Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1899-09-16
TOPEKA, September IL, 1899.

EDIIOh w OtfLD,
Wa-Keeney, Kan,
DEAR SIR:
The clipping of one of your populist
exchanges credited to the Wa-Keeney
Independent which discusses railroad
taxation and other matters is before
me.
Answering it's various statements
as they appear, an inspection of the
ledgers of this Office shows that the
total assessed valuation of railroad
property in Kansas for 1899 is S5S, ,949,-
1853. 90 as compared with 5S, ,371 1868. 90
for 1898, showing a net increase of
S57S, 10000 of assessed railroad prop
erty. The Independents statement
that sthe State Board of Railroad
Assessors have reduced the assessed
valuation of railroad property in this
state several thousand dollars" is en-
tirely erroneous. 1t is increased over
half a million dollars.
The assertion that Trego county
will pay more state taxes this year
than last is true The state levy has
been raised to meet the growing eX-
penses of growing state, and grow
ing county like Trego has no DISPOSE
tion to kick out of paying it's proper
tion, L presume.
The schedules show that the value
of railroad property has been read
justed, raised in some counties and
lowered in others. 1t appears that it
has been lowered in Trego county
from 81, 400 per mile to 81 300 per mile.
If fairness and equity demand this,
why shouldn't it be done? What the
railroads don't pay into the Treasury
in one county they do in another, and
more in total than they did under
populist assessment by over half a
million dollars.
1t is not commonly known that
there has been no increase in the
state levy since the boom days when
the total valuation of all property in
this state was much higher than now,
while all these years the cost of main
tanning the state institutions has of
course been growing. The last ad-
ministration even decreased the levy,
and this leads to the Independents
last point; that in October. State
Treasurer Grimes will be stamping
warrants OF paid for want of funds. :"
The better informed populist news
papers steer clear of that point, when
the fact is that the money now in the
state treasury was raised by the pop
ulist board of assessors Any Trego
county farmer knows that the first
half of his 1899 taxes is not due until
this coming December and not due at
the state treasury until January, 1900,
so that whatever the present financial
condition of the treasury is, until that
time, the populist party is responsible
for it, as they have been in whole or
in part for the past eight years
The Independent speaks inadvis-
ably of the last legislature being an
expensive luxury; it should have rath-
er said an expensive necessity. for it
had to take care of s4O0, 100000 of de-
ficiency appropriations which the
populist legislature of two years ago
passed by in their unfortunate desire
to make false showing for ECONOMY.
That sort OF economy that merely
puts of the day of settlement and
| leaves for another legislature to do
what 1t should have done itself is
neither what the taxpayers ask nor
| except of their public servants. At
4 least that conclusion may be inferred
from their verdict last fall
Very Respectfully.
JOHN S. DAWSON.