The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-03-18
Mr.. Ward Complains
Of High Taxes
Editor islander:

| tain the amount OF taxes L nave TO
pay for the year 1909. The word
"astonished" does not express my
sentiments upon learning that iE SIX
years the taxes of San Juan county
have gone up three times or there
abouts. And in looking around. |
cannot see what we are getting for this
outlay of money. YES. we have
sway backed court house that is re
inforced" to keep it from tunEling
on Judge and jury, and yet some ad-
vocated thirty or thirty five thous-
and dollar court house. Where would
such extravaganza put the taxpaYerY
A year ago last winter we had a
legislature whose members put in
their time making laws requiring 9
ft. sheets for beds and other fool
laws, such as the one requiring
judges to wear flowing gowns, as if a
judge could not give equal iustice
when wearing simpler garb. Then
to heap on a few more taxes an extra
session was called. costing some forty
or fifty thousand dollars. If you or
any other man can tell me what that
extra session accomplished l would
like to know. We have conventions
of sheriffs to give their views of how
to catch criminals; anditors' conven
tions and assessors conventions. aud
latest of all good roads conventions.
where commissioners are banqueted
by dealers in road machines, etc. ana
flattered and csjoled into buying
need less machines for their counties.
If San Juan county had rivers to
bridge and sloughs to cross, the way
taxes are mounting up you never
could pay them. ALI praise to Mr..
Shull that he turned down that tin
whistle arrangement for culverts. l
hope the people will keep him there
as long as he will serve. sss,
Some three years ago there was q
count of the population to see if the
classification of the county could
not be raised. If the commissioners
had thought little bit. they might
have had the school clerks take the
census in every district and then
there would have been no padding.
l am of the opini on that it would be
good idea to see how this change
was made aud if found not to be up
to the count. set it back to where it
belongs.
There are old people on the islands
who have worked hard in their time
to save something for old age, and
now the taxes are hard to meet in
their days of feebleness of6ce hold
ers want all. Farmers cannot afford
to hire help. wages and taxes are so
high. recollect that in war times
when farmer paid S1U0 in taxes he
thought he vas ruined. We are at
peace with all the world and yet we
are paying war time taxes.
There is one thing the taxpayers of
San Juan county should bear in mind
The county is as large as it can be
unless some convulsion of nature
heaves up some more land: then you
can invite settlers if you are living
at that time. Under existing condi-
tions you have no homesteads and
cannot encourage immigration. That
is one reason why taxes should be
as low as possible. When stranger
inquiries about taxes he wonders why
they are so high when you have few
criminal cases and no paupers and IS
apt to pass us by and 90 where taxes
are lower l believe in good schools
and good roads. Every farmer who
travels the highways should give as
good as he gets. The farmer pays all
the bills; every other man he deals
with can tuck on trifle to pay his
taxes but the farmer takes what you
give and pays what you ask.
M. A. Ward.
Houghton, Wash. March Is.
(lf Mr.. Ward will compare bis tax
| T0Cc1p 1pt 1OT bAlS CoI Will u1S AOOOApoo
for previous years. he will see that
the large increase is almost entirely
in state taxes. for which the county
commissioners are in no way to blame.
AS regards the change in the CLASH
fication of the county, the census up
on which the increase was based was
taken in the manner provided by law.
The Islander believed at the time and
still believes that the commissioners
made an inexcusable error in allow
| ing several hundred transient fisher
men to be included in the enumera
tion. but however that may be it be-
lieves that the county officers are not
receiving aLy larger salaries than they
are justly entitled to now. Ed.)