Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1911-03-31

p Where does the tax money go?" ii
the most important question of all
: and 1t can be properly asked without
the least insinuation of official i'm
/ probity, for not a man in Dallas will
= say ne believes single penny of the
public fund has been used dishonest
~. The records will not show that
the city tax has been used dishon-
estly but they will disclose the fact
: that much of it has been spent fool
lshIy. Where does the money go? A
little here, and little there-some of
II spent wisely, but most of it wasted.
III 1t is not twasted, why is it that
taxes today are nearly four times as
nigh as they were five years ago. with
no corresponding increase in benefits? ?
In 1905 the city levy was Il mills
on an assessed valuation of $514.O80.
This year the property owners are
paying 10 mills on a valuation reach |
ing the enormous total of $1116.228. |
oA mill tax on $514,080 in 1905 +
raised $3213. A 1O-mill tax on
$l,116,228 this year will raise s11.162
Is there man in Dallas who will saw
that the needs of the town are over
three times as great as they were
hVe years ago? Has the town made
growth sufficient to justify any
such enormous increase in tbe
amount of money wrung from the t
people by 10mill levy? Are pub-
TIC improvements any better or more
numerous? Is it not a fact that the i
number of electric street lights TODAY p
Is practically no greater than it was T
then, and that the cost of these G
lights is no higher now than form c
erly? And is it not true that in the +
district, which covers n
arge portion of the city. winter IL
pedestrians walk through mud now b.
instead OF on crosswalks <as then? p;
1t must be remembered that in ad- re
iition to the $11,162 taxes this year.
ne city is getting $24OO saloon Ii
ense and probably $4O0 or $500
rom miscellaneous sources. What be
the taxpayer getting for $14. .000I W;
year now, that he did not get fr'
Or one-third of that amount five an
ears ago? Consider this oues-
on and see if you can think of
ngle item. If you cannot, then wbv
'ntlnue to pay the present enormous
IA tax nearly as great as your "M
ate, county, school and road tax I'll,
'InDlhed-a tax which would have cd
quired levy of more than 21 mills ~, a
ia the same amount of money been lia,
lsed five years ago, when the prom Dr.
ty Of the city was assessed at only tve
1850. IVY
mi, cen
The Observer will never kick
alnst taxes, no matter how high
~ may go, so long as 1t believes :,
property owners are being given -, Il
ue received for their money. This OIei
"spaper realizes that good things oiiic
i money, for town as well as for iiliS'
individual, and that we cannot A''V
ID up Dallas without spending a. II
ney. But 1t also realizes that we wiz
spend money vitto,,t h,,,,S,ie "o at Il
las Ono oo,,rso -. "P The
on. new industrios OIL ,. popu any
speritv Tho otba,. - s'''e" Sp
burden indnstrioi ,t.1...'l 10" after
the driving away of men who eie :
Ie to town with tho intant,a. ~ five !
sting their money. VIII
ne Observer hopes and believes py
the voters of nalIo. ,,,,I, ,, of NJ
these questions when casting No'
ballots next Monday This 81
5paper has no personal feeling
hst any candidate; in fact, IL
nothing for the personality of OF Su
man, or set of men, in this con- sold i
IL is not a question Of person plant
OF OF friendship, but the vitality under
rtant question of what is best for NJ
he future welfare of Dallas. Druge
e town must grow. We can no
+ aford to stand still. Dallas Vot,
lot been of the 'stand-still" kind, No. Is
this new experience of the last
eonIe We n,ns. 20 "p. .d, pressing TO +++
alton ord 90 DU'iu up our +
ents and our manufactmrinS vS'do ,n = b
ane wav"no, 'us' d",sa, uo ~ IN a sate $50.
y that they squeeze taxes down ~.
''"ii'' put demanding are CHI
hey give us dollars worth of word, (
for every dollar of tax we nav for ea
he citv traos,,r,, r,. words
-, ihat Is all vertiseI
'P"Ser mas right to expect. cents.
III any reasonable taxpayer will
cannot build up Dallas without
ng money; but we can spend Wom
without building up Dallas. at Obse
are we doing with our present
tax?