Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1920-01-16

derful dam, mill and power plant Of
the Lockwood mills. and ask yourselves
II $1,15l.2a0 Is a fair valuation.
You might take a walk up past the
Edwards Mfg. Co.. Augusta. This mill
Of 10000 spindles Is assessed at $4,000.
Machinery and improvements $751;. 900.
The Crossett Shoe Co. has an exemp.
ton Of taxes for 10 years.
! want to say few words in regard
to Auburn. Hon. Il. A. Ryerson. chair
man. is a personal friend Of mine and
has done wonders in Auburn. Why
shouldn't he? He received his early
training in the good old town of Liver
more, which has furnished more men
Of fame than any town Of its size In
the State. But Mr.. Ryerson has -.is
troubles. In 1918 Cushman Hollis Co.
was valued sSoS5O; Dingley Foss Co..
1880; Lunn & Sweet, $s3.9C0. In 1919
Cushman Hollis $4,000: Dingley Foss.
$37c,2o0; Lunn 6 Sweet, $3as.4oO. Mr..
Ryerson has done well, but I don't be-
lieve the taxpayers of Auburn will be
satisfied till the 1919 figures are multi
piled by two. ! recall an ''ad" l saw
advertising Lunn & Sweet stock. To
me 1t did not look like $349. 400; 1t looked
like million. How can you get ct a
value any clearer than what 1t will sell
for on the market? Publicity is the only
way to get the people to back the as
SCISSORS in a correct valuation. Let's
ho
~ elected n: ,'or Of Auburn. said In his
inauguraI: After thorough inves-
tiga. lion of the tax rate he believed the
burden at the present time was falling
too heavily on the small cottage owner
and not enough on the large manufac-
turing industries" We may go over
the river to Lewiston. will say after
looking the assessors books over I find
the most unjust. unfair valuation ever
saw. With a fair. square. just valuation
without injuring anyone. the valuation
could be raised 100000 to 100000.
The mill property is very much too
low. The stocks Of goods are 50 low
it looks like joke. The store. real
estate. houses Of the better class all
too low. I would like to see the Lew
iston Journal or Sun in that section
publish not what mans tax Is. but
what his property t'' description is val
ued at. Why the taxpayers of the rest
of Androscoggin county should pay .
part Of Lewiston's State and county
tax Is beyond men. realize that tho
sound of this paper will not get be-
yond the walls of the State House, but
Lewiston should bear its share Of this
heavy burden we are ali trying to carry.
Most of US can place a valuation on
the small cottage, the small farm, but
the most Of US cannot think in millions.
There are many things in valua-
ton which should be changed by
law. Take for instance bank stock.
it may be worth on the market 500
a share but you cannot value 1t over
500 per share. This alone means a.
big loss to the taxpayers Of the State,
and the man who buys at 500 can
afford to pay on 500 If it will sell for
that.
Another thing that should pay
tax on is shipping. Millions have
been made in this State in shipping.
I could not find on the assessors
books in Lewiston where any ship
ping was taxed.
I'd like to see the teachers Of the
State Of Maine put their fingers into
legislation and taxation in this state.
In Illinois the teachers are taking a
hand-and demanding laws by which
tangible and intangible property
shall bear it's share Of the burden.
They would have more public rev.
enue from natural resources. such as
water poger, mineral deposits, oil
wells, etc. To sum it up they would
have laws with teeth. One Of the
teeth in the legislation would be q
provision that the principle Of emf
Yfent domain would be invoked more
generally through the state to give
title to property Of any citizen who
will pay 20 per cent. more than the
owner lists 1t in his latest schedule.
This would establish q valuation of
real value. I'd like to see the teach
ers Of this State visit the assessors
offices and through publicity in
crease the valuation enough to give
them the salary they are entitled to
without increase in rate Of taxation.
How much intangible property do
you think there is in the State of
Maine? am going to say the in
tangible property in this state is az
great as the tangible. How are we
going to get at It? BY sending men
to the legislature who are something
more than a Republican or a Demo-
crat. They should be men with a
brain containing enough to give us
a law by which all property should
be obliged to bear its fair share Of
the burden.
We all know how easily the big
Liberty Loans were taken caro- Of
without any falling OF in the banks
balance.
Where did the money go before?
Out Of the State. into various tax.
able securities. Any man within the
sound Of my voice knows that this
intangible property is not given in
for tax purposes. As a result money
which should go to build up the
State Of Maine is not only lost to
the State, but the income as well.
With this final result our sons and
daughters have to make their homes
IN the places which our money has
built industrially.
I'd have a law by which every in
vestment house doing business must
file with the State assessors for tax.