The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-12-26
against the property of each township
ia a fnlloyys.
REHABILITATION AND COMMENT.

summing up OH ehooo as W
find the grand total of taxes to be
raised in Allen county this year to be
s114,O25.I1. But of this sum only
$50, 633 6O,-the State fund and the
county general revenue--can by any
stretch of imagination be charged to
any political party, for all the other
expenses, for schools, bonds, bridges
and roads, are laid by the people
without distinction of party, directly
upon themselves. And it is really
not fair to charge all of the State fund
and county general revenue to any
party, for a large part of both these
funds is devoted to the payment of
expenses that are inevitable and can
not be controlled by any party. But
even taking the EXTREMIST view, the
Republican party can be held respon-
sible for less than one third of our
county expenses.
But throwing aside partizanship
and looking at these figures only as
citizens, the question we have to con-
slider is: If our taxes are too heavy
where can we begin to cut them down?
The largest single item is the school
tax. Are we paying too much for our
schools? That is a question every
district can answer for itself, for the
matter is one upon which every citi-
zen, male and female, has an equal
voice. The REGISTER can only say
that it is proud of community which
is willing to spend more for schools
than for any other one thing.
The next largest single item is the
county general revenue fund. This is
the fund out of which the salaries
court costs and other cure Mt expenses
are paid. 1t is quite general i'm
preston that the larger part of this is
paid out in salaries. As a matter of
fact only $500 of it goes that way.
Wipe out the salaries altogether and
it would only make a difference of IL
cents on each hundred dollars valua-
ton. By far the larger part of this
fund is used in paying court expenses
and here in our Judgment is where
the biggest cut should be made. And
yet after all it is the action of indi-
vidual citizens largely that piles up
these expenses. Some dozen or more
citizens joined in a raid to try to take
a prisoner from an officer, and after
wards the prisoner was killed,-and
the county is paying hundreds of dol
lars to punish the crime. One pair of
boots delivered wrongly to a man in
Moran cost the county $500. A man
in Elsmore didn't want to work his
road tax and it cost the county Sl2O to
compel him to work it. A dispute
over a steer in Humboldt township
threatens to run up bill of hundreds
If dollars against the county. And so
t goes. True, some money might be
saved by reducing the fees of officers.
But that would be but a drop in the
bucket. The saving that would count
must come from the course of indi-
'idual citizens. Road damages is an
'ther thing that figures largely in this
und, and this rests entirely with in
lividual citizens. A citizen of Hum
ooldt township, for example,-the
nan who had more "p'ints" to give
Turing the late campaign on the reck-
ess extravaganza of Republican Of
icials than anybody--was mainly iu-
trumentaI in stirring up a road con-
est that cost the county $500. The
,osts have been similar in other cases.
Necessary, perhaps, but dependent
ntirely upon individual citizens and
lot chargeable to any party.
We have not space for farther COM
nent at this time. And it is prob
bly, not necessary, for the figures are
here to speak for themselves. We
lope every citizen will study them
arefully. Such study will enable
linn to answer great deal of dema-
'ogical talk that he will hear from
'arious quarters, and it will show him
ust where he must "scrimp" to lessen
he burden of taxation.