Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1902-08-28
DEMOCRATIC SCHEME EXPOSED
Trying to Fool the Farmers BY Mis-
statement Of Facts.

statement OF acts.
One of the arguments upon which
Democratic stump speakers this fall
will largely depend to capture un-
thinking voters has been disclosed
through some boasting remarks of
Democratic State Chairman Greasy.
Its first outcropping was at the meet
ing of the Mexican county Demo
Gratis.
At that meeting the resolutions
adopted made the following decIara-
ton:
THE auditor generals report of the
state of Pennsylvania shows that the
farmers and home owners pay $16.50
in taxes for each 1000 in value,
while the steam railroads pay but
$2.75, the street railroads but $475,
and telegraph and telephone COM
panies but 1920"
The statement is absolutely false in
every particular. 1t is an attempt of
the Democrats to excuse their own
wretched short comings on the mat
ter of taxation when they were in
power. Republicans will not be de-
ceived by this trick and subterfuge
when they consider the deception, as
exposed by the Philadelphia Press,
which says:
There is no state tax on real es-
tate, as everybody should know by
this time. since 1t was wiped out al
most 40 years ago. There is no state
tax on trades and occupations, or on
niture, all such taxes having been
repealed years ago so far as the state
is concerned. Wherever taxes of this
kind are imposed it is a local matter.
The tax on real estate paid by the
farmers and home owners Is fixed by
the local authorities and raised only
for local purposes. If 1t is burden
some 1t is the fault Of the county,
borough or city authorities, for the
state has absolutely nothing to do
with it. 1t is not a subject for legIs-
lation at Harrisburg, as the Mexican
Democrats want to pretend.
THE state gets the bulk of its
revenues from tax on corporations in
various forms, and though II is com
planned that the corporations are not
taxed enough the state revenues have
been so large for many years as to
support the policy, long since adopted,
of returning large amounts to the
counties as n means of relieving the
local burdens of taxation. This policy
has been greatly enlarged In the past
dozen years, and with the present
overflowing state treasury there is
very certain to be a clamor before
the next Legislature for still more lib
erality in that direction. Without
dered by the remission of taxes on
real estate It is paying to the coun-
ties from SlO,0OO,O0O to $12,OOO,00o
annually. This is in the form of re-
turns of three-fourths of the personal
property tax. school appropriations.
the payment Of Judges salaries and
charities together with some lesser
items.
Now let US see what kind of a
grievance Mexican county has against
the state The auditor general went
to the trouble in 1897 TO prepare some
tables showing the amount paid the
state by each county and that return
ed to each county by the state These
tables show that there was paid into
the state treasury by Mexican county
in that year $19, ,35S.SS There was re-
turned to the county on account of
personal property tax, judges salary
and schools alone $43 ,5S9.93, TO say
nothing of appropriations to charities.
BY charging the county with its pro-
portion Of state expenses and hOspi-
tai and charitable appropriations the
auditor general makes the benefits re-
ceived by it amount to S92, 2,44514, as
against $19,358.SS received from the
county But we have been content
to take the direct payments, which
show that the county received more
than twice what 1t paid.
THE figures for Mexican county
are not exceptional They are pro
portionately the same for all the coun-
ties. The money IS collected from
corporations and paid over to the
counties to relieve the local burdens
of taxation If the farmers and home
owners in any county are taxed too
much let them look into their local
administration and seek relief there
The state does not impose a penny OF
tax on them"