The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1915-10-15

q great Improvement on the previous law, was
regarded as the model law Of its day and copied
by many of the states
Had this law been followed to the letter and
had it been accompanied by . constitutional imi-
tation on the amount Of the tax levied, much Of
our present difficulty might have been, avoided.
But instead of assessing property ct its true cash
value, as the law clearly directed, the value Of
real estate having already been fixed under the
existing law, the property that came under the
direct control of the State Tax Board, as above
stated instead of being assessed at its true cash
value, was assessed at from twenty-five to fifty
per cent of the actual value.
"In order to equalize this and ignoring the
plain purpose Of the law, local assessors when
they came to assess real estate, improvements
and other tangible property, followed approx
mately the same rule and assessed tangible prop
erty at from one-third to one-haf its value.
"The past twenty years has seen an enor-
nous increase in public expenditure in both state
and nation The increase in national expendi-
lures during this period has been 1907 and in
the state more than 2OOa. Much of this increase
has been brought about by the great changes in
our social order which have increased functions
performed by the state.
I'VE are spending more money each year on
our penal, benevolent and educational institu-
tions. Central high schools are being erected in
the various townships of the state and instead Of
children walking to school over dirt roads, as
they did when was boy, they are hauled to
school over macadamized roads at public expense.
Vocational training has been made part of the
curriculum. Farmers short courses, county
agents, factory inspection, pure food law, work
mems compensation, mine inspection and other
| features of similar character required by the
changed social and industrial conditions of the
times cost large sums of money and along with
the building of streets, roads, bridges ETC., have
led to an enormous increase in the public ex-
penditures.
"Much of this has been necessary and we
would not have it done away with, but side by
side, with all these necessary things and some
times part of them has grown up a reckless
disregard Of the public interest in the expendi-
ture of public funds. Offices have been multi
piled and duplication of public service in many
departments has obtained. Salaries have been
increased and money derived from taxation ex-
pended with carelessness and prodigality that
would bankrupt any private business enterprise.
while the expenditures of the state have
increased, as above stated, more than two hun
dred per cent during the past twenty years, by
! far the larger part of this increase has been
goes on. The increased expenditure for county
purposes in 1918 over 1912 was $1,515, O6s 90, or
11%. During the same period the increase for
city expenses was 100000 and we are spending
for gravel roads each year sum in excess of
seven million dollars, besides the interest on
something like eighty million dollars of outstand
ing bonds.
"Our county Indebtedness is increasing at the
rate OF more than one million dollars year. The
tax rate has Increased almost in exact proportion
with the increased expenditure for public affairs.
So we find that while the average rate in town
ships outside of cities twenty years ago was
115, today it is 240; the average rate in the city
was then 225; it is today 372. This increase
should not obtain under any just system of tax
alton For along with the increased expenditure
on account of the new functions assumed by the
state should have come an increasing tax dupli-
cate that would have cared for this expense with
out any increase in the rate.
Nothing is more certain than that the in
crease in the value of the intangible wealth of a
country is greatly in excess of the increase in
real estate values Nearly all of the great bust
ness Of the country is handled by corporations
and the investors hold the stocks or bonds in
such corporations to represent their interest
therein. These securities, along with mortgages,
municipal securities, public service corporation
bonds, moneys, credits, demands ETC., are COM
monty termed intangibles and when we use the
term "intangibles" we refer to this class of prop
erty. It is safe to say that far more than one
half of the savings of the country are each year
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