The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1906-09-28
THE GRANGE
Conducted by
j. w. BARROW. Chatham. N. Y.
Press Correspondent NeiO York State
Grange
IN PENNSYLVANIA.

Measures Which the State Grange
HAS Secured or IL Advocating.
Especial Correspondence
In state matters we stand by the ma
tionai grange programme. At the next
session of the state legislature we shall
ask for legislation covering the follow
ing subjects:
First.-Trolleys to be given the right
to carry freight.
to not accept personal transportation
favors from any transportation COM
pany during the term of office to which
he aspires. We commend the "no pass"
order of the railroad companies.
Third.-We want the corporations to
live up to the constitution of the state.
The mining Of coal by transportation
companies, directors furnishing sup
plies to their own corporations, the
owning or operating Of parallelor COM
peting lines we want stopped.
Fourth.-We. want no discrimination
in freight rates.
Fifth.-Uniform passenger rate of 2
cents mile.
Sixth.-Licenses and personal prop
erty taxes returned to the counties.
Seventh.-Equalizati In taxation.
Eighth.-An increase of state aid for
township roads from Is to so per cent.
Ninth.-An increased appropriation
for centralized township schools; also
township high schools.
BY equalization of taxation we mean
that corporate and personal property
shall pay the same tax as real estate.
Some kinds Of property escape taxa
ton altogether. Manufacturing cor
porations are taxed only locally on the
average Of per cent of their valua-
tion-in other words, 4 per cent of
their real valuation Is assessed for To-
cal taxes, but nothing is paid to the
state by these companies.
The grange has secured the gradual
increase of the common school appro-
priation; also the return of three-quar-
tiers of the personal property tax and
the greater part of the retail liquor
tax, together with some other tax con-
cessions.
In the new state road law we had
Incorporated our idea Of dividing the
money that the state appropriates to
the roads according to the number Of
miles in each county. Thus If there
are $4,000 miles of township roads in
the state and county has 1000 miles,
and the annual appropriation Is ST.
100000, that county would receive $1G,-
600 for permanent road Improvement.
OF this sum the county adds one-eighth
and the township or townships through
which the roads pass another eighth,
the state paying three-quarters. Our
new township road law provides that
where the township decides for the
money tax the state is to pay Is per
cent of the money raised.
The grange has defeated many bad
measures during the last twenty years
and has effaced the passage of many
obnoxious laws. 1t advocated a uni
form primary election law, which was
passed at the special session of 1906.
The present anti-oleo law is the work
of the state grange. The appropriation
Of $4,000 for the years 1906 and 1907
was secured by grange influence. 1t
has brought the question of trolley
roads carrying freight so prominently
before the people of the state that the
measure is sure to pass at the next
session of the legislature.
The grange has done great deal to
elevate the farmers of our state. 1t
has taught that in union there Is
strength, and whenever you find
grange community one is sure to meet
a progressive and intelligent class of
the tillers of the SOIL
WILLIAM Z. GREASY,
Secretary Legislative Committee.