St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1912-12-11
PRESS COMMENT
Attack on Vermont's Tax Laws

non-Laxauon OF national and STATE
banks. Fossibly in vermont, as IN
some staues, the loanels make the
laws governing taxauon.
1t is an easy tnIng 10 equalize the
taxation of mortgages. Let the mort
eager pay the tax on the real estate
anu have a IegaI offset on the inter
est payment to mortgage, pIo-ratIng
on whole value. That will prevent
double taxauon of land and mort
cages.
1 90 not know what your law is
for taxing banAs, but think there is
d speclaI tax leVlea SO as 10 exemp.
lnem from local taXanon. hepea.
Chls law. MAKE bank sock, sta.e
and national, subject TO local taxa
non, Ihe Same as any oLher property.
/ turnIsn a scneduIe Embracing Ia.
of personal property 10 Lne assessor,
with an amdaYlL that it is a IuIl ana
compete return OF All PERSONA pop
erCy-havlng person MAKING IL sign
and swear 10 II, giving assessor pow
er to administer the oath. nave NJ
uOuDC mat much mat should be taxea
wouId escape with This Jaw, but az Ga
should theIe would be Serlury
OF it.
The showing Of an Increase m
total assessment or $5,164,93t from
49VO 10 1914 and \ 0ecI ease IN AK
able assets of $2,33S,53I, indicates
that you need more or less OF Glas-
lonbury representation in your leg
lslaLure.
| The list of figures of your state tax
commissioner SHOWS the shallowness
of the revenue law of your state. Ii
framed as a farce, it's blooming
| success.
G. A. WHITCOMB.
| Morrison, ILL.,, November 20.
The COunIrys FOIIJlcal Apathy
One of the most striking facLs
brought out by the Associated Press
companion OF the popular vote IL
the recent pI es10enLIaI election Is
that the toLaI VoLe Was consIueI abls
less this year than it was IN 1870.
IN 1912 there went to the polls ap
proximateIy 14,3Oo,737 persons; III
1918 there were 14,S8S,442 sucL
persons. The loss IN the counLIys
Total voting strength consequently
was about half a million, notwILh
standing that more than 2OU,0OO
women in California and Washing
ton voted this year who did not Votv
in 1908. The increase since 1900
and the total vote should have easily
passed the 100000 mark in the
recent election, if the electorate ha4
voted in the same proportion it do
in the last previous presidential cleo
ton. Instead OF scoring the natur-
al gain, the country lost.
In 1896 the highest popular vote
in our history up to that time was
cast, 1928, 102. That was 1T
years ago, when the population OF
the United States was between 49,
600, 200 and 100000 smaller
than it is today. Yet with all those
millions of additional inhabitants
in the country the total popular vote
this year exceeds that of 1896 BY
scarcely 100000. In 1900 the vote
gained slightly, reaching the figures
1851, 566, but there was no gaiL
proportional to the increase in the
population. In 1904 there was &
serious decline, the total vote falling
to 1S,52S,979; yet four years age
there was a heavy gain, carrying
the total up to 14,888,442
The year 1908 was the Taft-Bryar
year, and it saw the last of Bryan's
three candidates.. 1t is a singular
fact that Bryan's campaigns have ir
each case resulted in a new high
record for the total popular vote
although Bryan himself was defeat |
ed each time. According to tests
covering 20 years-embracing
Cleveland's last andidacy-Bryar |
has moved more people to go to the |
polls, either in opposition to or in |
support of him, than any other pres
fdential candidate of our period
The test of the popular vote shows
that a Bryan campaign arousef |
more general public interest than any
other even a Roosevelt campaign
This may be interpreted, of course |
If the reader pleases, as meaning |
that Bryan has always aroused more |
alarm, has excited more fear in the
American people than any other |
cand1date.-[S Springfield Republican |
Farming, Fishing and Foxes
Two or three weeks ago l wrote
a letter to The Banner relative to a
trip to Chelsea in which l comment
ed briefly on the low price of the
farms in that section, good farm
being purchasable at $500 to $500
and first class ones at from $1,000 to
$15OU.
A few days ago 1 had the pleas
ure of visiting a rural section in the
town of Northdeld, but within easy
driving distance or the thriving
cities of Barre and Montpelier. The
farms there are not as smooth and
easily cultivated as those of Chelsea
and do not appear as productive, YET
L found that the prices are more
than double the prices of farme Oh
similar area in the neighborhOod {
Chelsea.
The reason is that the cities of
Barre and Montpelier furnish a mar
ket for all that can be produced
right at their doors. The value OF
these farms is steadily rising. A
Few years ago they were salable on
~ at sacrifice prices, but the i'm
provement of the nearby markets
has increased their worth from so
to 100 per cent.
1t seems to me that there is les
son in this comparison that the
farmers of Vermont and especially
~ ho a 11rn fa 4