The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-05-10

any fruit, melons or wood to haul
he could increase his load enough K
pay this in two days hauling.
My friends, these figures have con-
WINGED me. If we can have GOOD
roads and have our taxes increased
only one-tenth, then / am for it first
last and all the time. Now if any OF
you want to figure this out then you
can go to the court house and get
the records to figure from the same
as | have.
But since looking into thi: matter
1 | really don't believe our taxes will
be as high after few years as they
are now, for l think our good roads
will induce 50 many new people to
come into our county and build
homes and improve what is now
waste land that it would so increase
our taxable valuations that we would
really have a lower rate of taxes
that we are now paying and have
our good roads. too.
| heard a man say the other day
that the auto owners wanted the good
roads and hat many of them didn't
own anything but their autos, and
wouldn't pay any of these taxes. SO 4
went to the assessor and he tells me
that automobiles are valued at an
average of about $500, and the tax
on $300 valuation would be $9,15,
and | find from the collectors office
that the average cost of auto license
is $6.25, which all goes to the road
fund, making a total of $15.40 the
man has to pay each year on his auto
besides any taxes on other property
he may own. So the auto owner pays
his share after ALL
Another good reason I see for this
improvement is that the railroads pay
county, so would have to pay about
one-sixh of this cost for good roads,
and they want to see us have the
roads and will gladly pay their share.
Still another reason is that in a
great portion of our county much of
the lands, in some sections, 95 per
cent, have been bought up and held
by large land owners, and many of
them non-residents. Now, if they
want to hold these lands, let's make
them help pay for good roads for us
to ride and haul on.
The more l look into this matter
the better it seems to me for every
body in the county. 1t would be a
good thing for the business man and
laborer in Polk county, for with good
roads we would have new farms and
residences all over our county and
they could come to the towns to do
their shopping, thereby increasing
the business in towns, and it would
be good for the country farmer and
citrus COVER for as the towns grew
it would give them better market
for their truck and good roads to
haul it on.
But it strikes me that the people
outside of the towns should work
hardest for this for the reason that
they are getting SO much for moth
ing. In my Investigations l find that
the towns would have only a few
miles of these roads in their terri
tory, with large number of miles
outside, and l find further that the
towns pay nearly two-thirds of the
taxes of the whole county, and If the
county precincts turn down this
proposition now, it will be the last
chance they will have to get good
roads, for l believe that if this fails
to pass in the county the several
commissioners district would then
make itself into special road dis.
trict and vote for bonds for clay
roads, then all the taxes collected
there would have to be applied in
those districts and the country dis
tricts would have to bear all the ex
pense of their own roads.
Taking it all together this is tn,
best opportunity Polk county evel
had and as we have only a few days
more before election let's take off oul
coats, go to work and get out goot
vote and have good roads and pros
perity and consequently lower taxes
A FELLOW CITIZEN AND TAN
PAYER.
Lakeland, Fla, May 10, 1916.