The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1901-10-22
WHICH is RIGHT?
Iohnson's Tax Theory aad Col.
Kilbcurne's Application.
RAILWAY TkXTHGORY PALLAUY

uation Than DO Ohio Railroads.
Look at your tax receipt and see
how much it amounts to in ten years,
says the Kenton Press. talking 20 its
Democratic constituents upon the tax
alton question. 1t further declares
that, I'm the event of Democratic
success at the polls Democratic leg
islature will enact law that will
equalize the burdens of taxation be-
tween railways and farm" 1t boasts,
too, that I'VE have a Johnson, Kill
bourne and a jones' Evidently, the
Kenton Press, in its parade of john
son, has not consulted the Columbus
Citizen, the Kilbourne personal organ
and Democratic organ for the state
capital, in the latter's attempted re-
pudiation of Johnson.
But they have "a Johnson" just the
same, and he dictated this part of the
Democratic state platform of 1901,
and he has brought about all the fuss
and fight for it, and they can't get rid
of him. His own tax return, accord
ing to the figures brought out in the
Cleveland campaign last spring. when
he ran for mayor, was fine example
of how not to pay taxes. And now it
seems that Candidate Kilbourne and
his corporation can make pretty
good showing in that way themselves,
simply by way of Illustration.
The Ohio State Journal has taken
the trouble to copy from the records
of the auditor of Franklin county the
tax returns made this year and last
year by the Kilbourne & Jacobs Com
pany. These show that this million
dollar corporation has remarkable
financial record, which illustrates
most aptly the weakness of the Ohio
tax system and the utter humbug of
the Democratic howl, for campaign
purposes only, in regard to taxation.
The return for 1900, signed by Mr..
Kilbourne himself, is that his COM
pany on the second Monday of April
that year had only s6 in cash in its Of
flee, or in bank or anywhere else, and
that it had no accounts or bills re-
ceivable; that is, that nobody owed it
anything. And yet its preferred stock
was at 10 per cent premium at that
very time, and at common stock at 40
per cent premium.
That is a high. price to pay. for
nothing or less. as thus reported by
| it, but the concern was prosperous, as
all the world knows and is glad Of
glad that the business is enjoying its
full sifafe of the prosperity brought
about by the Republican policies that
| its president has always opposed. In
1901, the cash had increased to S1O1;
lyet with that small sum the concern
has been able to keep Several hundred
men employed, and do many hundred
thousands dollars worth of business,
buying stock and paying wages and
making money, and all without cash
or one cent of resources of any sort,
according to its own sworn statement.
| The important point, however, at
present, is the comparison between it
and the railroad taxation that is the
main feature of the Democratic plat
form, and the main cry of the cam
paign of that party. The GAINESVILLE
Signal, an original Kilbourne Or
gan, summarizes the Democratic
position very clearly in the
lWOruS tHdl tuSII party coHteu-
ton is simply this: That every spe-
cies of property, real and personal,
tangible and intangible, be taxed as
NEARLY as possible according to its
true value in money" That is to say,
nothing shall be omitted or escape,
not even the Kilbourne & Jacobs Man.
ufacturing Company; but that COM
pany's tax return. including every
item, was only $139,402 of personal
property in 1900, and $75,500 of real
estate, total of about s215,000. Yet
at that very time the "salable value
as the Democratic platform calls it, of
the Kilbourne Company's stock in the
Columbus market was $1,325,OOO, or
more than six times its return for
] taxation. In fact, the companys per-
centage of taxable property, accord
ing to it's own return. was barely half
the % per cent that. Tom Johnson
says that the railroads pay upon, so
that the Kilbourne concern was only
half as good as the horrid railroads.
Upon the so per cent basis the Kill
bourne people would have paid upon
$795 900 in 1900 instead of s215,000, OF
nearly four times as much.
In 1901, the Kilbourne company :
return was $4,000 more, but its pre-
ferred stock alone had been increased
by $125,000 during the year, and its
market quotations had advanced. or al
least the price asked for it by those
holding it and best acquainted with
it's "salable value In April last the
"salable value" of the company's
stock was s1.421 ,250. and the 60 pei
cent of that, as required by the rail
roads, according to Tom Johnson and
the Democratic platform, would have
been sS42.75O instead of s23s,000, up
on which the company paid.
In the language of the GAINESVILLE
Signal, farmers and real estate own
ers do complain, and justly. too, wheI
they see other forms of propert!
placed on the tax duplicate at from
Is to 80 per cent of is value. while
theirs is assessed at from so per cen
Of its value upward" How man.
modest homes and small personal es
tates in Columbus would have savet
something on their taxes for the pas
two years If the kilbourne compan,
had paid according to the claims o
. the platform of the party upon whicl
the president of the company is can
didate for governor?