The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-05-19
Money Spent on
Good Roads is
Money Well Spent
A. r. A. Laudon, Judge of Pro.
bate, Writes Letter to Farm
ers Concerning Taxation
SPEND MONEY AT HOME
Quit Improving Rest of World
and Improve Own Neigh
bOrhOOd
Mr.. FARMER:


doubled within the last few
years. Without doubt you have
a righteous kick coming. You
are not getting your moneys
worth. Without whimper you
have poured out your money to
make improvements in out of the
way places and other countries
where it can do you no possible
good. You have built Panama
Canals, dredged Rivers and Har-
bors and built battle ships that
were junk when completed.
These enormous millions, year
ly wasted, will do you about as
much good as so much money
poured into rat hole.
Study Values
Few if any of you have regis
tered any serious objection when
it came to the question of i'm
proving other parts of the world.
Many of you have seriously OBJ
jected when it is proposed that
a part of your tax shall be used
\ in improving your own property.
Are you getting your moneys
worth? This is a study of rela-
tive values. Is it more impor-
tant to you that you should have
a good highway on which to haul
your grain to market than that
Podunk River in North Carolina
should bedeepened?We arewith-
out doubt financing many Po-
Z dunk propositions in both State
!. and Nation.
! Your taxes have increased, but
nine tenths of the increase has
been for other departments of
. the State, and has not gone in
to the road and bridge fund. The
impression has gone out that the
great increase in taxes has been
I brought about by reason of the
estate Roads"
Some Statistics
n I want to call your attention
4 to a few undisputed facts, as
-kshown in the State Auditors Re-
port on file in the County Audi
\ tors Office.
A The receipts and disburse-
ments of all State departments
more than doubled in seven
Kyears; jumping from S11, 25O,-
900 in 1907 to $22,680,O00 in
1914.
Under the old law a quarter
of a mill tax was levied for the
road and bridge fund, which
Melted the State about $685..
1000. This was increased by the
constitutional amendment of two
years ago to one mill and last
year Melted the State 81, $780,,
900. You will notice that the
road and bridge fund gained &
little over a million dollars, while
there was an increase in Other
departments of over ten million
dollars. Nine tenths of the In
crease in your tax money goes
, into other departments. One
.enth goes into your road ane
bridge fund. Under these fig
ures you can no longer chargt
the State Roads with the grea1
increase in your taxes, because
ten million of it did not go int
roads. The average quarter sec
ton in Redwood County is as
sessed in the neighborhood O.
$4,000. The one mill tax assess
ment would figure out a
\ amounting to $500 on a $4,000
valuation. This was general,
more than offset by the Law
which abolished the labor tax
leaving the farmer an actua
gamer instead of looser. Tn
County rate for road and bridg
fund in 1907 was "a OF a mil
and in 1914 it was raised to 81
Of a mill. This would mean al
increase of exactly three cent
On a Three Thousand Dollar val
\ uation.
After a study of com
narrative values I believe tina
You will agree with me that yo
yhave gotten more real value on
of the One Million Dollars spen
on State Roads than you did on
4 of the other Twenty Two Mi
lion spent elsewhere in thl