The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1896-02-27


for road purposes, and sometimes is
used for road and bridges. as it can be
transferred by the town board to the
road and bridge fund. The next
column is for a fund to furnish lum-
Der for bridges and culverts. These
two taxes are levied at town meetings.
There are other town taxes not men,
toned here and purely local, the poll
tax fixed by the town board, and
road tax to be worked out, and if not
worked the pathmaster's book is re-
turned to the auditor as unpaid and
the amount added to next years taxes
against the land. The poll tax may
be from one to three days at 81 so per
day, and the road tax at from 50 cents
to ST. on the 500 of personal and real
property. This tax for Vesta was
fixed by the town board last year at
rs cents and good many tax payers
got very tired and called down bless
ings on the board, which blessing are
not to be found in the prayer book.
We now come to the last democracy, which
is the school district, and refer to the dis
trict in which live (54) as an illustration.
Our tax is twelve mills on the dollar and is
about one-half our total taxes, this added to
the State school levy, makes IA and 15-1OO
mills, and see there are few districts in the
county higher than this This fund is for
the education of the children, the future
citizens of the State. For this purpose we
must have school houses, and teachers, and
hang the ''critter'' that will growl at any
reasonable tax to make our children intelll-
gent citizens. To sum up, locally the county
can not alter the State tax, that is as sure as
death Your correspondent in letter some
time in January showed, (and no doubt he
was correct, as he took his figures from the
county records) that in spite of building a
courthouse, Jail, and other improvements
the rate of taxes levied by the county Board
was no higher than the average for nine
wears. The increased burden of taxation
then is mostly local and levied by the towns
and school districts themselves. I presume
needs bigger coat and neither garments
and more to eat or else he never was boy
himself. So with our county. AS the coun-
ty settles up, (and it has done so very fast in
the last eight years) and the tax valuation
increases there is more work for the court
house officials and the law increases their
pay in consequence. AS the individual towns
become improved the old short cut roads
that needed no grading, and very little
bridging, are done away with and roads are
made on section lines, necessitating much
grading and many bridges and this costs
money and must come from taxes. AS the
county settles up and the number of chill
dren increase, school houses and teachers
must be increased, but can't be done without
money which means taxes. Every session of
the county Board calls for changes in school
districts, but these are necessary and mean
increased taxation. close with just word
to the disgruntled tax payer l presume he
voted a good part of his taxes on himself,
then why not rather grin, than swear, and
pay his taxes, for taxes are as sure as death.
and if when he goes to vote the next time he
will vote to knock out gOld-bugism and the
dominance of the European money power
| over our financial system, he will get so
much better prices for his labor, or pro-
| ducts. that he will be able to pay his taxes
easily, have more improvements and COM
| forts in his home and surroundings. The
| friend who suggested this article and to
whom 1 have just read it, further suggests,
that as THE GAZETTE is this year the official
paper, and this matter of taxes not very
| we'll understood. it would not be hurtful to
| the dignity of any other paper in the county
if they copied this article for the benefit of
| their patrons. JAMES ARNOLD,
P. S. Any one by going to the records can
see by previous tax notices where all the
changes in taxation have been made. The
| State Auditors books show that the citizens
of Minnesota pay over 10 million dollars
| per annum in direct taxes. IA.