Mount Vernon signal. (Mt. Vernon, Ky.) 18??-current, 1914-03-27
WHAT Ais STATE
OF KENTUCKY
Traveller '.Asesrtained Facts
About One Community
CnANGE N TAX LAWS NEEDED
Why Are 100000 Of ksntueky's People
Living In Other states?-A True
Story With 4 MeraI-What Do You
Think About Thsse Conditioner

Cnan6c Cdre ~ u utt0 LoWu Ia ooulA'
eastern Kentucky, had a conversation
with an intelligent business man of the
place and ascertAinsd the following
facts:
What Ii your population" he asked.
about two thousand"
what is your principal Industry"
I'VE have none, unless stores count"
Have you no factories!"
None except q tomb stone maker"
How is yourrpopulation employed"
well, We have ifty-two stores, nine
hotels and restaurants. two newspa-
pers. one laundry, one photograph gal
lery and two banks"
you seem to have good railroad "a
cilities."
Eyes, 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 20 different parts
Of the country"
HAS your town increased in popu-
lation?"
Not much in the past twenty-five
years"
How are Jour youns people en-
ployed"
They mostly DRIFT away and get
work in the eities."
HAS 1t never occurred to you to
start few factories and keep them at
homer? -
yes, 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 obstaclesr
well, 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 II the trouble with your
! taxes!"
well, you see, We have the general
property tax in Kentucky, and when
, they were shown tho assessors lists
and found they had to pay taxes on
about seventy-hve different kinds Of
property. and all At the same rate, they
ducked."
!, "Is this trus about the tsxes!"
l We'll. 1t 10 pretty near the facts
: The city and county and state and
schools all have to DO paid, and IL q
man starts a factory he has tc pay or
D his machinery. his raw material and
I finished goods; his cash and accounts
q and. OF course, on his land and build
inss. and a good many other things
including his watch and stickpin, and
, IL he wants to educate his children, h
must pay on the books and piano anc
!. his horse and buggy and almost every
e thing but bis shirt, and the trouble 10
4 he never knows exactly what his take:
!. will be. If he omits any of the seventy
i've things the legislature could thinl
II Of and the miscellaneous things hs
must think of himself, there Is the rev
snue agent who gets a commission OF
anything he can hnd, and then there II
The county equalization board, which
5crutinizes his returns and adds wha
i likes, and then the state board a
: FFankfert takes whack at it and gen
orally raises the whole list, and it sim
ply keeps everybody going who ha.
anything to be taxed"
Way don't yeu change the ia,
iawsT
We'll, they put the law relating C
revenue and taxation in the state con
stitution, and 1t takes about five year:
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 tn.
November l1sl3) election. and II it 1.
ratified the change will be made"
II live In Pennsylvania, and ever,
town in that state as large as your.
has q factory Of some kind, and man,
Of them several. They employ the
Young men and women and keep them
and the money they earn at home. Blu
here comes my train. and all can sa,
is, yo4 people sheuld wake up, and Il
your tax laws aFe oppressive, change
them, and your state will blossom like
the rose"
well, goodbye, stranger I intend
70 yets for the amendment myself, and
may be others viii do the same. Il
cant be any worse than the present
system, and surely would like to see
sons smeksstseks lasning up in thes.
parts. Farewell"