Telegram-herald. ([Grand Rapids, Mich.) 18??-1892, 1891-03-11
TAX INEQUALITIES
Foroeful Facts Presented by bralny
Farmers.
HOW TIE CRYING EVIL CRlsDS
Ipen the asA<st rillsEs Of ths Sell wes
Can >st hlss fastF nelaiaSs fEsn
NlssfEse fspF~ssiSs ef
iaGsiltssnt ssattMeat-


There MAS good attendance. The
president called for communications
and the follow n was presented from
Samuel l.. Fuller:
AT times ! have jOtted down the
questions which have occurred 10 me,
and Jay them before you. i; is 80 easy
10 get IN debt with the bg ssiaries and
/ law suits and the thousand other ways
and so have 10 pay the debt. Pat IL on
some other fellow is easiest II you can.
When we are all engaged IA trying 10
DO the same thing, it j. difficult 10 DO II
satisfactorily. If every man was TO be
assessed for exactly what he Was worth.
/ do you suppose II would increase the
amount levied upon each one very
/ much2 Are We watching 10 see how
much we can escape as closely as in
/ guessing how much our neighbor has.
! Tax every man of age for al he Is
worth. For what are our county, town
and most our other taxes leyledy Are
they not for the protection OF persons
and personal property? In how many
cases does our real estate cause expen-
| dltures that are TO be paid 10y the pub
| lie? Ii our taxes are levied for the pro-
lection of persons and personal proper
ty, ought not the people 10 pay, by poll
tax and the personal property by d.
rect tax, for their protection and carer
! IL our homes were what they shonld
be- and our children educated as they
should be, could We not do away, IN
great measure, with our court, lall,
prison and insane asylum expenses
Are we, as a people. doing all We ought
| TO do TO bring about the millennium?
| Assuming that we must bc taxed, what
new cause do we want? Is 1t not the
law now that all kinds of
Property Shall be Equally Taxed.
As farmers have We any cause for COM
plant excepting that We cannoi hide
| our farms as some people hide their
money? III supervisor assesses our
| farms at their cash value and our per-
| sonal property the same, do we elect
| hlm as supervisor again? Do We come
before the world with clean hands and
ask that others be made clean? Have
we looked over our tax-rolls and ex-
amined them critically, and asked our
selves are they honest? Have We said
to the supervisor: "Do the duty i'm
posed upon you and we will stand by
| your Have we as rule elected su-
pervisor because he knew the most as
| to the value of property and would
search out the hidden? Give a man a
blank asking the necessary questions;
compel him to answer; imprison HIM If
he answers falsely, and you will get the
property. | am glad TO see you are also
IN the city limits where we can tax you
to take care of the drum kards who con-
gregate here. and that We have 74.oc0
| instead of $4,000 inhabitants" This
letter was than discussed IN connection
with mortgage taxation.
Stout Farmer Sentiments-
DIP. Clay-It is wrong to think all
taxes are unjust. Now we have all tire
| machinery to equaliZe taxation between
town, city and state. Let our officers
find all property, and ! hardly see how
| il is to be ali found if we cannot take a
mans word. We should have a COM
mission with authority TO look after all
tax matters.
Mr.. Hurd-I supposed it an easy
taxed. but IN 1887 | found II different.
The next year the mortgage law was in
force aud | found that the personal
property had greatly increased. and my
successor said it was because the hidden
mortgages had come out.
ID. Z. Clay-Under the mortgage law.
| mortgages have been taken up and
contracts gwen instead. | would have
| a commission with power IN 60 to the
bottom in such cases and unearth the
matter.
President Linderman-Tbe mortgage
should be made 10 pay the tax that the
land should pay and the law as re-
| norted by our committee should be
amended 10 assess only the unpaid por-
ton due.
r. r. Bosvorth-Csn We not have a
United States law acting like our hank
| rupt law 40 as TO affect persons IN other
| states. If cattle owned IN another state
from what the owner lives can he taxed
why cannot money be taxed IN the same
wav2
| ". ". Cook-I think the in iatory step
should he taken by the assessor.
think in the law Of ls4s the supervisor
was required 10 give out blanks To I've
filed out 10y each property owner with
schedule OF ali his property. That
was right and would have worked well
II all had been honest.
W. W. Johnson concur with Mf.
Cook in thinking that there hss been no
improvement il our tax laws. GIVE a
man q blank to fiIl ont and twenty
hours after he will not take what re
has valued his property at
W y. Cook-one troubIe % that no
/ county essessss at cash value ss re-
quirsd Nv ls~, snd # 4 should. the
Board of Review would change 4 a. a.
70 conform with other counties sdIoln-
ing.
MANY P.rtinent rsqairles
&. N. Psarsali-ts view this matter
litislike this If | Sc nv farm snd
take a mortgage for 1900. bow = that
u Re reached when 4 a ~ - taken
elsewhere supervisor comes around
asking certain n1sn TIE value 81 8
debts ard credits Pat Il down "a you
plesss. vas replied. ard after more
dssv tae supervisor T1t 4 oown 81
s2e Gsp6. ard evsn thst vss boo small
Mr era san-The supervisor sssouid
have the power 70 rot sveTy rnsn snssr
ozth IN regard - - property
: " Pesrssls-I - 4 ~th tht pare
read fhst salaries s1o1id ~ tsye5.
/ f.~ssf~ a r