The state herald., 1912-10-18

for they can secure the facts and figur'
es from the records but they clearly do
not want any Figures except those they
use. Taxpayers should remember that
this Sl7.56 includes $3.50 school tax IS
of which was special district levy.
Are the commissioners responsible for
this school tax? Only $500 tax against
this land is used for county expenses
and still the Enterprise insists that the
commissioners are responsible for all
the tax against the pet quarter of land.
The Enterprise publisher asked how
the tax levy was being used and we
gave him the itemized expenditures up
to date and challenged him to tell how
any of these expenses could be reduced
but he had no suggestions to offer and
once more returned to his pet quarter of
land.
He says that the valuation of county
property had increased over 1000 per
cent in seven years. We said nothing
about the increase in the value Of any
property except land, as he well knows
but we challenged him to show any in.
crease in the tax on any property ex-
cept land but he very wisely did not at
tempt to do so and, taking our figures
on the increase in the value of land, aq-
plies the same rate of increase in value
to all other property and attempts to
show that this should have lowered the
taxes. Brilliant reasoning! He must
think the voters do not know straight
up if he imagines that they can be fool
ed by any such wild statements as he is
giving them. He asks where the ex-
ira county expenses come in but does
not tell his readers that we are now
paying interest on the county bonds and
in 1905 no interest was being paid on
the bonds. He does not tell them that
we are now establishing and working
roads at considerable expense while in
1905 we had very little expense in this
line. He did not say anything about
the. fact that we are now paying double
election expenses on account of the
primary election which We did not have
in 1905. No mention is made by him Of
the fact that the court business in the
county has greatly increased and Of
course the expenses have increased.
No mention is made of the fact that the
expenses Of every county increases as
the county developes and increases in
in population. And that is not all, he
makes no mention of the fact that in
1905 We were receiving considerable
county revenue from the collection Of
old land taxes by the sale of old tax
certificates and there were large sales
of these in thas year, as the gentleman
has great reason to remember, for he
was the heaviest purchaser of these and
secured then at price suspiciously low
for man who is now bowling himself
hoarse over imaginary wrongs of the
taxpaeyr.
Yes. the increase in the tax on this
pet quarter of land of the Enterprise
publisher can all be accounted for with
out casting any reflection on the good
business management of the present
county commissioners or any other COM
missioners; this gentleman and his legs
adviser know this but their schme is to
raise this howl about taxes to fool vot-
ers into pulling some chestnuts out Of
the fire for them. They want the
county printing and county attorneys
office and they want them badly as car
be seen by the rank methods they ar,
using for the defeat of the republican
candidates for commissioner.