Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-05-01
FIGURES DON'T LIE,
A Few That Are Full of Meaning fol
Farmers.

that the taxes required for county pur-
poses amount TO about the same rate. or
a total for State and County of IL per
cent. According to the biennial report
of the Auditor of State for 1SS7-SS,
Montgomery County pay taxes on the
following valuations
So, 3q5 acres of land valued at ...... sl.5 of5
Town lois N'tiueu at 49, ----'----..--. 13hil
Total valuc real estate and mp vm is sIal 500
Money ana credits valued at. -. ....S 2o,5S5
Other personally valued at..--........ ..SS1l
Total value of all property s4e!. 5sa
pr ct.
Real estate and improvements. .... -
Money and credits. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. .0t
Other personally -.
state taX....-.- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS S3,O,2.26
Total tax . S6l445
Estimating that one-half of the value
of the real estate and improvements
consists of improvements, which would
be exempt under the single tax, we
should have a fund of S95. SOB from which
to raise a tax Of So, 144.5a, which would
require a tax rate of 40 per cent.
Montgomery County is purely agri-
cultural county, having but a few small
villages within its confines.
Now compare its taxes with those of
Pulaski County, within which is stu
atcd Little Rock, the capital of the
State, where nine-tenths of the bank
ing capital, money and credits of the
State are found. and where, according to
popular error, the Single Tax would eX-
empt from public burdens the plutocrats
and owners of stocks and bonds:
80. $50 acres real estate and impv s., 43S ,3l
Town lots valued Observation-Disclosures. 5,339, ej3
Total value real estate and .mpvts s., %. PSI
Money and credits valued ut........S l2.S15
Other personally valued at...-........ =. lS",otl
Total value of personal property . s. &c
Total value of all property 10, 10a.6!0
Per Cent
S SG"sy f @"5 Sssa's ii: il.
State taX..--.- ..-....-..-.. -.-.S e., az s.
County taX.................-...... 63.l12.SS
Total sl2G, 3i5. 80
discriminating as with Montgomery
County that one-half of the real estate
and improvements represents the value
of the improvements, we have the sum
of So, sos, 642 from which to raise the to-
tai tax of S126, 345. rs which could be done
with a tax rate of 3&l per cent But the
State constitution requires the same
tax rate in all parts of the State. and so
the tax rate in Montgomery County
would be reduced to say per cent upon
its assessment, and raised to 5 per cent
in Pulaski County. Who would get the
best of it under the Single Tax, the
bloated bondholders of Little Rock or
ha han cd Of ni in,
gomery County?
But there is another thing these as
sessments show. The farmer very we'll
knows that there is great deal more
money in proportion to landed property
in Pulaski County than in Montgomery
County. Little Rock alone has in it
more money and more commercial cred
its (that is, debts owned by residents)
than the rest of the State. And yet the
pear to own four times as much money
and credits, and nearly three times as
much personal property as the wealthy
city men. How is this to be accounted
for, and how is it to be remedied?
1t is to be explained by the fact that
in Montgomery County the tax assessors
are generally the intimate friends of the
taxpayers; they know every head of
hogs, cattle, sheep, and horses that the
farmer owns, are fully aware when he
has loaned any surplus money he may
have, which is extremely rare, and are
fully informed as to the value of his
farm and implements, being them
selves owners of farms. In the city,
however, there is quite different state
of things. The tax assessors are
usually political ''heelers," who obtain
the Office as the reward of party service
at elections. and who are first, last and
all the time ''out for the stuff" They
are liable to be seen when it is to the
interest of large property owner, and
this operation has generally the effect
of causing temporary or partial blind
ness on the part of the assessor to the
real value of the said large property
owners possessions. But even when
the city tax assessor is honest, how
much more difficult q task is his than
that of his rural confrere. He must
assess from fifty to a hundred different
stocks of goods. to give the actual value
time of fifty experts in the various bust
nesSeS. He must know the cost of silks
and calicoes: horseshoe nails and fine
guns; flour and gun-powder; diamonds
and tinware; the tilmy fabric of French
laces and the rough cordage from Ma
nilia. He must be able to estimate the
cost OF buildings, from the marble man
sion of the millionaire to the wind !
swept shanty of the poor renter lie
must, to do his duty fairly, be able to
discriminate between the paintings of
Meissonier and the ''pot-boilers'' of
home talent: between the old tapestry +
which hangs in the wealthy mans hall /
and the cheap American replica which !
the humble imitator of his money /!
bags contents himself withal. III (
short. to fairly assess personal property /
in a great city is task which would re- /
1uire superhuman ability and more /
honesty than is readily tc be found in
these degenerate days. There is no +
such difficulty. however. in getting at /
bare land either in the city or the coun- /
try. In the city any real estate dealer /
IAN sit in his office and give you very
close to the cash value per front foot of .
any lot you may name; in the country |
any three; honest farmers can tell the /
value of anv given tract of land after
allowing fairly for the improvements
that have been put upon it by the energy
and enterprise of its owner.