The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-01-23

oTdl property lax llIS luOSL u0plOl oDAS
is that which produces an ever In
creasing burden upon real property
and an ever diminishing share Of per
sonal property in the support of that
government which gives an equal pro-
lection to both.
The general property tax was adopt
ed in Ohio in 1S46, and was written
into the constitution of 1851 In the
language Of section 2 Of article XII,
to which attention has already been
called. Ever since it's adoption the
grand tax duplicate Of the state has
shown, more and more clearly, the in
equality of contribution between real
and personal property. In 1852. the
grand duplicate of all property real
and personal. in the state. was $5O7,-
5S1 900; in 1907 it was $2,2SO,56 1893.
In 1852 the total value of all real es-
tate was 1854, $4,000. In 1907 it was
$1.544 ,391,31S. In 1852 the total value
of all personal property In the state
was $152 900; in 1907 it was $780,
III. $50. In other words, the first year
after the adoption of the present con-
stitutOn the tax value of all real es.
tate in Ohio was , l-3 times that of
all personal property. while at the
present day, after 55 years of develop
ment in railroads, telegraph, tele-
phone electric light. and other mod
ern utilities, as well as industrial en-
terpriseS of every kind, with the con-
sequent enormous growth in the is
sues Of stocks and bonds, the tax
value of all real estate in Ohio is still
ll0 times that of all personal prop
erty. And this is true nOtwithstand
ing the fact that corporations gener
ally in this state are required to re-
turn as personal property all the real
estate used in the operation Of their
business.
In 1850 real estate paid 77.S per
cent of the taxes and personal proper.
ty 22.2 per cent: in 1870 real estate
paid GOT per cent of all taxes. and
personal property 39.3. while in 1907
real estate paid 677 per cent of all
taxes and personal property but 32.3.
These remarkable figures are even
more significant when it is remember
ed that the chief grow tn of the states
wealth has been in the larger munici,
palities and the tendency to concen.
tration Of population in the cities has
been more and more evident with the
passing years In 1880 the total pop
ulation uf Ohio was l.9S0329. and the
total population Of all Incorporated
municipalities was 373.S2S That Is to
say, more than five times as many
people lived in the country as in the
cities and villages when the present
constitution of Ohio was adopted In
1900 the total population of Ohio was
4.l57, ,545 and the total population of
all cities and VILLAGES was 2,4l2.352.
In other words. considerable more
than half the whole number Of inhab.
itants in the state now live in the mu.
inequalities. When the con5t tutional
convention of 1871 met in Cincinnati
that city had population of 5.435,
which was then about twice the total
population Of the ten largest cities in
tion of Cleveland Cincinnati, Toledo,
Columbus. Dayton, YOUNGSTOWN. Ak
ron, Springfield. Canton and EIamil-
ton was lS2, LAG. In 1900 the total
population of these ten cites was
1,230S&2. and 1t is probably today
nearly two million. Certainly it is ten
times as large as it was in the middle
of the last century.
The special report Of the United
States census department on the sub.
ject Of rural and urban popmaIIOns
makes some comparisons that, with
respect to Ohio, reveal cOnCluSively
the fact that the larger cities of the
state are growing at the expense OF
the rural communities In making its
compilations the census bureau con.
siders every municipality Of $500 in
habitantS or over a city. and the rest
of the state as constituting the cOun.
try districts. On that bas S OhiO's
rural population in 1850 was CTS per
cent Of the whole population; in 1890
it was 591 per cent and in 1900 50 per
cent. These statistics show not only
a decrease in TIE percentage of popu,
lation in the country districts but an
actual reduction in the number of in.
habitants. In 1890 the country dis
triCts OF Ohio had population of
2,lG9,219, while in 1900 they had a
population of 2lG0, i4j, a decrease Of
STA. Nothing could more clearly
show the trend of population toward
the large centers. and no fact is more
generally admitted than that the
greatest increase in wealth has taken
place in such centers Of population,
and particularly in that form or char
acter Of wealth peculiarly incident to
the great cities, such as corporate
franchises, manufacturers plants and
products, industrial securities, moneys
and credits. stocks and bonds. And
get all the personal property in Ohio
today, as shown on the grand tax dup
licate, Is worth less than half the real
estate and bears a smaller proportion
of the total taxes for state and local
purposes than it did in 1870
The estimated true value of all prop
erty in Ohio. according to the latest
report of the United States census
bureau, for the year 1904 was $5,946,-
$1,000; the total returns for taxation
that year, as shown by the grand tax
duplicate, were $2,113,SO6.OOO. 1t may
fairly be estimated that the total
wealth Of Ohio today is more than
$4,000, 100000, while but $2,2SO, ,0O0.-
600 is on the grand duplicate. And
in making this estimate the cen
sus department does not con-
slider intangible property as sepa-
rate item of wealth. If all were re-