The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1920-05-06
BEWARE FALSIFIERS
Take No Stock in Oily-TOngued Per-
sons Who Tell You Court House
Can Be Built for Song.
Peruse Facts Hereunder and Then You
Will Decide to Vote ''No' on
Removal Proposition.
Continued from last week.

Continued from last week.
New court houses, county seat re-
movals end bond elections mean mon
ey. Lots of money, gentlemen! Mon
ey means taxes. Taxes mean that
there has got to be someone to pay
them. And this means you. We can't
dance without paying the fiddler.
When anyone comes around and at
tempts to prove that you can get
something for nothing it is time to get
suspicious and investigate. Investiga-
ton is the source of all knowledge.
Our experience on this mundane
sphere has been that we usually paid
in full for everything we ever got.
And that we had to keep wide awake,
with both feet on the job, and our
pocketbook pinned tightly in our in
side vest pocket in order to see that
we got value received for our money.
When some smooth, slick, easy-talking
gentleman comes around and offers to
let you in on the ground floor of one
of his pet propositions it's a safe
enough bet that he intends to drop you
into the cellar instead, and it's time to
be a bit wary Of him. But when he
comes around and glibly tells you you
can get something for almost nothing
it's time to get down the old shotgun
call out the bull dog, and drive him off
the place. If it wasn't for the fact that
Minnesota has "blue sky" law most
of us plain folks would be "gyped" out
of our eyeteeth by these smooth-talk-
ing gentry.
When somebody tells you that new
court house, costing anywhere from
$3.50, 100000 to s500,OOo.OO, is only go
ing to make a slight difference of a
mill or two in your tax rate, we advise
that you investigate and go slow. 1t
ic easy to vote taxes and hard to pay
them. Taxes have been the lily in the
ointment for the human race since the
dawn of creation. Wars have been
fought over them and about them.
Cities, nations, dynasties and civiliza-
tions have had their rise and fall, but
taxes go on forever. Philosophers
have philosophical about them. Math-
ematicians have figured them out and
in both ways from the middle. Law
yers have lawed over them (for their
>clients) and also lied about them.
Henry George had a pet theory about
reducing them and some good poll
ticians can explain them away entire
ly or invent some plausible scheme
whereby somebody else can be made to
pay them. Out of the whole taxation
tumble only three points stand out
distinct and vivid. The only way to
get rid of taxes is to pay them. The
only way to reduce taxes is to reduce
the levies. The only way to play safe
on a doubtful tax proposition is to
vote ''No." Do this and you will have
no vain regrets when tax paying time
rolls around, which it does too fire.
quently.
A new court house, including site,
equipment and all the other Incidental
expenses connected with it, might
easily cost Mile Laos county $500,
100000. Where are you going to get
that vast sum Of money? "Vote
bonds"you say? All right; suppose we
II, hot
fortunate enough to sell them in an
already glutted bond market at par,
with interest at per cent, payable
annually. This means that the annual
interest on this huge sum amounts to
100000 year, a small fortune in
itself and which amount would build
considerable good roads. If they were
twenty-ye bonds we would have paid
S400,0O0.00 in yearly interest by the
time the principal came due and would
still owe the bond holders the original
amount of $400,O00.00. Interest is in.
terest and you can't get away from it
Interest at 5 per cent for 20 years
NledIS JUST Iqo pei SohI iAo AAAoAS, III
less. You can figure it out any ole
way you want to, but you can't get rio
of it. Each little old dollar in the pile
is adding to itself five cents for each
year that it is borrowed. Twenty
nickels make one dollar, so when the
bonds come due at the end of twenty
years each dollar has collected one
dollar in total interest for the bono
holder $4OO,oo00O paid in and moth.
ing paid but the interest. Most of US
have had some experience with note.
and mortgages and know that in in.
dividual cases interest can eat a mar
out Of house and home. This $500, 900.
90 milestone would be poor thing t.
tie around Mile Laos county's neck a
this time, or any other time.
R. U. A. Taxpayer.
Ito be continued.)