Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-04-06

Increase from State Tax.

| looked then at the item Of state
tax To see what possible bearing this
might have on the result figured out
by our opponents If this furnished no
more income il required no specific
mention by the state auditor. Ii il az
fortleG a material increase, he could
honestly have qualified his state
ment. To the extent that it afforded
greater revenue To that extent the adj
minstration at Augusta had not bodily
lifted the peoples burdens.
Now what does il show" 1t is a
well-recognized fact that the state
tax nf one year is not really available
until the beginning of the succeeding
year, because it is raid in settlements
with the towns after the first of Jan
nary. Consequently Governor Fernaid'S
administration of 1919 and 1910 rcceiV
eG these taxes assessed for l90S9, and
the present administration gets those
for 1919 and 1911, because the auditor
has included the 1911 tax in his state
| nent, as though it had been paid ON
the first day of January.
The State tax of 1s0S and 1909 was
three mills each year. That for 1910,
| paid in 1911. was five mills, and the
| 1911 tax, also included i'm the statement,
was six mills,
In other words. the last Republican
| administration had the benefit of six
mills state tax. The present govern
| lent gets within the time figured in
the auditors statement II mills. That
with the increased valuation makes
difference Of S2.&i2, s65. Il. l take the
figures from a table contained in the
present treasurers report Making al
| lcwanee fer the increased school FUNDS
payable from this item, the difference
| in revenue received from State tax is
| 81. Joe 292 - in favor of the present ad-
ministration. The State auditor neg
lected To mention that in connection
with his talk about reduction of the
| net debt An official who does not no.
tice a small item like y million dol
lars deals in figures almost too large
to make him useful in staid old State
| like Maine.
out the four hundred thousand
dollars and the million dollars of in
| creased revenue together and then |
| locked oyer the figures to sec what
substantial disbursements, for the two
wears under comparison, had been re
duced i'm the later year that We're not
real economies. And these are not
mere trifes except to an Official VINO
does not notice a million dollars IN
| making comparisons.
What do we find here2 Six princi-
pal items Of this class account Tor
| $692. 7555S of this alleged Democratic
economy. Almost seven hundred thou
SAND dollars more: seven hundred
| thousand dollars reduction of net DEBT
accomplished by repudiating current
moral, social and economic obligations
seven hundred thousand dollars OF
shifted burdens, that escaped the au-
ditor's attention. But he doesn uea'
| in figures of enc million dollars or less.
Classified and figured approximately
| from the two official reports, they are
shown in this table:
1909 1911
Charitable, Benevo-
lent and Education 40, 400 =.
al Institutions, $2bS,Un.W Sol,1Vs''o
Commissioner of
ment 256,sl635 124011o3
state Benefieares,
s State Bene}iciari ' 2ll,7ds4s 57s7O#
Educational Depart
ments, exclusive of
common school and 80 40
| mill funds. Sll,79l.9 lio,Ssa.s9
Maine School for
Maine School for
Feeble Minded, 99,0ooW 3s,Soooo
sll7S,945oo s4s6, 1883. 4
Combine these two items of in
creased revenue and this item of de-
creased expense realized either by
| shifted burdens or burdens like the
| building of the school for the feeble
minded already accomplished, ana we
have accounted for the modest sum
| of 81 ,207 56S.7S of this alleged showing
without going into the extraordinary
| items Of the last year of the Fernaid
administration, like the enlargement
of the state House. In other WORDS
| they leave but $204, 39S.97 of the amount
claimed by the State auditor ana
against that we have the final state
| House item alone Of $3300O0. which no.
body criticises now, and which leaves
a balance, not of two and a quarter
millions in favor of the present admin
istration, but when we consider the
income received and the public duties
discharged more than one hundred
thousand dollars in our favor.
our opponents will reply that while
the five mill tax of 1910 was not available
to the Fernald administration for the
payment of bills, it was considered in de-
termining the States net debt on Jan. /.
1911 This is true, and the increase over
! the previous years assessment was Ssbb,-
4949 80. But against this should be set the
fact that the present administration, IN
order to make n showing for campaign
purposes, anticipated a portion of its
legitimate revenue by collecting six mills
of its 10 the first year, and left but four
mills 4or the second. In other words, for
a full comparison of the two admins
trations, while they are collecting no less
for the full term. they will actually coll
lect more than 100000 less for the second
year, an item which must be considered
in a full comparative showing, even
though il may have been intended to
remain silent concerning it until after
election.
In short the public was compelled to
pay an extra mill one year in advance so
that the jingle of coin might echo in
campaign arguments-not that IL was