The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1913-10-16


Think About These Conditional
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 7" he asked.
About two thousand"
~What is your principal Industry"
"We have none. unless stores count
Have you no factories7"
None except a tombstone maker"
How Is your population employed!-
We'll. We have fiftytwo stores. nine
hotels and restaurants, two newspa-
pers. one laundry. one photograph gal
lery and two banks"
you seem to have good railroad IA
cillties."
Yes, we have railroads running
north, south, east and west: twenty
six passenger trains in and out every
day and no end Of freight trains"
What does the surrounding country
producer"
Coal 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?"
mot much In the past twenty-five
years"
How are your young people EN-.
ployedr
They mostly drift away and get
work In the cities"
"uas .. ~~-~- >ocr--oA Wv n
start few factories and keep them at
home?
Yes. It has been tried. and we at
one time had a commercial club, whose
aim II was to get some factories here,
but they couldn't seem to do any
thing"
What were the obstaciesf"
well. some people were induced to
come here and found cheap land. cheap
fuel, good shipping facilities. but no
labor. and some Of the inqu!sitive ones
asked about taxes. etc. and nothing
came OF It."
What IL the trouble with your
taxes'"
well. 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-nve different kinds Of
property. and all at the same rate. they
ducked"
rs this true about the taxssi"
Well. II 10 pretty near the facts
The city and county and state and
schools all have to be paid. and II q
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.
hve 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 fnd, and then there Is
the county equalization board, which
scrutinizes his returns and sdds what
II likes, and then the state board at
Frankfort takes a whack at II and gen.
orally raises the whole list, and It sim.
ply keeps everybody going who has
TO be taxed"
why don't you change the tar
law
~well. they put the law relating 70
revenue and taxation In the state con-
stitution, and 1t takes about Ave years
" oneo, d cnange. and it is hard to &c:
the voters TO understand the question.
The last legislature passed an amend
ment and 1t will be voted on at the
November Q913) election, and IL 1t Is
ratified the change will be made"
II 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
10. you people should wake up. and II
your tax laws are oppressive. change
Them, and your state will blossom like
the rose"
We'll, goodbye. stranger. l intend
to vote for the amendment myself. and
may be others will do the same. IL
can't be any worse than the present
3. stem. and surely would like to see
some smokestacks looming up In these
parts. Farewell"