Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1909-09-03

money, no watches, no bicycles,
no notes and mortgages.
Reforms come slowly. The work
is first educational. Somebody
must keep up a tax propaganda.
AS lawyers you can take a vital
part in this educational phase Of
the work by becoming active men,
bers in the International Tax As
ISOLATION, Columbus, Ohio, and Of
the North Dakota State Tax Asso-
citation. Both these organizations
study state and local taxation.
Legislative reform, that is, al
tering our system piecemeal by
the state legislature if practice
that may work either good or evil.
1t may be like our attempted tariff
revision the wrong direction.
But the recent tariff revision made
clear one point, the need of a per-
manent tariff commission, to study
the question and recommend legis-
Iation. So also our legislation
hitherto in the tax question. 1t
has made clear the need Of a per-
manent tax commission, l mean
such as have Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Michigan, Indiana and about fiji
teen other states. These states
have made the most progress to-
wards a just tax system. In these
states do we find signs of progress
such as Separation of Sources of
State and Local Revenue, a fairly
satisfactory Inheritance Tax, a
workable franchise tax, etc. But
l regret to add, even in these
states the fundamental trouble
remains, that is, Embarrassment.
These states have tried out the
general property tax. They have
decided that they cannot work un-
der present machinery. They must
either get rid of the local assessor,
or try some new form Of tax, such
as income tax or some other tax.
But the decision now seems unani-
nous with these states that the To-
cal assessor must be got rid Of.
This may seem like blow to our
local democratic institutions.
But it is not. Personally, l am
converted to the view that the To-
cal assessor must go. A county
assessor would be better. His
term should be longer, his pay
better, and his tenure of office de-
pend solely on the efficiency which
he manifested in performing his
work.
The other day discovered spot
of good country roads near Lari-
more, the first and only one l have
seen in North Dakota. l asked
the township supervisor about his
highway overseer. "Oh," he
said, I'VE got rid of him long
ago. We didn't want to bother
with him. And by centralizing
this road work in the hands of
three supervisors of the township
an immediate improvement result
ed. A still further Capitalization
Of highway work under county and
state officers would doubtless help
still more.
We are pot suffering from too
much democracy, but we are suffer-
ing from too much inefficient local
government masquerading as dem
: ocracy.
We must get rid of our local as
SCISSOR.
That is the first step l would
propose to you for your considera-
tion and discussion.
The next step, or perhaps it
should be called the first and fund
amental step, is to amend our state
constitution.
In 1851 Ohio adopted constitu-
tion. 1t says, Art. IL, Sec. g,
Laws shall be passed taxing by a
uniform rule, all property accord
ing to its true value in money!
In 1889 North Dakota adopted a
constitution. 1t says, Art. r.,
Sec. 176, Laws shall be passed,
taxing by uniform rule, all proper
' ty according to its true value in
. money"
Ohio passed this constitution on
to Illinois. to Minnesota, and final
!. ly to North Dakota. But what
!. was Ohio in 1851? She had no
railroads then, no great public ser.
vice corporations, no complex
> formes of intangible property.
J, What fit her conditions So years