Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-03-03
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
Special Assessments and Single Tax.


many Michigan cities-it affords an
object lesson which can be used with
great effect in pushing the single tax.
Where this system does not already
exist and where there is no constitution
al objection las in Duluth, Mimi. land
in Michigan there is none-no more eff
fective work can be done in the interest
of single tax principles than by vigor-
ously insisting on such an amendment
to the local charter as will enable the
municipal authorities to assess the cost
of grading, graveling or paving streets
upon the abutting or adjoining prop
erty owners in proportion to the bene-
fits conferred by such Improvements"
Mayor Hook, of Adrian, has done most
effective work for the single tax in get
ting the old system SO changed in that
city that now near half the cost of
street improvement is levied on the adj
jacent landowners. But he should not
rest until the entire cost of such local
improvements is so levied and collected
and doubtless he will not.
Grand Rapids has had this Especial
assessment system for the improve
ment of streets and building of sewers
ever since it's Incorporation; and. al
though numerous efforts have been
made by interested parties to shoulder
the payment of these taxes upon the
city at large, the existing system is SO
just on the face of it that they have al
ways signally failed. Only year ago.
when a general revision of the city
charter was under consideration by
special committee of the council, a
IS % do, fvnv
resenting, rs its chairman said, some
500 men who paid half the city's taxes)
urgently petitioned that the Detroit
system of street improvements be
adopted iii place of the existing one.
In Detroit the just improve
ment is assessed on the
abutting property; after that all
improvements, repairing etc, are paid
by the city at large. Now, although
there isn't single tax daily newspa-
per in Grand Rapids, there are plenty
of single tax hired men on these pa
pers. They clearly saw the cat" in
the board of trade meal, and although
the word "single tax" was not once
used in the discussion, these same
newspapers at once jumped on the
board of trade scheme with both feet"
and so riddled it with single tax logic
that neither the board of trade COM
mittee, nor any body else, raised a voice
in defense of the brazen project for
taxing the many for the special benefit
of the few favored landowners, and it
was then and there killed.
One argument used was specially a
clincher. The era of expensive pave
ments had just begun in this city. Ca
nal street. 100 feet wide, had just been
repaved with asphalt on concrete at
cost of near So a square yard, thus
Transforming this thoroughfare from
one of the worst into the finest in the
city. Rents had at once jumped up.
The owner of one store, 20 feet front,
for instance, at once raised his rent
$3.50 a year-and got it, too-whereas
his entire tax for the improvement was
only $780, so that his increased rent for
one year not only paid his tax but gave
him clear $50 profit besides. The
newspapers made these facts promi
nent pointed out that, under the new
scheme, these greatly benefited Canal
street owners would have Saddled al
most the whole cost of their improve
ments upon others, and poclxeted, prac-
tically, all their greatly increased rents
That settled the business.
The one argument in favor of spread
ing street and sewer taxes on the city
at large, instead of on district espe-
cially benefited. was this-that the
assessments for street improve
ments were great hardship to work
ingmen and small home owners, often
running as high as So a foot 'front.'
age, thus calling for the payment at
once of 500 tax on a 5o-foot lot. proba- |
bly, already mortgaged for all it would |
carry. But, as it was nos proposed to |
put the cost of first improvements on |
the city, this argument did not help the |
board of trade scheme much, since these |
cheap homes are generally in the out
skirts where, when the street is once |
graded, graveled, and the cutters paved,
that is the end of the business. The |
raising of this argument however, had |
this good result 1t was met by the |
to spread these street and
sewer taxes equally over five years, in
stead of collecting them in one lump
sum, the city issuing per cent. bonds
one, two three and four years,
in order to pay cash to the contractor
on completion of the work. This
was incorporated in the
charter last spring despite good deal
of ''kicking" and the first $500, 600 of
these $50. 500 and $500 improvement
bonds were quietly put on the local
market August 1, books being opened
at one of the savings banks, and in less
than a week the subscriptions for them
had reached $500, 900. Under this new
system the property owner whose street
Or sewer tax is 500 will pay $40 each
year, with per cent. interest on the
tax that remains unpaid Saginaw,
this state, has the same system in sue
cessful operation. And. wherever sim
gle takers are pushing for the adop-
ton of the special assessment system
for improvements, I deem it quite i'm
portant to success that the five year Tor
more) feature be adopted; otherwise
the heavy tax, coming in a lump, will
strongly initiate against the special as
sessment and in favor of the city at |
large system.
The Grand Rapids special assess
ments are not laid strictly in accord
ance with single tax principles Qimit-
ed), but there is no legal obstacle to
prevent their being so laid whenever
public opinion will warrant it. 4 word
here as to the practical modus operan-
di. After the improvement is ordered,
the contract let and the exact amount
Of the cost is known. special commit
tee is appointed by the mayor ''to make