Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1916-08-30
Paying Taxes.


Paying Taxes.
When a person paints his house,
has it repapered or refnished he may
growl about the cost, but he con-
siders that the money is pretty well
spent, for it has improved the APP
pearance Of his home. If he buys a
new rug or a new piece of furniture,
or if he makes any changes or i'm
provements to his home, he almost
Invariably considers the money thus
spent as being well spent. In doing
any of these. things, he is. adding to
the appearance and comfort of his
home, and he believes it worth while.
One would not care to live in a
house that was never repainted, re-
papered, repaired, Or that never had
anything new in the way of COM
forts or conveniencas brought into it.
Such a house would indeed be a
dreary, dismal, decadent thing.
Hence one finds pleasure in constant
" adding to the beauty and comfort
Of his home, even though at times it
is something Of a hardship to do SO.
The town in which we live is, in a
general sense, as much our home as
the house in which we live, and,
therefore, we should take the same
pride in our town that we do in our
home. No one wants to live in a
town where the streets and side
walks are not kept in good repair,
where The modern eonveniences and
comforts of life are not provided,
nor where things are never done in
any way to add to the beauty of the
place. What a horribly dismal place
such a town would be.
When one has his house repainted
or repapered, buys something new or
makes some Improvement to add to
the beauty or comfort Of his home,
he may have to make a considerable
sacrifice to do. it, but down in his
heart he thinks it worth while and is
glad. 1t is a "tax" he must pay for
the things he would enjoy and
which make life pleasanter and more
comfortable.
Fundamentally there isn't any, diff
ference between this self-imposed
TIA" and the taxes levied by the
municipality. It costs money to
make our homes attractive, pleasant
and comfortable, and most men pay
these necessary taxes" quite cheer
fully. The same rule applies to the
town in which our homes are located
If our town is to be kept up, side
walks and crosswalks kept in repair,
good streets built, water and sewer
systems installed, electric service
furnished, streets curbed and parked,
and parks and Fairgrounds provided
as places Of comfort and attraction
we must tax ourselves to provide
these things, just as we tax our
selves to provide comfortable and at
tractive homes. As most men find
pleasure and qualification in improv-
ing their homes, so should they find
equal enjoyment and satisfaction in
improving their town, and. for the
same sound reasons. The tax may
seem rather heavy at times, just as
a certain improvement to the home
sometimes seems a pretty heavy ex-
pense, but as in the case of the
home, ultimately all are glad that
the Improvement was made.
We must pay taxes in one form or
another for every material thing we
have in this world that is worth
while, and we should pay the taxes
for public improvements as cheer
fully and IN the same spirit that we
pay the tax for the private improve
ments that add to the enjoyment or
comfort Of our lives. Luverne
Herald.