Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1892-10-28
COY. WINAKS AGAINST THE ST. CLAIR
COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.

All those who heard the speech
made by Gov. Winans last Tuesday
will remember his unstinted praise Of
an act passed by the democratic legis-
lature known as "The Mortgage Tax
Law. He claimed all that was good
for this law and gave great credit to
the democratic legislature for passing
it.
This seems strange talk in the face
of the following resolution passed last
week by the Board of Supervisors of
st. Clair county, said Board being
composed of nineteen republicans and
twenty-three democrats, the resolution
being passed with only two dissenting
yotes:-
whereas, That certain law enacted by the
last Michigan Legislature, Familiarity known rs
the mortgage tax law has been tested by the
people OF this county and has been universally
condemned by all persons familiar with its
workings because of the fact among others that
il relieves over 81 900 900 of the most produc tive
and valuable personal property within the
county from all taxation and increases the bur-
dens OF the remainder OF the property To the
Resolved, That we, the board Of supervisors
OF 81 Clair County, having at heart the best
a wrong should be speedily righted, hereby re-
quest of the members OF the state legislature
who shall be elected 10 represent this county
pOrtunity they Introduce bill repeating the said
law and that they and each OF them use the
utmost OF honorable endeayor to secure such
Resolved, That the clerk OF this board send to
each lnemberelect, as early as may be after
election, copy OF this resolution"
The only supervisors who voted against
this resolution were John Terney of
Kimball township and Chas. Bailey of
Port Huron township.
GOV. wINANs AGAINST AUDITOR GENERAL,
STONE.
The testimony of the present Audit
or General i'll reference to the same
law Is the same as that of the Board of
Supervisors, and against the represen-
tatiyes of Gov. Winans. In his official
report for the year 1891, Auditor Gen
eral Stone says
"The question is not alone, then,
how far will the state suffer but how
far will the people suffer? And who
is responsible, the makers of such laws
who, rather than protect the people,
prevent crime and make dishonest
officials honest, virtually put u premi-
um upon dishonesty?
In order to show that the Board of
Supervisors aud the democratic Audit
or General are right, and Gov. Winans
In reference to this law
/. Bank stock is released from tax
alton. Every dollar of such stock in
st. Clair and other counties IN the
state is relieved from paying any tax.
In Port Huron alone the people are
compelled to pay $4,000 per year in
taxes that was under republican rule
assessed to banks. Yet in the face Of
this, the Democratic party hypocriti-
cdlly claims TO be the friend Of the peo-
pie as against corporations.
3 In st. Clair Co. the personal prop
erty valuation has been reduced from
81, 0S3, 1872 in 1891 to 81 ,625, $50 in 1892,
q decrease of S457 ,636, while the realty
assessment has been increased from
$l4, 72S, sos in 1891, to Sl5,210,990 in
1892 or increased S4S2,1S2, thus shift
ing the burden of taxation from bank
stockholders and the wealthy owners
of personal property, to the owners of
homes and farms, and making farmers
who are endeavoring to pay for their
farms and workingmen who are labor
ing hard to pay for their homes pay the
increased taxes while 100000 of bank
stock yielding a dividend of ten percent,
and $600,00 of other productive per-
sonal property remains untaxed. Yet
in the face of this the democratic party
hypocriticdiiy claims to be q friend Of
the 1COrkingmdn and farmer as
against corporations.