The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1916-12-15
"A Business
| Administration

Editor Times;-In a speech before
the City Club of st. Louis, Nov. Bird,
Col. Fred Gardner used the following
language: There is feeling among
the people that there should be clos
er application of business principles to
the fiscal affairs of this State; that
the State might be better served by
having at it's head man trained In
business; a man who, by training, is
especially fitted for exploiting the
States natural resources; a man who,
without sacrificing the peoples inter-
est, would be able to make sugges-
tons which would encourage capital to
flow into the State. The demand for
such a man is not hostile to any par
ticular party. / have yielded to an inn
pulse to take greater interest in
! politics because | believe | can be OF
/ service to the State by doing so, and
thereby be of service to all the peo-
pie of Missouri. 1t is easy to sit
around and abuse the Government. l
believe it is the better part of good
citizenship to give thoughtful con-
sideration to the practical questions
of government and lend helping hand
to the solution of public questions.
The people believed what Mr.. Gard
ner said and elected him Governor OF
this great State. The most important
public question Gov.-elec Gardner and
the next Legislature will have to
solve is the question of raising suffi-
Gent revenue for the States needs.
This problem of revenue alone, is go
ing to consume a large amount of
time and study for Governor Gard
ner and the Legislature. The fact that
Gev. ELECT Gardner is now, and has
been for some time, holding consulta-
tons with the heads of different State
institutions with reference to cost OF
maintenance is evidence that he con-
siders the question of revenue the
most important problem with which
he will be called upon to deal when
he goes to jefferson City, and the fur
Their fact that this question of rails
ing a sufficient revenue to meet the
legitimate needs of the State is a
question that concerns all the clti-
zens of the State alike, think that a
good plan would be to place the bur-
den of this extra taxation on those in
dividuals or corporations who are
profting from the natural resources
of the State, and in this connection
would like to suggest to Mr.. Moothart
our Representative-elect, the idea OF
placing a tax on. all lead and zinc
concentrates. A large portion of the
extra revenue needed could be secur-
ed through a tax on those industries
and certainly there is no other indus
try in the State that could so well af.
ford, or would feel this extra tax sc
little as the lead and zinc industry
when we consider that the lead com
panies of st. Francois county alone
will at the end of the present veal
and at the present rate of production
have produced contracts to the enor
nous value Of fifteen million dollars
Nine tenths of this vast wealth has
gone, or will go East, and the Stat'
! will be left with the sack to hold. W.
do not know of any industry tina
! could so we'll afford to bear a larg'
portion of this extra taxation as thu
lead and zinc companies of the State
Certainly the farmer has about al
the load on his shoulders in the wa!
: of taxes that he can carry. am con
WINGED that the idea of taxing the out
put of the lead and zinc mines of tn
: State is worthy of serious considera
ton by the next Legislature.
!. C. D.