The champion. (Arcadia, Fla.) 1895-1911, 1906-05-31
Division Of Counties Has Never
Been Known to Result in Any
Good to Tax Payers.
The Division OF Counties is Usually the Result Of
Rival Political Factions Fighting Each Other
and the Tax Payers are Those Who
Are Made to Suffer-

Mr.. Jordan says that taxes in DeSoto county have
been gradually increasing ever since the division of
Manatee county, when DeSoto county was created If
this Is true then is the strongest possible why
DeSoto county should not be divided for if that division
produced gradual increase in taxes is it reasonable
to suppose that the division Of DeSoo county would
produce another increase in taxes? Mr. Jordan any
other man advocating the division of DeSoo county
show that the division Of counties in this state has ever
resulted in a reductton of taxes
Mr. Jordan can no doubt show that in some of the
smaller counties Of the state the Of taxation (the
miage) is lower than it is in DeSoto county, but Mr.
Jordan knows that the assessed valuation of the property
in these small counties is much higher proportionaely
than it is in DeSoto county 1t is we'll known fact
that the valuations placed the taxable property Of
DeSoto county about the lowest of any in the State of
Florida and this big saving to the tax payers
of the county for this reason that when the property is
assessed high and the rate of taxation is made low
each tax payer pays to the state larger amount of tax
than he would pay If the valuation of his property
made low and the rate of taxation high
In DeSoto county the assessed valuation of the
property is low and the Of taxation is higher than it
is in some of the other counties of the state therefore,
in DeSoo county, less than one third of the total taxes
paid by each tax payer goes the state while in Pasco
Citrus Lake and of the other small counties about
fifty per cent or onehalf of the of taxes of each
tax payer goes to the state In these small corntes the
condition is reversed from what it is in DeSoto for in
them the rate of taxation is comparatively low while
the valuations similar classes of property is about
four times high it is in DeSoto county You can
not buy the property of DeSoo county for four times
as much ast is assessed for yet it is absolute fact
that in many of the smaller counties of the state you
can not sell the property for what is assessed at If
DeSoto county would her property high as the
property assessed in the smaller counties of the state
she could reduce her rate of taxation to half what 1t
is now and collect much taxes as she now collects.
Mr. Jordan once lived in Sumpter county, in this
state and while there he fought the division of that
county to cold finish. He probably opposed the
division of that county for the reason that he
asked to 90 to the legislature to divide it. Sumpter
county was divided Mr. Jordan left there and to
of the largest (DeSoto) counties in the state be-
lievng no doubt that he could do better in large
county than he could in small Mr. Jordan in
coming to Deoto county after fighting the division Of
Sumpter county showed his preference for large
counties for fine is partial to small counties and
believes so strongly in them why did he not stay in the
small counties in which he lived before he came to
DeSoto? l know a man living in DeSoto county who
owns some wild or unimproved land in Sumpter county
where Mr. Jordan lived and this land assessed
per acre The owner has offered to sell it for
$500 per acre and cannot sell it.
Mr. Jordan left the small counties in which he lived
and came to DeSoto and since by doing this he has
shown his dislike for small couties have no assurance
that he would remain here if this county should be split
into three small strips Mr.. jordan purposes doing
Mr. Jordan has not done one-tenth as much toward
building up DeSoto county have the taxpayers whom
he asks to support him in his efforts to tear it up and
ruin it.
Most of the citizens Of this county we'll remember the
confusion and tangle of land deeds that followed the
division of Manstee county and that division cost the
land OWNERS Of this county thousands Of dollars to get
their land deeds straight after the records have been
transcribed and many Of them are not yet straight ana
probably never will be- If the taxpayers of the county
want to save themselves whole lot OF confusion
tanglng Of land deeds trouble and big increase IN
taxes they had best kill this scheme to tear up the
county and put it in the condition that the small
counties are in from which Mr. Jordan recently movad
Respectfully yours,