Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-10-30
SOMETHING ABOUT THE
BUCkLIN AMENDMENT


CANON CITY. Colo, Sept. 20. 1902.
To the Editor OF the Record:
There is naturally quite desire on
the part OF the thinking people to
understand the 'Australasian Tax
System Amendment" commonly call
ed the "Bucklin Amendment May
take little space in your valuable
paper regarding it?
With others | have tried to compre-
hend 1t, but doubt II even the maker
of it has anything but a visionary
tice.
To begin with. don't be fooled into
believing for minute that this Is the
present Australasian Tax System, for
II is not ! have consulted good au-
thority on this. Being man who
travels some. | have made IL a point
to talk with people from various
points of Colorado. and at the same
time with men OF means. with the la
boring man and also with the small
land and house and lot owner, and
have been unable to find anyone who
seems to thoroughly understand the
bill. but have found great many who
VIII vote against II on the idea that 1t
Is safest to oppose anything you don't
understand.
One thing occurs to everyone re-
garding this measure. and that Is the
wonder that 1t was not first tried in
state like New York, Ohio. Illinois
or even Kansas. where the value OF
farming land also city and village lots
had relatively much more value than
| they have In Colorado. because. grant
! Ing that some ranches in Colorado and
| some lots In the most thrifty cities
Of Colorado have very good values, we
all know that the average ranchman
and the average town lot owner would
be taxed to death inside OF three years
II the Bucklin Amendment became a
law. Some people think the reason
why 1t has never been submitted to
the people OF New York state. Penn
sylvania. Ohio. Illinois. Kansas or any
other state In the Union. Is that they
would kill It too quick, II they had a
chance. but as we are lot OF cranks,
out here, we will try anything and
| everything.
Let me ask. why should the rail-
roads. bankers, cattlemen. the mer-
chants, large and small store build
ngs, our personal property, and all big
| corporations, whose capital Is certain
ly more probably Invested than the
ranchman's or the small house own
crs, be entirely void and exempt from
any taxation in this state?' Did you
ever consider that at present writing
only about 10 per cent of the total
area of Colorado Is land that can be
watered or cultivated or even is own
ed AS pasture land or mining claims,
and of course is all that is subject to
taxation. so then 80 per cent is In
mountainous. barren plains. rocky
hills and worthless land upon which
we get no tax whatsoever The idea
OF leyeling direct tax upon 10 per
| cent of your area or of your total
wealth. for although | have not fig-
ured IL, ! believe this system would
| attempt to raise the necessary amount
of tax upon from 10 per cent to 25 per
cent OF our present assessed valuation
and let the rest go free. Such a
scheme is Impractical. 1t won't work
satisfactorily. 1t cannot. 1t is un-
| just.
or course I know that Senator Buck
| lin has surrounded his bill with a lot
OF hazy statements and ideas about
taxing franchises and also the
streak" OF land upon which the rail
roads have built their track, but what
would that amount to7 | know also
that he claims there is n local option
| feature in all this so that II we do
not want this measure in Fremont
| county we can vote IL down. but If
Chaffee, Park, Teller and Custer
counties for instance should vote ia
vorably ON It they would get 1t, and
what n nice time the state board OF
equalization or state board of asses
sors would have adjusting fair rate
OF taxation between La Plata county
and these other counties.
One of the great injustices OF the
past which the new revenue bill great
ly remedies has been unfair proper
tion of taxation as between counties.
Don't you wee this Bucklin plan
would send us backward twenty-five
years.
have given this measure consider
able thought. have read everything
! could on the subject and have talked
with great number OF people and
have never found anyone of any po-
litical faith who had one atom of con-
fidence in the measure working out
satisfactorily to the people of the
state.
Upon my investigation | honestly
believe that II this amendment was
carried through it would deplete the
Colorado state treasury and every
county and city treasury In the state
OF Colorado and would close all our
anhoola and ~ I.,nAIA.a4Iona