The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-05-29
JUST TAXATION.
What the Farmers Movement Means BY
Agitating Along This Line.

What the Farmers Movement Means By
Agitating Along This Line.
The cardinal principle of our order is,
equal rights to all and special favors to
none" Any system of taxation that is
not in consonance with this tenet of our
faith should be condemned by every
loyal member of our noble order.
Patriotism and self interest demand
that every citizen of the state should
contribute of his means to support the
government that protects his life, liberty
and property, and justice demands that
the contributions of each citizen for this
laudable purpose should be in proportion
to the real value of his property as COM
pared with the aggregate wealth of the
state. Therefore a just and equitable
system of taxation must be based upon
the real-not the fictitious-valueo of the
goods and effects of the taxpayers.
All property, both personal and real,
should be assessed at its actual cash
value. If such an assessment should
double the amount of taxable property
in the state it does not follow that the
taxes would have to be also doubled.
state, county and municipal machinery
when our lands are assessed at $15 per
acre than when assessed at s. per acre?
1t a man whose property is now assessed
at 81 900 pays in taxes for all purposes
$50, or 2 per cent. on the valuation of
his property, then, when his property is
assessed at it's true value-which we will
say is $2,OO0-he would still pay $50, the
rate of taxation being reduced from 2
per cent. to per cent.
If his taxes would be increased under
this just assessment it would simply
show that he had not been bearing his
part of the burdens of taxation. If an
equitable and uniform system of taxa
ton will augment the taxes of any men,
Der Of our order it does not become him
to murmur or complain. Equal rights
to all and special favors to none'' can
not be so construed as to mean special
favors to a few old farmers who have
for many years adroitly managed to es-
cape their just proportion of taxation.
The true patriot and worthy, unselfsh
citizen will support a principle because
he believes it to be right, the amount
which he extracts from his purse being
a minor consideration.
To carry out the principles upon
which our order is founded we cannot
do otherwise than use our efforts to Sc
cure the enactment of law deducting
the Indebtedness of every taxpayer from
the assessed valuation of his property.
1t AS taxable property is worth $4,000,
and he is unincumbered with debt, and
BIS property is worth the same amount,
but he owes $1,000, is it fair to extort
the same amount of taxes from each?
Would not this be an unjust discrimina-
ton in favor of the man who is so fort
innate as to be out of debt, and against
the man who is involved in debt, and
therefore the less able to pay his taxes,
even on what he really owns, as he has
the interest to pay on what he owes?
The man who will advocate the theory
that B, who is worth $1,000, should pay
as much taxes as A, who is worth 50, 900,
must, to say the least, have his ideas of
justice wonderfully perverted.
The bill which passed the lower branch
of our state legislature, requiring the as
SCISSORS seal to be placed upon bonds,
ETC., meets my hearty approval. If there
were not so many old curmudgeons in
the state who will perjure themselves to
escape taxation there would be no neces-
sity for such law. The interest of the
honest money lender could not be in
jured thereby, as it will not add cent
to his taxable property. To continue our
present loose and unjust system of max
ing assessments is simply to commend
INSCRIPTIONS tax lodging and put pre-
MUM on dishonesty. If there is any
thing wild and visionary" in our de-
mands on the subject of taxation must
confess that fail to see it.
They are all based upon common sense
and the principles of justice. If they
should ever be formulated into laws, and,
in consequence, my taxes should be dou-
bled, while my mortgage ridden neigh
Dor is relieved of part of his burden,
instead of whining over the depletion of
my purse and denouncing the wild
scheme of the ''insane. fanatical western
farmers" hope shall have enough of
the principles of honesty, patriotism and
justice in my bosom to enable me to in
dorse and support beneicent system
of taxation which makes no distinctions
between the rich and poor, individuals
and corporations Lecturer in
Journal of Agriculture.
The Ohio Platform.
The Ohio State Farmers Alliance, re-