Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1911-03-30

III AVVO hO Poiu Odt T0CsV-'
In 1906 he paid out $1O3.O4.
IN 1907 he paid out $94.10.
in 1908 he paid out $685..
In 1909 he paid out $43.O1.
In 1910 he paid out S27.45.
Relative to the poor bills. The
county temporary relief for the past
year has been the lowest in many
years being slightly over 5000. In
Ionia city the poor bills for 1910
have been about 81 800 or $500 less
than they were the last years OF
saloons.
Ionia city alone has saved $500
in poor expense.
The fact is true that the county
In 1910 borrowed 5 1000, while In
1907 and 1908 it did not borrow
The explanation of this Is simple and
does not take much time and is CIV
en- as it was given to the Sentinel by
Deputy County Treasurer Thomas
sparks.
December 81, 1907, or at the be-
ginning Of 1908, the county had
balance fund of more than $4,000.
When the county has money 1t does
not borrow but meets its obligations.
| For that reason it was not necessary
| to borrow a cent in 1907 and 1908.
At the beginning of the year 1903
| the balance was gone and now in
1910 the county finds it necessary to
hire $4,000.
The tax spread in 1910 was
$4,000 This included 81 600
spread to pay off county house
| bond.
But more than all that, in 1908
the county hired $31 900 to pay off
/ al IN n fin
| for years. And during the years
| the debt had been accommodating, the
county had been getting the so-called
benefits of the saloon money. Are
the vets saying anything about that
fact? During the years preceding
1908 the county ran behind $31 900,
and the saloon money was available
every year.
Since that time the county is be-
hind only $4,000 and besides 1t has
been paying interest on $35,OOO
county house bonds, has appropriated
500 for a tuberculosis sanitarium
has increased the salaries OF its OF
ficers, has sent consumptives TO
Howell and has been deprived OF the
saloon money for two of the eight
years.
And yet they will try to make you
believe that the loss of the saloon
money is responsible for the over
draft.
A high tax one year may be due
to one item or to several items that
go to make the total. The only
item that has anything TO do with the
county taxes is the item marked
county taxes" and that item will
be the cost of running the county
for the various.
The cry that high county tax rate
in 1910 is due TO local option, has as
much merit as the cry that the high
tax rate in 1903 and 1904 was due to
the saloon. The tax rate in 1910
was high because the county has kept
pace with progress and because IL
costs more to run the county, not be-
cause the income is less. The high
tax rate in 1903 and 1904 came in
spite of the vast amount of money
paid in in licenses and should refute
the arguments that the liquor money
lessons taxes.
In 1907 the county of Ionia re-
ceived $7,976.93, in liquor money.
What would the cost be If the
liquor money was a dead loss with
no credit to Offset it?
/
property that year was 21,24S, Jos
The rate of taxation then is .003s
minus, or $.3S on each $1,000 OF
: assessed valuation. Every person
: can take his tax receipts and figure
it out for himself how much he pays
| to get rid of the saloon, provided, OF
course, the loss in license money Ii
considered a dead loss with no Off
sets.
How much did 1t cost you to sober
up the farm hand who spent one
evening getting drunk? That one
: night probably cost you $.3S on g
2 thousand valuation.
5 Now this is all the county tax thai
has to be paid by anyone on account
of the loss of the saloons. Every
5 particular instance in which the los
of the saloon has been a benefit de.
ducts from that loss. That is all the
tax formerly paid by the saloons thai
D has to be borne now by the residents
2 of 10 of the 16 townships in Ionis
county. One township only, Camp
2 bell, the cities of Ionia and Bedding
Y and the villages of Saranac, Port
g land, Muir, Lyons, Pewamo anC
t Hubbardston shared in the othe1
half of the liquor tax.
S While the townships of Otisco
e Orleans, Ronald, North Plains, Lyons
1 Portland, Ionia, Easton, Keene, Bos
e ton, Berlin, Orange, Sebewa, Danb.
and Odessa share in only one-half o
1 the license money derived from The
I saloon, the other half going to the
: incorporated villages and cities ant
: Campbell, still those 10 township
: must pay their full share of the ex
: penses that are directly chargeable t