The Bourbon news., 1913-10-03
What AILS STATE
OF KENTUCKY
Traveller Ascertained Facts
About One Community
CHANGE IN TAX LAWS NEEDED
Why Are 100000 of Kentucky's People
Living in Other States?-A True
Stcry With a Moral-What Do You
Think About These Conditions?


A traveller recently, while waiting to
change cars at little town in South
eastern Kentucky, had a conversation
with an intelligent business man of the
place and ascertained the following
facts:
What is your population?" he asked.
About two thousand"
what is your principal Industry"
1--WE. have none, unless stores count"
"Have you no factories?"
None except a tombstone maker"
"How is your population employed"
well, we have fifty-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
cilities."
"Yes, we have railroads running
six passenger trains in and out every
day and no end of freight trains"
What does the surrounding country
producer"
Goal, timber, clay, stone, corn,
wheat, tobacco, fruit and vegetables" I"
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 it never occurred to you to
start a few factories and keep them at
! home?"
Eyes, it has been tried, and we at
one time had commercial club, whose
! aim it was to get some factories here,
but they couldn't seem to do any
thing"
What were the obstacles?"
"Well, some people were induced to
come here and found cheap land, cheap
fuel, good shipping facilities. but nc
asked about taxes, etc., and nothing
came of it,
What is the trc~ble with your
taxes?"
well, you see, we have the general
property tax in Kentucky, and wheI
they were shown the assessors lists
and found they had to pay taxes or
about seventy-five different kinds o.
property, and all at the same rate, they
ducked."
SIS this true about the taxes?"
| "Well, 1t is pretty near the facts
The city and county and state AM
schools all have to be paid, and if
! his machinery, his raw material AM
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
if he wants to educate his children, h
must pay on the books and piano an
his horse and buggy and almost every
thing but his shirt, and the trouble il
he never knows exactly what his take
will be. If he omits any of the seventy
five things the legislature could thin
of and the miscellaneous things h
must think of himself, there is the re,
enue agent who gets commission o
anything he can find, and then there
the county equalization board, whic
scrutiniZes his returns and adds wha
it likes, and then the state board q
Frankfort takes whaCk at it and gel
orally raises the whole list, and it sin
ply keeps everybody going who ha
anything to be taxed"
! why don't you change the ia
laws?"
. We'll, they put the law relating |
revenue and taxation in the state CO..
stitution, and it takes about five yeal
to effect change, and it is hard to g
the voters to understand the question
The last legislature passed an amen
ment and it will be voted on at til
November (1913) election, and if it
ratified the change will be made"
II live in Pennsylvania, and ever
town in that state as large as YOU
has a factory of some kind, and mar
Of them several. They employ IL
young men and women and keep the
and the money they earn at home. B.
here comes my train, and all can So
is, you people should wake up, and
your tax laws are oppressive, chans
them, and your state will blossom lii
the rose."
s We'll, goodbye, stranger. I inter
to vote for the amendment myself, al
may be others will do the same.
can't be any worse than the prese
system, and surely would like to s.
some smokestacks looming up in the
| parfc Farewell -