Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1914-10-27
WHERE MONEY GOES
OLD TIMER OF IOWA HAS FlGUR.
ED IT ALL OUT FOR
OUR READERS
FACTS IN HUMOROUS VEIN
Misleading Statements Of Candidates
Will Not Stand the Test When Com
mon Sense Is Brought to Bear On
the Actual Figures.

! guess I am bout an average tax
payer. I see that my friend John T.
says one out O five pays taxes. He
bein' banker ought to know. Now
supposin' it amounts to $40 apiece all
round; that would mean that |, as an
average taxpayer, pay about 500 in
taxes.
Let's figure little on this tax bust.
ness, having the records at hand right
from the state house where anybody
at all interested can get them. Figur-
ing's easy and some people can figure
out Iowa as robbed, ruined and bank
rupt. But let's keep to the facts in
our figuring.
got all the figures straight from
the records, as l said, and | want to
know where my money goes and all
about it. I'm going to get at it on the
basis of that hundred l pay in taxes.
Then it Is easily understood and no
mistake.
In the first place l find that of my
hundred dollar tax bill the biggest
slice goes PUNK into our common
schools. How much d. We suppose?
Just $35.03. But I'm mighty proud of
our schools. And really that isn't all
that goes into our schools either, as
found out afterwards.
Then the next biggest bunch goes
right into our roads and bridges. but
we're building real bridges now and
making roads better and keepin' 'em
dragged SO the buzz cars can make
fast time. They're putting $3.50 of
my hundred right into roads. But wait
till they begin paving them and then
see what it costs.
Then we have seven or eight hun.
dred mighty fine towns in Iowa, with
lights and water and paving and all
those things, and hundred good cit.
les where we market our stuff. OF the
hundred in taxes paid by every one in
five, learn that $1439 goes to make
these cities and towns so we can be
proud of them.
Now l find here another consider.
able item in making up this hundred.
1t is $20.37 That goes to the county
seat and none Of it gets further
away than an hour in the auto.
1t pays for the county officers,
some drainage matters, for court
house purposes and some of it goes
for roads. 1t pays for cemeteries and
to help the poor folks. and pays the
Widows pensions and to help bury the
old soldiers, and to care for the insane
in the county. Guess that's all right.
Now we come to an item about
that out of my hundred is taken $500
for state purposes. That goes to Des
Moines to be used in the way the leg.
islature says.
But here is just one more item. 1t
is for $3.27. They call it "millage
taxes" and on inquiry l find that it
goes to Ames, and Iowa City, and
Council Bluffs, and Clarinda, Mount
Pleasant, Davenport, Vinton. Chero.
kee, Cedar Falls and so on. 1t Is dis.
tributed all round, but Ames gets
most of it. My frien' John T., the
Cedar Rapids banker, says it Is Tex.
penses OF state government" but If
SO all right. Then it also includes, as
l discover, the pay for all the work
those college extension fellows are do.
ing to help the farmers and to hold
Institutes and crop meetings and colt
shows and all that sort of thing. II
hof' az of opt
it's all right.
What's left? O. most forgot it.
Just $1.O2 and where dy' suppose it
goes. Why for capitol extension.
And they do tell that they're buying
1t so cheap that it could all be sold
back in a jiffy at profit, il anybody
ever finds Iowa bankrupt and busted
and needin' the money.
But wait. find that here's a million
dollar item l didn't include in the
large amount of taxes we pay. 1t
is little side line. It's a million in
automobile taxes. But then It comes
back to us and goes into our road
fund So the road money is more than
] had figured. That auto tax is col.
lected in Des Moines. but it doesn't
remain there. Every township Of the
state gets a slice.
Now, I've been wondering what be.
comes Of the $500 in state taxes !
pay each year. l made some inquiry
about that, also, and find that it
doesn't all go to pay for janitors and
postage and committee clerks and
rrintin' of reports so that my frien',
the banker. can get all the facts if he
wants to.
FIR instance, an John T. never said
a word about this, either. ! find that
all the district judges-59 of them
are paid by the state, and some of
them actually live in towns around
here That takes 100000 year.
Then. so it seems. when the rent for
the armory down at the county seat
is paid check is drawn on the state
treasury. and when the guard boys