Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-01-08
fOf this $H,S$.6 was paid
into state treasury for fines.

Maine Sanitary Associafion 3.GOW
Contagious Diseases or Cattle l3.WNW
Maine Agricultural Society oWu5
Military Fund 45.4t3.Ss
| PassanIaQuoddy Indians. 9.G2sW
Penohscot Indians lsGSo. ~ ~
11.oct;on of Iohsters' Eggs 800 Oh
| OrIhan Asylum (St. Elizabeth) 2ouN
Sea &. Shore Fisheries B,.s.U
Enforcement Commissioners and
Deputies. including salaries
| ard expenses. fees and fines. 8. 90 a
Societies Of the sisters OF Charity 9,51l.c0
and Children, Portland 5000
S Sey anu ~ 100000
Wade Co,,ptv General IIospital 80 co
". c. Temperance Union , 9 ~ ~ ~
women's Home at Lewiston ,50o.0D
Total ssss, saS 81
The balance OF the amount received by
! the State treasurer will be found eXpend-
ed in the following Items
| Interest Paid sal ~ W, - 4
Paid on Public Debt :S1,"aoo
Rebate TO Railroads by author -., :.
itv Of legislative vote ae'fSo.'o
fa an % Sael e. Land HG'"''eS i'' " 4s,assss
''a a 1sas ID ''S'i VA manu. 5s7,yno2
The actual expenses necessary
to r;aintain the state govern
meat. consisting Of the paying
sioners. trustees. Legislature.
governor and council main M. INA m
tenance of State capitol. etc. 80
Now the last item, aside from the
payment of the public debt and inter-
est thereon, which would not be any
thing after a few years, is all the
money the State need to raise to keep
going as q State, and we can have
r. al genuine tax reform If we could
Din ourselves down to the amount OF
expt nditure If we regard our honor
I should also include the rebate TO
railroads and our obligations to the In
diars.
But before doing this want the citi-
zens to go over the long list OF things
that we pay money for through the
State treasurer-schools. hospitals, col
leges and charities; and 1 want the
Democratic press and the tax REFORM
err to pick out and tell me just which
ones and how many of these shall be
abolished-for that is the place "nere
there might be a tax reform in state
affairs. But l don't want TO be the
man to advocate it. because L nave
spent 4 good part of my political life IN
helping to establish and maintain a
great many of these institutions.
/ also want to call the public's at
tention to a few other things relative
to the assessment Of State taxes. l
will make some comparisons between
the year 1900 and 1906 to show which
way we are actually going in our sys-
tenn OF raising money for State pur-
poses
The State valuation in this time has
increased $57,99S, 81 or II $40 per cent.
OF this increase 20 cities have con-
tributed 24Ia per cent, the towns anu
plantations in Aroostook county ~: per
cent, the manufacturing and summer
resort towns 30Ea per cent; all the
other towns and plantations in the ID
other counties, which are the principal
farming counties, only per cent; the
wild lands alone SOL. per cent. And l
will note in passing that the valuation
on wild lands since 1898 has been in
creased 125 per cent. Now comparing
the State assessors report of 1900 With
that Of 1906. l find that as whole
there has been 4 decrease upon the
cities, towns and plantations of the
State OF s1s,629.O3, while the State tax
assessed on wild lands alone in 1906
VI dS FGC,oJS.LT SLSutSl liioii A"HO'
We also find that the total State tax
assessed on the farming towns and
plantations in the fifteen counties out
side of Aroostook was $4,000 less than
in 1900.
/ wish to note in this connection that
the tax assessed by the State assessors
against the. various State corporations
in 1900 was only s716,101.7l whereas
for teh year 1906 it was s1,29S, 71'.so. an
increase of $3.50 ,6O615, almost twice as
mucn as required to pay all the leSiti-
mate expenses of the State after de-
Quoting those items which are not the
absolutely necessary expenditures of
State government. The politician so
often makes an appeal to So the in
dividual against the corporations. that
cannot help calling attention to these
figures, which show that the burdens
Of taxation are being constantly in
creased or corporate property and re-
duced on the individual property OF
the State, so far as the purposes of
State taxation go.
1t is undoubtedly true that most of
the cities and towns in their municipal
affairs lre increasing the amount of
taxes they are paying. but they gather
at their own town meetings and raise
and appropriate this money for their
own town purposes. and it is a matter
wholly with themselves whether they
make their taxes more or less. But il
they nave modern improvements. they
will have to pay for them the same as
the cities do. although the State has
just entered upon a system Of State
road building, by which, through State
take ton. a large sum of money is to be
raised on all the property of the State,
which Is to be apportioned relatively
much more to the smaller towns than
to the cities or larger towns.
note that in my own city of Water
vile, in 1880, the year that I came
here, our tax rate was 10 mills and
that we raised and expended only $685.
100.1l; where in 1906, our tax rate was
23'Ss mills and we raised and appro-
priated $136,326.2 We have also
largely increased our bonded debt. But
when I came here in 1880 we had prac-
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