The Portland daily press., 1891-01-28
LEcruRE ON rAx REFORM.
Address Delivered TO Citizens Of
peering by L. 8. bennett, ESQ.

Liberty B. bennett Of this city delivered
an address at Lewis Hall, Woodford's, last
evening upon the subject Of the equality Of
taxation aid the remedies. he first de-
scribed the different kinds of taxes, town,
county and stats. declaring that in the past
20 years Deering had paid over $4,000 In
state taxes beside raising money for pur-
poses of the town. he then passed to the
proposed remedies for this state Of things,
making town pay for Its own needs and
tnen paying large additional sum for out
side purposes. He said:
There Is an easy way, and without inius-
tice to any one, but In accordance with
justice, to take this burden Of state taxation
from the towns and cities aud place IL where
II properly belongs upon those vast proper
ties which are now taxed so dlminutively as
to excite astonishment when the petty sums
are stated And yet these properties are
among the most valuable and productive Of
the state.
The "wild lands" as they are properly
called, situated In the unorganized town
ships OF the state escape with a tax OF less
than s3o.ooo. Tho territory whicn tney
cover Is so immense that II exceeds the areas
Of Massachusetts and Connecticut. lhe
statement OF this fact Is plenty proof Of the
previous Injustice to all other tax payers Of
the state. The greater part Of the soils upon
which these forests crow are naturally pro-
ductive Of timber. There are sterile spots,
but the average ID certainly fairly productive
of some kind Of timber, and growing more
valuable every decade. both from an ever In
creasing demand and rapidly diminishing
supply In other sections of the couptry.
The future must be taken into account In
e.timatlng tbs value Of these timber lands.
Their present average valuation for taxation
Is about one nollar per acre. Look ahead
6fty years and compute the cost Of them at
khaa ard of ehat foA MnUau ~ a.
cent simple interest will double three times
fifty years. This will make the then cost Of
these lands eight dollars per acre. And this
cost Of eight dollars per acre Is upon the hy-
p0thesis, that there Is no timber nov grow
ing upon them, aud that they cannot be cut
until the expiration OF fifty years. Any one
well acquainted with timber growth In this
state knows that fifty years Of uninterrupted
growth will probably give value Of at least
forty dollars per acre.
But the vast areas are constantly becom-
ing ripe for the harvest. and millions OF dol
lars, certainly exceeding two millions, are
derived annually from the sale OF stumpage,
and the owners still have the land left for
another harvest within from fifteen to twen-
ty years. Anyone owning one hundred acres
Of timber lands In the towns Of Maine will
be fortunate TO escape with valuattOt by
the town assessors, OF ten dollars per acre.
The average rate IS si7;10 per one thousand.
This would call upon that owner to pay
tax Of S17.10 upon his 100 acres. But 100
acres oil this land pays on an average 22l
cents. This Is In consequence OF uDderval-
ustion and the fact that these
lands have not the burdens OF municipal tax
rs and therefore should be assessed at the
average rate throughout the State. Why not2
rhe lowest valuation l am willing to put
upon these lands Is $40 600 At the aver
age Of OH the tax would amount TO S6S4,0OO
per annum. III the statesmen who legislative
action granted these lands In fee had sold the
privilege Of cutting the timber. and still held
the lands, our state from this source alone
might have been receiving an an income suf-
ficient to support our common schools munif-
Icently. and at the same time have Welded a
sufficient sum to have dispensed with state
tax upon our towns and cities for the greater
part OF the time during the last 20 years
SAC, 900 Is great advance upon SS,0O0,-
0O0.
But Is no greater than the fact. Our tim
ber land Is one Of the great facts OF our state.
Fhelr value has teen belittled by every
method known TO the law. The other great
Injustice to our tax payers Is the dimlnutive
contribution which our railroads =, make tow
ards the burdens Of taxation. The total as
sessment made by the state up0n the rall-
roaas for A. ID. 1889 was Sll2,S43l7, only
S99.Sl3 so of which was paid. Four roads
are contesting their taxes in the courts. One
road Is resisting a tax Of s22.47.
The savings banks, Institutions justly re-
garded as among the most benifcent which
| the business genius OF our age has been able
to suggest, and properly regarded as objects
| to be somewhat favored In taxation. paid IN
to the state treasury In 1889 $50, 1857 %; 80
per cent more than the railroads.
The statistics OF the Treasury Department
Of the United States give the following fig
ures for the year 1888 in relation TO the rail-
roads OF Maine: Length Of miles, 1881; op-
Grated, 1l6O: capital stock, SIS. .l2S, $50; fund
ed debt, S29, 12S, SOP; total Investment, S49,-
2l5,494; interest paid on bonds, 81, ,l29, ,6V7 (;
Interest paid on stock, SS52, ,66S.
Here We see an Investment Of S49, 9,2i5 ,494
paying a total interest on stock and bonds Of
81, ,S35, and besides the tax to the towns
| and cities where lands and buildings are sit
uated outside Of their railway, payinga tax
| Of $4,000.
l do not claim that these figures represent
the absolute value Of these bonds. But y
canuot be truthfully denied that tney proSs
mats the facts.
Cut down their value to $50 0QO ana ~ as.
sess at OH our average rate thrOngno,us MY sne
state and it will yield an Income OF solS;oHA 'oA
| Our state tax for 1890 was SD5l,Uo' '1ls oISn
a tax no greater than the average No mouiu
/ have eouailed our state tax wltnin Slo'VVVs