esruest set about Il. The valuatio