Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-02-07

::L0oKER-ON IN IOWA:


ROCKWELL, feD. S.--HfOperty some
tirffss brings trouble. The man in Iowa
who forty years ago bought 100 acres of
land for SO an acre in 1903 finds the
assessor valuing the same piece of dirt
at $50 an acre. and proceeds to put it
down in his little oook at those fig
ures which under the system now in
vogue means the OWNER will have to pay
taxes on valuation of $40 an acre.
Now the business man owning a stock
OF goods, the owner OF bank stock, the
home owner in our Iowa towns Is ac-
customad TO that kind of deal, and
silently suffers the woes of taxation.
But the owner of the now high-priced
farms of Iowa says, surprising l did
pay $50 an acre for nv farm. l knew
this investment of S12.S0O would not
bring me the returns in interest, would
not bring me the same percentage OF
ret profit as tho 1t was invested IN
bank stock. in store business or al
most any other lin of trade. l paid
this big price for home. for safe in
yestment, and now to pay taxes on the
same amount as a business man with
$12.SOO invested in clothing store is
a chance to turn his money two or three
times year. the BANKER gets his inter-
est whether it rains or shines. whether
the oat crop is good or bad whether
Jack Frost or l manage to harvest lhe
corn crop, whether my hogs die OF
cholera or sell for aants pound And
il l end the year in debt on an invest
.nent of Sl2,S00, and the banker has
with his $4,000 earned anoiher $1,000,
both OF us pay the same taxes. All THIS
affords an interesting subject for farm
crs' institutes. Even our college de-
batting societies could find good argu-
ments pro and con OH this subject:
"Resolved That the Iowa GARNER is
paving more than his share OF the
taxes when he pays on one-fourth of
real valuation
And here is more trouble ahead OF the
farmer who lives on rural free de-
livery. The government is now con-
Quoting in Iowa and elsewhere an In
vcstigation into the paving qualities OF
the rural deliveries. They are finding
out by actual figuras whether, say, the
125 families living IN route NO. run
ming out OF Podunk Center are taking
daily and weekly papers enough, anu
are writing sufficient number of let
ters for the postage on such articles TO
paw the expense of tie free delivery OF
the same. 1t is a wel:-known fact that
the majority of our r. f. d. routes do
ray enough extra postage directly and
Indirectly by an increased number OF
papers magazines, etc, to keep up the
system indefinitely On the other hand,
some routes in some states do not pay
expenses. In other words. some locali-
ties still stick to the old weekly paper
and only write five letters in twelve
months. Uncle Sam Is going to say to
such families on such routes. You don't
appreciate what have been doing for
you, and on and after this date you can
get your mail at the Podunk postoffice."
One would think to look at railroad
map of Iowa that there were railroads
enough, and by implication cars enough,
to haul in and out OF Iowa the tonnage
necessary for successful business trans,
actions. But there isn't Just now any
where near enough railroads. cars Or
Iowa towns The other day the writer
witnessed this condition of affairs in
one small burg: The elevators full and
dealers had stopped buying because
they could not get cars to haul away
the grain And TIL, same men handle
coal and had not pound on hand. and
had had none to offer customers for the
previous five days. They could neither
ship out their grain nor ship in their
coal. On the same day four teams
were sent across the country twelve
miles away to another town, on another
railroad. to buy coal for those who were
compelled to borrow till these teams
returned with loads OF coal. What made
II more interesting was that these
teamsters took along $3.50 to pay for
each ton of hard coal purchased, and
charged the consumer $3.50 for hauling
the coal.
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