The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1913-10-03
WHAT Ais STATE
OF KENTUCKY
Traveller Ascertained Facts
About One Community
CHANGE IN TAX LAWS NEEDED
My Are 100000 Of kentucky's People
Living In Other states7-A True
Story With a MoraI-What Do You
Think About These Conditioner

Eastern hentucKy, naO cOnNeTsdtiOn
with an intelligent business man of the
place and ascertained the following
.acts:
"What is your populatisn?" he asked.
about two thousand"
what is your principal Industry"
I'VE have none, unless stores count"
"Have you no factories?"
"None except a tombstone maker"
How is your population employed1"
well. we have f1fty-two stores, nine
hotels and restaurants, two newspa-
pers. one laundry. one photograph gal
lery and two banks"
you seem to have good railroad Ia
.nities."
Eyes, we have railroads running
north. south, east and west; twenty
six passenger trains In and out every
lay and no end Of freight trains"
What does the surrounding country
producer
Goal. timber, clay. stone, corn.
wheat. tobacco. fruit and vegetables"
What becomes of all these?"
They are shipped to different parts
Of the country"
"Has your town increased In popu-
lation?"
"Not much in the past twenty-five
years"
How are your young people en-
ployed?"
They mostly drift away and get
work In the cities"
HAS 1t never occurred to you TO
start few factories and keep them at
homer"
Eyes. 1t has been tried. and we at
one time had commercial club. whose
aim 1t was to get some factories here,
but they couldn't seem to do any
thing"
What were the obstacles7"
We'll. some people were induced to
come here and found cheap land, cheap
fuel. good shipping facilities. but no
labor, and some Of the inQuisitive ones
asked about taxes, etc.. and nothing
came of It."
What is the trouble with your
taxes?"
We'll. you see. We have the general
property tax in Kentucky, and when
they were shown the assessors lists
and found they had to pay taxes on
about seventy-fve different kinds OF
property, and all at the same rate, they
ducked."
rs this true about the taxes7"
We'll. 1t is pretty near the facts.
The city and county and state and
schools all have to be paid, and II a
man starts a factory he has to pay on
his machinery. his raw material and
finished goods; his cash and accounts,
and, Of course. on his land and build.
ings. and a good many other things.
including his watch and stickpin, and,
II he wants to educate his children, he
must pay on the books and plano and
his horse and buggy and almost every.
thing but his shirt. and>the trouble Is,
he never knows exactly what his taxes
will be. II he omits any Of the seventy
| FIVE things the legislature could think
Of and the miscellaneous things he
must think of himself, there is the rev.
enue agent who gets a commission on
| anything he can find, and then there Is
| the county equalization board, which
| scrutinizes his returns and adds what
| 1t likes, and then the state board al
Frankfort takes a whack at 1t and gen.
orally raises the whole list, and it sim.
ply keeps everybody going who has
| anything to be taxed"
why don't you change the tar
laws?"
We'll. they put the law relating to
revenue and taxation In the state con
stitution. and 1t takes about i've years
to effect a change. and It is hard to ge,
the voters to understand the question
The last legislature passed an amend
ment and 1t will be voted on at the
November (191S) election. and II It Is
ratified the change will be made"
| Il live In Pennsylvania. and every
town In that state as large as yours
has factory Of some kind. and many
Of them several. They employ the
young men and women and keep them
and the money they earn at home. But
here comes my train. and all / can say
is. you people should wake up, and Il
your tax laws are oppressive, change
them. and your state will blossom like
the rose"
well. goodbye. stranger. I Intend
to vote for the amendment myself. and
may be others will do the same. L
can't be any worse than the presen
system, and surely would like to Sc,
some smokestacks looming up In thes,
parts. Farewell"