Union gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1899-1900, 1900-03-30
HIGH RATE OF TAXATION.
Sorne Causes Leading to an Increase IN
Taxes During the Past Five Years

sone Causes Leading to an Increase in
Taxes During the Past Five Years
CORVALLIS, March IA, 1900.
EDITOR UNION GAZETTE Will you
kindly inform your readers through the
columns of your paper, the causes lead
ing to the higher rates OF taxation In the
last five years, and the remedies best
calculated to REFUGE them?
A SUBSCRIBER.
There are SO many tendencies leading
to higher rates of taxation, that it is not
practical to mention all OF them at this
time. It will have to suffice to mention
onlv a few, which more particularly
affect this county, yet similar tendencies
have occurred in nearly all other coun-
ties of the state.
The legislature OF 1891 passed law
subdiyiding the Office of county clerk
of Benton county, making separate
offices of recorder of conveyances and
county clerk to take effect July, 1892,
which was followed by another act at
the session of 1898, giving to recorder OF
conveyances, county clerk and sheriff
each fixed salaries to be paid out OF the
general county fund. Prior to that time
the services of those offices were paid for
in certain statutory fees by the parties
employing them for each item OF service
rendered. In this manner the officers
were paid their salaries without expense
to the general taxpayer not employing
them. Tie division of the county
clerks Office makinga separate officia
recorder, and the division of tine county
increased taxation, for the reason that
when Lincoln and Benton were On
county, the late b. W. Wilson, assisted
only part of the time by deputy, did
all the work OF that territory, which is
now Ebeing done by clerk in Lincoln
county, and clerk and deputy and a
recorder in Benton county. After the
officers named were provided with def
mite salaries there were no officers or
person directly interested in seeing the I
fee bill kept in force, hence the legisla-
ture, as usual untrue to the interests OF
the people, passed law which repealed
the old fee bill, thus relieving the liti-
gants and others receiving the services
of the officers from paying adequate fees
for the services rendered, which the tax
payers pay for those services and re-
ceiye nothing adequate in return.
In 1891 aud 1893 the legislature, with
out notice or knowledge to the tax
payers, raised the salary of the county
Judge to nine hundred dollars per an
mum, when prior to that time compe-
tent and serviceable parties had been
elected to fill that Office on a salary of
FIVE to six hundred dollars per annurn
at a time when Benton and Lincoln
counties were one. 1T seemed to the
public that this salary was raised in
direct betrayal of the confidence of the
people, who had elected the county judge
upon his promises of faithful endeavor to
economy and reform in reducing expen-
ditures Of public money.
A few years ago the Office of school
superintendent had been performed at a
salary of about three hundred dollars
per year by several parties who did good
public service, but also performed the
duties of teacher or principal in some of
the public schools of the county. Later
the salary of school superintendent was
raised to eight hundred per annum, and
again at the last legislature in 1899 it
was raised to $1,000 per annum to take
effect in July, 1900. This salary was
also raised without any previous knowt-
edge or notice to the taxpayers of the
county aside from favored few.
Until short time ago the county
clerk made two icopies of the tax roll in
expensive books supplied by the state,
when the original roll made by the as
SCISSOR should suffice. Also the delin-
quent roll has to be copied again when
an extra column on the original roll
should be ruled to carry the taxes after
they become delinquent, which should
be made to suffice for the delinquent roll.
Besides there are SO many other ex-
pensive methods in advertising and
levying upon property to collect taxes,
and other impractical and useless COM
plicated details established ..by claw for
conducting public business which are toe
numerous to mention in this already toe
long article.
The old mortgage tax law while in ex
| istence caused the local taxpayers O.
3 Benton county to pay many Thousand
dollars into the state treasury which wa.
3 never repaid to Benton county by tn,
e foreign and other mortgages upon which
e the state tax was assessed, and could no
be collected.
The remedy in part is to elect mem
8 bers to the legislature who will not con
i, sent to raise the salaries of officers O
d multiply and create public offices with
r out the people first having ample notice
and make it SO understood by those VIII