The De Soto County news. [volume] (Arcadia, Fla.) 1898-1924, 1916-05-18
nd uo .iin have left So. $50.


and me per year in dollars and cents
our total rate this year is 30 mills !;
add 3 mills for good roads, ana we
will have yotal Of 80 mills, or a
raise Of onctonth. In other words
II my tax was $50, with this raise II
would be- S33; or If it was $40, with
this increase I woull I've 81, a raise
Of 81 Take the amount Of taxes you
pay and for every dollar add ~ vents,
and YOU will zee what it would cost
you,
The small rax payer would pay on
an average Of not over S20, then this
increase would mean to him s. moro,
when with the good roads II he had
any fruit. melons or wood TO haul, he
could increase his load enough to pay
this in two days hauling.
My friends. these figures have con
vinccd me. II we can have good roads
and have our taxes increased only
one.tcnth. then / am To- il first lats
and all the time. Now il any If you
want to figure this out then you can
90 to the court house and get the rec
ords g figure from the same as
have.
But since looking into this matter
really don't believe our taxes will be
as high after few years as they are
now. for I think our good roads will
induce so many new people To come
into our county and build homes and
improve what Is now waste land that
IL would so increase our taxable val
nations that we would really have a
lower rate OF taxes than we are now
paying, and have our good roads too.
heard a man say the other day
that the auto owners wanted the GOO
roads. ana that many Of them di1n't
own anything but their autos, and
wouldn't pay any II these taxes, 81
went 10 the assessor and he tells me
that automobiles ara valued at an
average Of about 800. and the tax on
5000 valuati would DO S9.15. and
I find from 'hc collectors office that
the average cost Of auto license i
So -, which all goes to the road fund,
Hmldng total Of Sl5 40 the man has
to- pay each year on his auto, besides
any taxes on other property he mn,
cwn. So the auto owner pays M-
share after III.
Another good reason see sor this
Improvement is that the railroads lat
about one-siXth Of the taxes ~ our
county, so would have TO pay about
one.sixth # this cost for good roads.
and they want to see IL rave the
roads. and will gladly pay their share.
Still another reason Is thar IN
great portion Of our ountr ndc, Of
the lands. in some sections - Ter
cent. have heel bought up AMI held
by large land owners. ana many ~
them non.residents. Now. Il they wait
10 hold these lands. lets make them
help pay for good rOals for us 70 ride
and haul on.
The more ] LOOK into This matter
the better It seems to me IT. every
body in the county. II woul br a
good thing for the business mTn ar3
lahorer in Polk county. for with good
roads we would have new fans end
residences all over on: county. and
they could come 20 the towns To d.
their shopping thereby Increasing 'hr
business in towns, and II would he
good for the country farmer AMI citrus
grower. for rs the towns grew it
would give them a better market for
their truck and good roads to haul I,
on,
But II strikes me that the people
outside Of the towns should wnrl;
hardest for this for the reason that
they are getting so much for nothing
Tn my Investigations find that the
towns would have only few miles
Of these roads i'm their territory, with
a large number Of miles outside, and
I find further that the towns pay two.
thirds of the taxes of the whole coun-
ty, and IL the country precincts turn
down this proposition now. 1t will he
the last chance they viii; have to get
good roads, for I believe that il this
fails to pass in the county the sew
eral commissioners districts would
then make itself a special road district
and vote for bonds for clay roads.
then all the taxes collected there
would have to be applied in those
districts and the country districts
would have to lear all the expense Of
their own roads.
Taking 1t all together this is the
hest opportunity Polk couray ever he'd
and as we have only a few more dnv,
before election. let's take of our
coHt". 20 To work and get out a