St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-08-07

tax. Last January it abolished the per-
sonal property tax, and on Thursday
last the town board of commissioners
passed a resolution exemptng improve
sneits from taxation and laying the sole
burden of taxation on the value of
land. Hyattsvile is pretty little town
of LOCO inhabitants, Just outside the
boundary line of the District Of Column
bia. 1t is practically suburb CT Wash
ington. many of its inhabitants daily do
ing business in the capital, and is on
branch of the Baltimore & Ohio rail-
road. 1t has neither the very rich FOR
the very poor among its inhahitantS.the
great part being in moderate clrcum-
stances. and three in five of its families
own the homes they occupy.
jackson II. RalStOn, prominent men,
Der of the Washington bar, has long
been resident of HyattSville, and also
for number Of years has been thor
ough Single-taxer. His father, Judge
James II. Ralston, was famous lawyer
I'm Illinois, who preceded Stephen A.
Douglas ON the circuit bench in that
state. and afterwards became one of the
leading men III California. Jackson Ii.
RalStun set for his object the task of
making Hyattsville the first municipal
ity in the United States to adopt the
single tax. 1t often happens that there
IL more politics in small town than III
a large one, and this was the case with
Hyattsville. At the outset Mr.. RalStOn
found himself not only alone in his IDEA
respecting the question Of taxation, but
segarded with suspicion whenever lie
tentured to raise the subject. But he
nevertheless persisted, Selling every
favorable opportunity to point moral.
He made no effort to get into place of
political prominence, however, but
put forward others through whom
he could work, and whenever
he found it necessary to enter public
discussion he always assumed the most
careful and conservative of aspects. To
those who knew.his hand might be seen
in the local election, in the work of the
local assessors. in the growth of the
sentiment against Il tax on personally,
eliminating in The repeal OF that law,
and finally in the passage through the
legislature Of an act empowering the
town commissioners to exempt improve
ments from taxation.
Having reached this point, MIR. Raj
ston concluded to 20 into open politics,
and he stood for election as one of the
five town commissioners, quietly max
ing sure that at least two others should
be nominated who shared his ideas on
the taxation question. These two were
George S. Britt and Charles Ii. Long.
The other two candidates were Thomas
II. Latimer and J. Andrew Aman. BY
this time MI. Ralston had won for him
self reputation for marked ability and
careful and conservative ways, and he
and the other f0ur nominees were
elected without opposition.
At its first meeting the board of COM
missionerS chose president, and that
official was jackson Ralston. Soon aft
erward the inevitable taxation question
came up, and RalSton got a committee
of two appointed to inquire and report,
and on that committee had MI Britt
and himself appointed. While this COM
mlttee was at work, by a strange coinci-
dence the town treasurer, William II.
Richardson. who is chief OF the board
of assessors, began to talk pretty en-
phatically about the outrage of taxing
improvements, the fruits of industry,
and placing only a light tax Oh land
values, accruing from the growth of
the community. BY similarly strange
coincidence, first, Hon. Tom l.. John
son, member OF congress from Ohio
and afterwards, Hon. John Dewitt
Warner, member Of congress from New
York, visited Mr.. RalSton at Hyatts-
vile, and met number of the most I'M
portant people of the town. and made
anu answered. UUGSllOIlS OIL
the taxation question. And Il third
strange coincidence occurred when MIR.
Ralston sent through the mails a copy
of the report of the johnson District of
Columbia tax assessment Investigating
committee TO every voter i'll the town.
At length came the final act of the
the drama. Mr.. RalSton wrote the report
of inquiring committee, he and Mr.. Britt
signed it, and OH Thursday evening last,
at the regular meeting of the board of
commissioners, Mr.. Britt presented it.
The report is too long to give here in
full. but some extracts will snow its
character. After a few lines to the
effect that the inquiry had been made
at the suggestion OF many citizens of
the town, and with the view of possible
action of the board the report briefly
reviews the progress of the town in mat
lerS of taxation.
When, in the year 1880, we were
granted charter, by its terms our an
nual levy OF not to exceed 10 cents Oh
the hundred dollars was required to be
placed on the. personal property, land
and Improvements in the town, as
shown by the existing assessment roll