The review. [volume] (High Point, N.C.) 1908-19??, 1920-10-21
The Big Bugaboo is
Exploded Perfectly
BEST TALKER FOR the
DEMOCRATS THIS YEAR
Is A TAX STATEMENT
TAX Bills for Most People Are Anaz-
!ns'y Small-Average Man Pays
Less-This Reduction in Taxes for
Most Voters Has Killed the Repub-
lican Campaign.

Raleigh, Oct. 1O-Democrats fo1
the remaining three weeks of the
campaign will have a celebrity o.
more IN every county of the state
], put the best talker in the Democratic
party is not Governor Beckett, Cam
eron Morrison, Max Gardner, Sena
tor Oyerman, Senator Simmons. Sec
retary Daniels; not even the secre
tary's wife. The tax statement is the
best argument.
| The bills are going out every day
and the tax is amazingly small for
very much more than half who are
paying the bills. Within few days
, the Democratic headquarters will
| compile statements to show that un-
t der revaluatiOn the mass of the vot-
| ers will pay far less than they have
ever paid in state taxes, while the
counties will get a benefit from the
state that has hitherto been un-
known.
! It is this single circumstance that
has killed the Republican campaign.
Sixty days ago the Parker canvass
looked so impressive that many Dem
ocrats were fearful of Morrison's de-
feat But Parker was out damning
this damnable revaluation act" He
was making a campaign on what he
believed to be popular aversion to it.
The farmers union was assisting him
and in its leadership were not a few
who had voted for Morrison for the
sole purpose of beating Gardner in
the primary and Morrison in the elec-
tion. But Parker will not get the
farmers union vote. |
The Democrats have outpo1iticked
the Republicans. Better evidence of
good headwork< never was given. The
Republicans asked only that the voter
peruse carefully his tax bill. The
Democrats met in the general assem-
bly,, worked out the tax equations and
put the Democratic officials to work
on them. The result is an abundance
of proof that revaluation has operated
eQuitably aud lowered the tax for the.
masses. -@~---
Nothing proves It so effectually as
to read the statistics on farm owner
ship andS tenantry. Most of the ten
ants will escape property taxation by
the $300lexemption The poll tax has
not been put on and not even the
corporations know what franchises
they will have to pay. The tax lists
talk eloquently. They are the argu-
mentum ad hominem from away back.
How Agriculture Is "KiIIed."
They answer every contention that
the Democracy was actuated by de-
sire to destroy agriculture When it
passed the equalizing, truth-inspiring
measure. The Democracy isn't alto
gether a fool 1t would hardly have
the destruction of 83 per
cent in order to get the vote of 2
per cent And the income tax affects
only 2 per cent of the population, the
farming folk paying just $4,000 of
the gross raised from this source. So
the Democracy kills agriculture" by
making income earners pay $1,96O 900
while agriculture pays on incomes
$40 900.
Again the Democracy kills agricul- |
ture" by making the tax gatherer ex-
empt $500 worth of property before
he lays his hands on it. That not !
only saves 100000 in taxes; it re- !
lieves almost entirely the tenantry |
and it is yet far greater numerically
than is the homecoming class. Yet
again the dominant party kills agri-
culture" by splitting the poll tax in
half or less, and that catches every I
body between the ages Of Fl and so.
The number is amazing. Almost 80
per cent of the voting population is
embraced between these ages. A SO |
per cent reduction of this burden will !
touch much more than half the peo-
pie most of whom pay no property |
tax this wear on account of the big ex-
empt:on.
There is vast doubt about the good
morals of all this legislative sollc1-
tude for the 'pore man. but 1t was
there all the same. The Republicans !
made the capital blunder of attacking
revaluation so soon as they heard the
Outcries against it. They we're not
willing to wait until the general as
sembly adjourned and left it's fences
down. The Republicans must have
believed the Democrats meant to put
the farmer out of business. But the
farmer has not been put out.
One class is left without entire
remedy. There are farm lands which
will pay higher taxes than ever; some
IF them too high; but even they have
1heir remedy. The can be assessed
anew as the result of any artificial
and outside influence on the market.
Later a scheme of property segrega-
ion will be worked out. But for the
,ear the Democrats have fixed them
selves. They have met the Objec-
iouc to rova111ati0n and theV finish
he campaign knowing that the mass
# the voters are benefited by the tax
egfslation. d
Which beats all the speaking in the
world, and Bur1eson's mails are doing Z
he speaking.