The Princeton union., 1900-10-18

Estructed by the Repubh hcanS party, ID 4
TO them still 4incomprehensibl ible, and
their Ignorant xperiments, IL not pre-
vented, may throw the machine out 81
gear and work serious IN niury.
Lind Not the .A ut hors sS
q The Democrat tic state plat forin pro-
.ceeds, to indorse what It terms Gov.
Lind d's prop osition to the last alegisla-
5ture for tax reform. BY which the cost
OF state government would be betrayed
from corporate taxes only. Let mo
draw your after ntion I'd the fact that
this prop tion was not original with
.aov. s. Lind by any means. find, on
page Of the biennial report OF the
Republican auditor ofs state, the Hon:
3, g. Dunn, w hich was laid before the
legisla ature when It convened, ia Jan.
.uary, Y! 1s97 the following recommended
stion sys
The modern tenn dency in Ia ion bs i
states IS to lessen the tax rate UPON
realty and nd deriye Increased revenue
from taxes upon corp porations. inher-
sitances, etc. This. It seems to- me. is
the proper time Tor our state to make ]
an dvance toward this system Of
staxation.'' 6
S And. furthermore. Republ blican legis-
slatures @ have acted upon the state au-
;Sftor''s recommendat ton, by passing
laws imposing 9 tax upon inheritances
and foreign corp tions. and there 3isg
{ no doubt that before very long the cost
OF state government Will be entirely
betrayed by such taxes
The Demo era tic state platform con-
Eeludes by demanding that s'the gross
earnings tax on railroad earnings be
rincreas ssd tos4 per cent, as recommend s
ed by Gov. Lind to the last legisla-
sture'' s
Not Even Recolnn M 9 nd Cd BY Linz.
IS AS q matter Of fact. Gov. Lind,s mes
sage to the legislature OF 1899 contains
no such rs recommends alton; !; but Il find oil.
page 20 Of the state aud itor's report,
submitted N unit to the legislature Of 1885,
several raj. days In advance Of the govern
or's message a recommen tion that
the legislature increase the q gross
thai the governor recommended an in-f
crease IN the tax. but he made no such
specific recommends ation as is claimed
I IN the Democratic platform. No one
to-day denies that the plan Of taxing
the gross earnings Of rai ailroads is the
best and most convenient that could
be II devised t1is The Re blican state
platform indorses the plan and urges
that the rate OF such taxation be
maintained at such a figure as to
make make the tax annually collected from.
the railroads equal and uniform with
( the taxes imposed on other property
fthroug ghout the state.
While on this subject of taxation
let me draw your attention to another
matter which would not be surprised
| TO hear had also been appropriated by
our Denocra tic friends. refer to- the
/ Taxation Of 9 Mines and Mineral
lin the northeastern part OF the state.
i'ormerly this class OF property es-.
capped all other taxation by paying a
state tax Of cent@per ton on the gross
output of the mines, and the total
Eamount of tax for any one year ranged;
I from S. $4,000, IN 1891, to s24, ,721. 90, in
4 1895. In 1896 Attorney General Childs
furnished the state auditor with his
IFopinion, to the effect that the al cent
tax per ton was unconstitutional; and
all mines and mineral lands were,
therefore placed upon the assessment
rolls OF the different counties. to be
assessed and taxed the same as the
property Of other corporati tions and In
Edividuals. 99ssl
Prior to that time the counties In
which the mines were situated had not
received a cent OF taxes from this
property. and the burden Of maintain
ing the county government, admins
4 tratiEe, judicial, etc, was borne by the
/, small property owner The legislature
4 repealed the law providing Tor the
4 EcentsDsr ton tax, and In 1896, and since
that year, the property OF the mine
owners has been taxed upon an as
sessed Valua ton, like other property.
Each year the valuation has been in
4 creased, and for this year the amount
Of taxes paid by the mine owners is
about $3.50 900 90, and 1t must be re-
\ menkered that nine-t tenths Of this tax
A goes into the: treasury Of the county in
which the property is situated, the
B state receiving the other tenth. :. The
B result is that the burden Of taxation
q upon the people has been decrease sat
a least one-half in the counties affect
q ed. I might also mention the fact that
4 "a Republican legislature gave to the
A state board of ualizationg the power
to raise the individ idua1 assessments of
a mining and other corp tions, a pow
a er which has aided greatly in the
equitable distribution Of the burdens
q of taxation. %9s
q Democratic Claim Ridicdlous.
\ may safely and truthfully say,
B there is not and has not been wise
and benefieent legislative or. Off cial
act or recomm enda ton In the interests
Il eIof the taxpayers Of the state that has
Il not had it's Initiative with a Rep1lfo-