The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1901-10-26

ance OF the county ana city attorneys
to examine witnesses, and shall be in
session a sufficient time each year TO
ascertain the true value of all the
property in the county.
Q. How can this be brought about?
A. Through the election of the leg
islative candidates nominated by the
Democratic party.
O. Will this reduce my taxes?
A. That will depend upon who you
are. If you are one of the steam rail-
way companies, it will not.
If you are a farmer or small property
owner, 1t will reduce your taxes by
compelling the big corporations to pay
their full share.
q. What can be done to further
reduce this high rate of taxation?
A. All property which is now es-
Gaping taxation should be put on the
duplicate and the value of all under
assessed property should be raised.
@. Whose fight is this?
A. Ii is the fight OF everybody who
pays taxes.
Q. Who pays taxes?
A. Every user of property, whether
owner or tenant.
@. Whose interest is it to help in
this fight?
A. 1t Is the interest of every man,
regardless of party, who is paying his
fair share of taxes. or who pays more
than his just proportion.
/ q. Who is interested to defeat this
| fight for equality in taxation?
A. The man who hides his property
/ from the assessor, the corporations
who get their property assessed at 10
per cent of it's value, while Others are
/ assessed at 60 per cent. and more;
the railroad companies who own prop
erty in Ohio selling on Wall street for
| 1884. 1896 62j. 90, but which is assessed III
Ohio for taxation at $l16925, $500.
q. Which SIDE will you take in this
| fight?
JUST AND EQUAL TAXATION.
/ Every taxpayer is interested in this
campaign, for its paramount issue is
Just and equal taxation. Every voter
is tax payer. and is interested in this
campaign for the happiness and well
fare of the people and the prosperity
and safety of the state depend upon
Just and equal taxation.
WHAT WE NOW HAVE
Under existing laws and methods ~
executing them
l. Farm lands are assessed at six
ty per cent of their real value.
2. The homes of the small owners
of city real estate are taxed at sixty
per cent of their real value.
3. Steam railroads are assessed al
about % per cent of their real value.
and hence pay only about one-third of
their fair share of taxes as compared
90. 4 rttr
owners of the state.
4. Street railroads and others pub
lie service corporations use the prop
erty of the people, and by keeping up
the price for service make immense
profits, but they value their property a.
Junk" when returning it for taxation
and so pay only about one-tenth OF
their fair share of taxes, as compared
with farmers and small property own
els.
BY reason of the fact that so much
Of the taxable property in the state
, Unjustly evades taxation, the property
of the honest and helpless is taxed
at much higher rate thar
it would be If all property was honest,
ly assessed, as the constitution of the
state demands. at its true value il
money. The property of great coz
, porations is almost untaXed, and thus
the burden of taxation is not borne
by all the property alike, but is un'
, justly thrown upon the property of thu
, farmer and small home owner.
Tom l.. Johnson has made the is
, sue of this campaign by demanding
justice for all in taxation, and to thii
demand the Democratic party stands
committed.
No war on corporations or wealth l.
intended, but it is believed that cor
rorations and their wealth should b.
treated with equal and exact justice
: and that they should neither be plund
cred nor permitted to plunder other peJ
pie, and any system which eXempts on
! mans property from taxation an
throws the whole burden upon tn
property of others is wrong which de
mands redress.
STEAM RAILROADS.
. Tom l.. Johnson went before tn
d? county auditors, whose duty 1t is I
t value the property of railroads TO
taxation. He collected information an
offered tc prove that this property wa
: grossly undervalued The auditors re
fused to listen to him or to receiy
# the evidence he had collected.
r He then asked the auditors to sun
mon the officers of the railroads upo
a whose statements the valuations wei
IS to be made, that questions might !
asked them. The law authorizes thi
8 but the auditors refused to do the
= duty. Tom l.. Johnson tried to fore
J. them to do their duty by applying
d the courts, but the courts found tn;
1t they were powerless and that reli
d must come, If at all, from the stat
board of equalization for railroad
e Tom l.. johnson went to Columbus,
Gttend meetings of the board. He pr
= sented printed statements showing IL
fraud nernetrated on the peODle by II