The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-12-10
TAX LEVY TO RULE
Shoe FACTORY FUND
Cont Club May Ask Property
Owners To Give 10 Gents
On Dollar.

A plan whereby property owners III
Cape Girardeau may be asked to do
nate sums commensurate with their
tax assessments to the building fund
for the erection of a shoe factory adj
dition today will be developed as a re-
suit of the special meeting of the Com
mercial Club last night when day and
means Of financing the addition were
considered.
The special committee of the club
will examine the city tax books and
cndeavor to ascertain how much
money may be collected from proper
ty owners by means of a reasonable
donation, pro-rating it at so much on
the dollar and measuring each mans
contribution by the amount of his tax
assessment.
The International Shoe Co., in MAX
ing its offer to Cape business men to
increase its business at the Cape fac
tory by one third, stipulates only that
the actual addition to the present fac
tory building must be furnished by the
Cape.
Accordingly, a part of the activities
of the Cape business men growing out
of the meeting last night, will be to
learn definitely what will be the cost
of erecting the addition that is asked.
Last. night the cost of the addition
was variously estimated at from
SIS 900 to $4,000 An architect and
engineer today may visit the factory
accompanied by members Of the shoe
factory committee, to calculate as ac-
curately as possible the probable cost
of the addition.
The addition must be the same width
as the present building, 50 feet, and
the company asks for an extension
northward from the present building
line of so feet. The addition also
would be five stories high.
This added factory space would en-
able the shoe manufacturing concern
to install enough new machines to in
crease their output from third to 80
per cent Of what it is at present. The
weekly wages paid in the Cape by the
factory would be raised by $4,000 to
$25OO.
When the question of how the Cape
business men are to proceed to raise
the money, after the sum necessary is
once ascertained, came before the
meeting, Charles l.. Harrison, pro-
posed the method of pro-rating dona-
tons on a basis of tax assessments.
Suppose we could collect 10 cents
on the dollar against $2,000,000 of the
Cape's assessed valuation. The city's
assessed valuation is really about two
and three quarter millions, but we will
leave off the three quarter millions as
assessments against those from whom
we could not collect.
''The collection Of 10 cents on the
dollar would mean $4,000 at the out
set. 1t would entail stirring cam
paign to get the people of the Cape
to give for this cause. But with the
proper amount of enthusiasm | be-
lieve it could be done"
The special committee under Sam
Carriers direction, will ascertain the
number of taxpayers on the books and
endeavor to calculate the rate at which
the donations will have to be asked.
This committee will endeavor to re-
port at the annual meeting Of the club
tonight when the election of officers
will be held. Other means of getting
money will be devised also, it is an
ticipated, so as to make the movement
reach as many contributors as posi-
bic.
Preliminary to the discussion of how
much money it will require and how to
get that sum raised, the men who at
tended the meeting, about 40 or so in
number, indulged in a discussion Of
the merits of the proposition as to
whether or not the Cape business men
ought to pay for the proposed addi-
ton.
In the argument that took place
Charles l.. Harrison declared he be-
lieved it to be the wrong principle to
"set every man" up in business.
If bonuses were being handed out
to manufacturing concerns for doing
their business in the Cape, he asked
why the cement plant south of the
Cape was not receiving its share, rath-
er than have its product "knifed" by
builders in the Cape itself.
Mrs. Eta Yarherg, who is living