The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-03-21
FARMERS SPECIAL
ENDS TOUR WITH
HAMPTON MEETING
Winds Up With Great Gather
ing of York, Warwick and
Elizabeth City
TAX EQUALIZATION
AND FARMING TALKED
State Laws Under Fiire---Agri-
cultural Subjects Discussed
by Practical State
Experts
BY ROBERT G. GLASS.

covering the entire length Of the main
line Of the railway and of the James
River division. the Chesapeake and
Ohio farmers institute train wound
up Its educational tour at Hampton
yesterday with a large meeting held
Jointly with the Retail Merchants as
ISOLATION of the peninsular city and at
tended by about three hundred farm
ers from the counties OF York. War
wick and Elizabeth City.
The institute train returned TO
Richmond last night with the State
farm exhibit, which has been carried
into almost every corner of the State,
and which has been inspected by
thousands of Virginia farmers On
the train were Industrial Agent Craw-
ley. of the Chesapeake and Ohio. and
party, and several of the institute lee
turers. Commissioner Koiner went to
TO Richmond.
n Great Meeting.
The meeting at Hampton was held
In the courthouse. and beginning in
the morning continued until late in
the afternoon. broken by recess for
dinner. which was served by the city
chapter OF the Daughters Of the Con-
federaey.
Throughout the day the courtroom
was packed with farmers and resi-
dents Of Hampton, who crowded IN
to hear lectures OF farming, under
the auspices Of the institute, and on
taxation under the auspices of the
Hampton Retail Merchants associa-
ton. Attending the morning session
was the class in agriculture Of the
Hampton high school.
The joint session was one OF the
best, and was the largest probably
which has been held py the institute
since II began It's tour about three
weeks ago. Throughout the trip
great interest Was manifested by the
farmers along the route travelled. and
the end was fitting climax to a trip
which meant so much to the farmers
and through them to the State.
At lunch hour yesterday the WISH
tors made an inspection Of the special
exhibit car, in charge of Commission
er of Agriculture koiner and Indus
trial Agent Crawley. spending consid-
cradle time in sdmirtng the character
Of the products show. all of which
were grown on Virginia land
President Hunter r. Booker. pres
ident of the Hampton Retail Mer-
chants association. presided al the
meetings in the courthouse. stating
the object Of the conference and in
Producing the speakers of the day,
who discussed agriculture and taxa
ton.
Tax Laws Raped.
At the morning session Harry Hous-
ton, OF the Hampton Monitor. and
former member of the legislature,
welcomed the farmers to the city.
Harry Holt. clerk of Elizabeth City
county, and Hon Gordon Cummius.
spoke on THE Equalization" while
af
Philippi, w. Va; Professor S X. Hi
Gis. of Herndon. and G. T, Rice, Of
Bedford. and others, spoke on agri-
culture and dalrying.
The tax laws of Virginia were Sc
verely raped by MIR. Holt and Mr.
Cummins. The former showed the
inequalities I'm the system, and the
latter demonstrated the complexities
of the law and the inpossihlity OF
equalization without radical changes
In the law
Clerk Holt put in defense of the
fee system, and then proceeded to
present some rather startling stats
tics showing the delinquencies of
which some of the counties of the
Subsequently, those of Southwest
virginia--are guilty, and how few
counties pay more to the state than
they receive. while about seventy
others pay considerably less.
In 1919 Elizabeth City county paid
TO the State ssS,oss.12 more than was
returned to it in the same year. he
showed York paid s3.455 less to the
State than IL received. Grayson paid
s26,94429 less than it received. and
Prince George paid S1,361.65 more to
the State than it received.
or the 100 counties in Virginia there
are only twenty mine which pay more
than they receive. and Of these TWEEN
ty-nine only two pay more than Eliza
beth City. to-wit, Henrlco and Nor
folk, Notwithstanding II is the next
smallest county in the State. The re-
naming seventy-one counties all pay
less than they receive. OF the twenty
nine counties that pay more there
are six in the First district, to-wit,
Accomae, Elizabeth City Northamp-
ton, Northumberland. Warwick and
Westmoreland, while the twenty-five
counties southwest of Roanoke fail
by s246,952.o3 to pay their own ex-
penses. to the State.
One Cause of Trouble.
Mr.. Cummins fiirted for awhile
with the Henry George single tax the
ory and then tore to pieces the
tax system OF Virginia, especially that
feature which leaves 1t TO the dis
erection of the assessor TO define what
constitutes fair market value of
property and that which provides for
the taxation of intangible property.
He said that on account OF the diff
ference in the values assessed in the
different counties some counties must
perforce, pay more than others and
quoted figure from the State tax COM
mission report to show some OF the
absurd inequalities He joined with
Clerk Holt in rap at the small
amount paid into thee State treasury
in proportion to that received by the
Southwest counties.
Commissioned Koiner was the first