Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1914-05-14

making together a total of s33, 600. 90
Now then if the Nipple Printing Com
pany were paying taxes on the full
value as per Mr.. Nipples testimony
and as required by law. the said print
ing company should have paid 1858, 90
instead of only s227,97, so that on that
basis the Nipple Printing Company es-
capped paying $3.50. 03 of it's fair share of
taxes. Considering that matter Mr..
Nipple has no good reason to boast his
big taxes.
So likewise, let US check over the
State Publishing Company in which
Editor Roberts is interested. Here we
lind even a greater feat of tax dodg-
ing. Just note the figures for the years
given.
Valuation Tax
1912 s33O0.0o S1S1.5o
1913 5414, 90 140. rs
Yet I. B. Roberts on February Sth,
1913. while under oath testified as
shown on page 2O5 of the same report
heretofore referred to, that the State
Publishing Company had invested as
shown by their invoice GA January 1st,
between $44. 900 90 and $45, 200. co.
On this basis it is evident that the
State Publishing Company should be
paying Approximately eight times s14o.-
Is for 1913, or on a valuation of S44,-
500 90 should have paid for 1918 the
sum of $l057.0 90 instead of only S14O. 70.
Thus this concern on the above basis
has lodged its taxes by the sum of
S916.24.
If the State Publishing Company
would pay more nearly it's full share of
taxes then Editor Roberts could with
better grace criticise the writer who he
says 'never was known to be on the
square side of anything" But then
Toms pr~oclivities for squareness are so
we'll known that people do not take him
over seriously.
OF course their reference to the
writer as a trouble maker or
disturber is purely personal. They.-.are
still thinking of that awful printing in
vestigation and its results. And how it
cut them out of so much fine "pie eat
ing" But at that time they did not
show much concern as to how much the
taxpayers had to pay. It. was coming
their way at that time. They were
happy rel if the taxpayer had to pay
the freight"
Now that they are forced to do bust
ness on a commercial and comparative
basi sthey whine like puppets, and have
the audacity to ask the State to pay
them more than outside bidders, even
if it will cost the taxpayers more to
meet the bills. That does not look good
by the side of their tax-dodging.
The taxpayers have not yet forgotten
how that the Nipple Printing Company
received S13, 795. So for the 240, 900 pub
licity pamphlets with a profit of over
$4,000. 90 according to Mr.. Nipples own
testimony. Nipple did not show much
concern of interest in the taxpayers at
that time or he might have been salts
fed with a smaller profit.
The same might be said of Roberts
and the State Publishing Company
when it comes to the enormous prices
they got for the Blue Book, the Senate
ard House journals both daily and per-
manent, and for Auditors Reports and
Binding of Public Documents. But now
all that fine "pie eating" has vanished.
Tom is now up against a clear cold bust
ness proposition and in competition with
the business world. So he vents his
wrath of the writer who exposed the
state printing pie eating" game.
And as a result the Capital Journal
has informed it's readers that the State
saved in round figures $35, 100000 during
the first ten months on it's state print
ing as compared with the previous
year. That saving OF s35, 0OO, 90 will
mean smaller taxes. May we hope that
we can save some in Hughes county
and the city of Pierre.
There are other items of interest the
writer may present at some other time.
WIN. j. MUNDT,
Pierre, S. D. May IL, 1914.
Prof. S. D. Van Benthuysen, of