The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1914-10-08

u "ouiu coicCt OUT COTpOrEtlOn tdA a.
Q provided by our constitution, afte
n these decisions were rendered, W.
t found that our advaiorem tax lev.
+ had been too low by reason of thes
decisions and were left with deficit
o Now listen, Oklahoma citizens. !
$ you should buy a supply of imple
4 ments from our hardware implemen
< dealer and you should promise hin
that from the proceeds of thu
3 crops upon your farm that yol
: would pay him for the imple
. ments bought, and IL after you hac
\ done your full duty toward the plant
ing of that crop, that drouth should
blight it, and instead Of producine
to you an average crop, 1t should be
a failure, would you feel that yor
were acting honest, and doine
your duty as an honest citizen by say
} ing to that implement dealer: II In
tended to pay you from the proceeds
of my corn crop, but the drouth has
: blighted my crop. it will bring me
nothing. consequently l cannot and
Will not pay you for the goods / have
J used"
I Added to this we discovered that In
I oklahoma we have many tax dodgers
1 and so through the adverse decisions
relative to the Indian lands being
| non-taxable, and through the lodging
or taxes by some OF our corporations,
we found that we had deficit of over
l $2,900.000. This is an honest debt, a
debt that no honest citizen in Oklaho-
ma would want to repudate. So It
1 was necessary to float bond issue
OF $2,sO0,O00 to cover the deficiency
occasioned by this condition. Again,
as was the case with the s1,460,0 900
| bond issue, Oklahoma democracy
FOUND that In no one year would the
| people be able to bear the burden Of
paying off this deficit, and instead OF
making large levy, this bond issue
was floated, with none of the bonds
| maturing tor ten years, with the hope
| that conditions would change and
that part, at least, of this land would
again be placed on the tax rolls by the
time that any part of this bond issue
became due, and that our corporations
could be made to pay their just part
of taxation.
So again with the idea of protecting
your interest, democracy acted In q most
businessliKe manner, and when these
payments become due there is no ques
ton but that the taxable property Of
Oklahoma will increase and large
ed, at the inception of statehood to
place on the tax rolls, will by reason
of conditions be again placed upon the
tax rolls, and that corporations byI
that time will have been forced to pay
their just proportion of taxation and
the end democracy will place upon
these lands, upon these corporations
the tax provided for by the constitu-
tion, and you, who have been paying
taxes for all these years will be reliev-
ed of your proportionate share of thel
burden of taxation to pay the indebt-
edness left to us by territorial govern
ment and imposed upon us by theI
decisions of those federal republican
courts.
There is however. another debt
which the state of Oklahoma owes,
but which is not and never will be a.
debt against the taxpayers of Oklaho-
ma. That debt is for sum of money
which oklahoma democracy has bor-
rowed for you against its public build /
ing lands for the purpose of building
buildings. buying equipment, ETC.. and
is in the sum Of $2.565, 1915, of which
amount $290.767 As has already been
paid without one cent cost TO the tax
payers. This leaves an Indebtedness
of this kind now outstanding of $2,-
275,000. The records show that there
is now on hands in this fund which
canont be used for any other pur-
pose but to retire this debt the sum
of $4S6,21S66 So if the books were
closed today this Indebtedness would
amount to $1,7Ss,6S1.34.
A further investigation shows that
these public building lands and assets
are earning for the state s270,0O0 per
years this indebtedness will be wiped
out, the state will still have the assets
that are producing this $270,00O and
own. as taxpayers, the public improve
ments that have been made with the
money borrowed as above set out.
So instead of an indebtedness of $S.-
100000 as is being told to you by our
republican friends the actual indebted
ness of Oklahoma today is $6,635, 900
ith a credit of S4S6, ,21S.70 as set out
above.
AS a matter OF fact the only indebt-
edness which the taxpayers are under
any obligations to or will ever have
to pay is the $4,36O,OO0, which is ex-
tended over a period of twenty years,
beginning in 1918. Quite a difference
an actuality of $4,360,000 and
The eight or ten millions referred to by
The republicans.
Along with their cry Of extravagance
n democratic state government, along !
with the facts that | have set out !
hat their statements relative to state !
extravaganza are misleading, l am
reminded just now of the fact that un-
Ter territorial government these fell
ows who are today talking about ex-
ravagance, made the last year they I
we're entrusted with territorial govern '
nent. a levy higher than has been l
made since statehood even though we !
rave our state institutions now to I
maintain. We made a levy OF los y
Mills for state government under dem q
'cracy as against mill levy under
erritorial republicanism. $
I am told that when this levy and !
hese facts were brought out that 1t !
vas a considerable shock to their I
ak OF eXtravagance and to overcome a
his they are circulating the report |
nd making the claim that democracy s
las only made this low levy for po- u
tical purposes.
The reason for this low levy Is be-
ause We have 20 a great extent passed a
he constructive period in the opera
ion OF our state Institutions. We u
ave builded them TO the extent that n
hey are now in condition to be operat- u
4 upon the most economical basis in a
lost Instances. Under this condition =
+ affairs there has reverted to the U
tate treasury on former appropria-
ons n considerable sum OF money. u
In addition to this the Oklahoma e.
.atutes require that the state board OF Y
levy a tax OF 20 per cent it