The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1901-12-06
SPECIAL ROAD TAX.
County Commissioner Bush Approves
of the Proposition.

BoNNERs FERRY, Idaho, Dec. q
Editor of the HERALD see by
your issue of Nov. %, that you are
opposed to the spe sial road tax for
the principal reason that it does
not reach the incorporated towns.
Among other things the HERALD
says if more revenue must be raised
it would be wiser to raise it in the
general way by an increase in the
regular tax levy. In the first in
stance the HERALD is quite right
when it says the towns should bear
their share of the road tax as they
receive as great benefits as the farm
ers do, but you will have to admit
that the commissioners did not
make the law and will have to take
it as it is should they conclude to
levy the special tax. In the sec
ond instance | think the HERALD
is in error when it says it is just
the same thing only under the
/ special tax the incorporated towns
would escape the special tax. Let
us see: If the revenue is raised in
the general way it could be paid in
cash and in no other way, but if
raised by special levy it could be
paid in cash or III work Now in
my judgment this is the key to the
whole situation. think the HERALD
will agree with me. that the farmer
could and would pay ten dollars as
cheerfully in work as they would
five dollars in cash as each farmer
would be working out his special
tax where he would be one of the
principal benefactors, aud again the
HERALD we'll knows that there are
in each community some that are
more liberal and enterprising than
others and to this more liberal class
is falling principally all of the bur
den of the road making Of our
county today, while the other class
land they are long way in the
majority 90 scott free while enjoy
ing the fruits of the hard labor of
their neighbors. If the HERALD
doubts this last statement refer II
to some of the farmers in the Para
I disc or Cow Greek valies, and
what they say will hold good all
over this county, then, if the regu-
, lar levy was raised to the full limit
the Jaw allowes, it would not raise
6 near the amount that the specla
tax would, and what a howl wOulC
90 up from the Republican press
6 about that increased levy. | care
not if that increased levy was fol
8 the most plausible purpose on earth
= the wall would go up just the same
as it did this year when part of th'
= increase was for just the same pur
pose, road making, and the balance
was to pay off debt created man!
g years ago. | think the HERALI
will admit that there is just littl
. bit of politics in advocating that /
!, the revenue must be raised let 1t b.
raised by increasing the regula
. levy. The law says that the regu
lar road levy shall not exceed sixt,
cents on the one hundred dollar
: while the special tax law says tn
levy may be placed as high as ONT
hundred cents on the one hundre'
y dollars. Consequently the grea
= difference in the amounts the differ
ent levies would raise. The specia
= tax would raise about thirty thou
] sand dollars of this amount. 1t
I reasonable to presume that tn
y farmers would pay about one-hal
while the railroads and other in
= corporations would pay the balance
@ the result would be that the farm
T ers would, at the end of the yea
q have thirty thousand dollars wort
: of roads and fifteen thousand do
7 lars in cash in their pockets, as
y them would fall largely the work
do for the corporations.
q Most respectfully,
= w. w. BUSH