The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1914-03-05
FROM THE
STATE CAPITOL
STATE TAX COMMISSION HAS
COMPLETED PUBLIC SER
VICE ASSESSMENTS.
SOME RAILROAD VALUATIONS
ARE REDUCED.
Or. Holm Talks on Causes of Infant
Mortality and Blames Mothers
In Many Cases for
Sickness.
(By Gurd NJ. Hayes.)


taxes this year and all of this money,
under the provisions of the constitu-
ton, will be turned into the primary
school fund. The state tax commits
sion have completed the final assess
ment and the figures show that the
various companies must pay $274,-
$500 more in state taxes than they
paid one year ago.
Since the tentative assessment was
announced January 10, the state tax
commission has been sitting, as a
board of review and the companies
have had the right of appeal from
the tentative figures. Some of the
companies failed to send represent
atives to Lansing. being apparently
satisfied with the initial work of the
commission.
However, practically all of the
railroad companies appealed from
the tentative assessment and in some
cases they succeeded in inducing the
tax commission to pare off few
thousand dollars from the assess
ment. This year the companies will
pay taxes at the rate of 21.76 per
$1,000 assessed valuation.
The total valuation of all railroad
property in the state is placed at
$214,306,500 The tentative assess
ment made last month placed a valua-
ton of $21S,021,5 500 on the property,
but apparently the poverty pleas of
the corporation lawyers have some
effect as the final assessment was re-
duced $3,715,000 over the first figures.
The Pullman company's tentative as
sessment was s650,000, but the re-
personalities of the company sue
ceeded in convincing the commission
that it was not worth more than
1926, 900 and reduction of $4,000
was made.
The express companies succeeded
in securing a reduction of 100000
over the tentative assessment, the
car loaning companies were reduced
$314,700, while the telephone and
telegraph companies succeeded in
having the commission cut off SILL
500. AS compared to the tentative
| figures the assessed valuation of all
| the property was reduced 1927 800.
| AS compared to the tentative assess
ment the principal decreases in the
| final figures are as follows: Michigan
Central $1,7OO,OOO, Wabash 100000,
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
$275.00O; Chicago, Milwaukee & st.
| Paul $250,000; Ann Arbor 100000.
That fond mothers bad" habits
! have a big influence on the mortality
rate of infants is the declaration of
DR.. NJ. /. Holm, state bacteriologist
for the state board of health. That
the diseases of infants is due large
| " to the things which babies are per-
mitted to take into their mouths after
these things have been dropped on
the floors Of railroad stations, thea
tiers, public places and even in their
own homes, is also claimed. DR..
Holm is decidedly against the "pac-
ifier," teething rings and a new brand
of sweet biscuit recently appearing
for the supposed paciflcation of the
|
for the transmission of diseases.
Records of analysis divulge many
unusual things at the state labor
atory and only tend to prove that the
infant occupies a most dangerous po-
sition regardless of the love with
which 1t may be surrounded. DR..
Holm says "'Being a baby is a
very hazardous occupation In fact
statistical records show that it was
less dangerous to be soldier in the
battle of Gettysburg than to be a
baby in the goth century.
"In Michigan alone over 5000
babies died every year and the most
lamentable fact is that more than
half of these are from preventable
causes. Infectious diseases are re
sponsible for about 1000 deaths every
year among children under two years
of age in Michigan and these cases
too often are the result of criminal
carelessness, ignorance or neglect.
Most of the infections in children
occur through the mouth and a baby
habitually puts everything into the
mouth. Careless friends persist II
handling a baby with their street
gloves or soiled hands, or give then
things that have been exposed tC
various conditions.
Ignorant mothers frequently picl
up baby's pacifers. toys, ETC., from
the sidewalks or other public places
and return them TO the baby Need
less to soy that everything that goei
to the baby goes to the baby's mouth
carrying any infection to which thu
article has been exposed. Som'
mothers say: I am not afraid o
germs It is true that certain germs
are innocent, but in the public places
where the population of a cit!
mingles, one cannot always separate
the harmless from the harmful. Tn