The herald., 1895-10-27
LAND VALUES AND THE FARMERS

Probably but few people realize how
enormous are land values IN big cities,
and how great a difference there is be-
tween the value of very small piece of
ground in the business center of a grow
Ing metropolis and the value of very
large farm. For example, an acre of
ground in the best business portion of
New York city is rated at Sl3, 600 900.
That sum taxed at per cent would yield
an annual revenue of $500, 900. The aver
age value of farm lands throughout the
east probably does not today exceed 500
an acre. To raise as much revenue from
farm lands as could be obtained from the
one New York city acre, at the same rate
of taxation, 65, 900 acres, or about 10l6
square miles, of rural territory would be
required. Take a Chicago illustration:
The little piece of ground at one corner
of Dearborn and Madison streets, on
which stands tie Inter Ocean building,
was sold few years ago by the square
incl. The price per inch was such that
had there been whole acre sold at that
rate it would have cost the purchaser in
round numbers $S,0O0,000 That sum
would be equal to tie value of 1000 farms
at $4,000 each.
1t is a fact, also, that as a rule the
farmers of the United States pay more
taxes on personal property than on land.
By farmers we mean not mere farm own.
ers, or land spectators, or world monop-
differs, but working farmers, men who
actually cultivate the land they own, and
thereby produce things that people need.
In 1892 the legislature of Ohio authorized
the appointment of special com c,ission
on taxation, WIZ ich &C IN mission was APP
pointed by Governor Mckinley. After
a thorough Investigation the commits
sion, which consisted of two Republicans
and two Democrats, presented an ex-
haustive report to the governor, clearly
demonstrating that the taxes paid by
Ohio farm ers on their Improvements and
personal property exceeded the taxes on
their bare land. A concrete illustration
was furnished by comparison between
the taxation rolls of the four principal
city counties with those of five rural
counties. In the four counties where are
located the cities of Cincinnati, Column
bus, Cleveland and Toledo the assessed
value of personal property was only
about one-fourth of the entire assessment
while in the five rural counties it was
one-third. Since that time similar COM
PARSONS have been made between those
city counties and all the rural counties
in the state, with substantially the same
results.
There is every reason to believe that
Ohio is no exception to the rule. The mi
provements and personal property in the
rural districts are more readily gotten at
by assessors than such property in the
large cities, and farmers are not, as a
rule, skilled IN the arts of secreting as
sets and lodging taxation. Hence thew
are forced to pay taxes on all their labor
products, from the houses they live IN
down to a broken cart. In addition to
their state and county taxes levied on
everything they produce, there comes in
the federal tariff tax on nearly everything
they consume. Thus they are uncom-
fortably located between the devil and
the deep sea- Statistics further show
that if farmers were taxed locally on only
their land, every other species OF prop
erty being exempt, they would pay about
3 per cent less taxes than they pay now,
But the owners of immensely valuable
ground in large cities would pay more
than they pay now on that kind of prop
erty, whether they used it or not
These facts are worthy the careful con-
sideration OF every practical farmer in
the country.