Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-02-16

and state tax commissioner to burn
midnight oil at this time Is where to
get the money which VIII be necessary
If the a.ate tax levy IS taken of as the
presen. law provides he great and
growing state Of West Virginia will
need a whole lot more revenue for the
coming fiscal year than it did last be.
cause Of the advancement of the age
conditions.
State Auditor Scherr has given the
matter considerable thought and one
| Of the things he has proposed and it
will likely go through. too, despite
that Senator Marshall said he would
| fight against the creation of any new
Offices, is that Of an insurance depart
ment which would be divorced from
/ the auditors office He las figured out
/ that the insurance commissioner and
his force Of men would bring into the
state not less than 100000 the first
year and the second year that amount
would be doubled while within five
years the state would be receiving
from a third to half a million dollars
more revneue from this source alone
This scheme Is a hobby with the au-
ditor, who has gotten the insurance
department Of his Office mp to state
of perfection never before known and
who has compelled a large number of
corporations which were doing bust
ness in the state for nothing to come
forward and pay their share of the
amount necessary to- conduct the bus
mess of The commonwealth. Auditor
Seherr's scneme to raise money by
compelling the insurance companies
to come TO the front ana pay for the
privilege of doing business in the state
is popular move just at this time
when the people have not forgotten
what robbers the insurance people
were proven to be in the New York
investigation.
Still with Auditor Scherr's scheme
there would be only a paftFy 100000
for the first year and this would leave
about $500. 900 to the bad The scheme
of clubs might bring in 100000 or
more, which would still leave large
amount to be raised. II order to do
this Tax Commissioner Dillon has a
scheme which might work very well
He thinks it will and he has been do
ing some hard fighting during, the past
three or four weeks on what cam be
done in the way of raising money to-
run the state during the next fisca
year. He has suggested that if the eli
rect state tax of six cents be taken
off this year, as the law requires, then
the two-sevenths of the license tax
which goes to the school fund could b
taken away from that fund and turned
over to the state fund This would
give an additional $280,0O0 to the
state and would help out to beat the
band. In order to keep the school fund
in good shape he proposes that there
should be direct tax on all property
of sufficient amount to place the
school fund in such condition that it
will meet the drains chat will be made
upon it during the year
This would not yet make mp the
amount which IS deemed necessary !
for the state during the next two
years, bat there are several ether mat |
ters that could be taken into consid |
eration from which there would be AL
pretty good source of revenue Mr. !
Dillon says the Missouri license law
which has been introduced in the sem
ate is not what this state wants and
he is not in favor of the bill being
passed by either branch. His opposi-
ton to it is based upon the fact that
the legality OF the bill is questionable,
that it would call for large commits
sion 10, enforce. it and that for several
years the state might be in endless liti-l
CATION on account of trying to enforce
the provisions of the law. A schenTe
which Mr. Dillon thinks would bring in
sufficient amount of money to tide
over the present stringency in the
state funds is to increase the tax for
license upon the corporations which
are doing business in this state. The
present license is S25 ON the first
100000 and then it increases gradu-
ally from tlat up. He believes i'll
would be popular scheme to increase
this license at least one-foUrth- which
on the corporations with capital
stock of 100000 would, be an Increase
of about $40 a year.
Whether the legislature will succeed
in evolving a scheme l. which they
can meet all the requirements is "a
question as the time of the session is
! growing shorter, but this much is evil
! tI,at tbaNr 1n nOt mass laws