The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1920-05-21

city and village real estate increased
but 80 per cent, taxation on railroad
| property 9S per cent, on telegraph
property "A per cent, on personal
property % per cent. In addition to
the above, the farmer must pay a
state hail tax of Sc per acre on all
tillable lands and an additional 25c
per acre on all crop lands not with
drawn from the hail insurance pro-
visions prior to the date set by law.
In Towner county the state tax Oh
farm lands is SIS, 752O2 for 1919 as
against $17,599.70 in 1918. showin~
an increase of four times as much
for 1919 as for 1918, while for the
same period railroad. express. tee.
graph and telephone companies in
crease is but one and three fourths
times as much.
Here are few individual cases
taken at random from various parts
of the state.
Stutsman county, section 10, IA
60, owned by Judge j. A. Cofrey, paid
state taxes of $2S5.39 in 1917
S347.S0 in 1919 and $5226i in 1919
plus $1S hail tax, making a total in
crease of S192S4 for 1919 over tn,
previous year
Barnes county, northwest quartz"
of 10, 140-5S, owned by Frank Helm,
county commissioner, $5l.47 in 1917.
$57.19 in 1918, and S22O.46 in 1910
plus hail tax of S405, making in
creased tax for 1919 S167.32.
Cass county, northeast quarter o.
Is, l4O-53, owned by r. B. Boyd
county commissioner. 1917 tax S46.O'
1918 tax S49.43, and 1919 tax S117.52
plus hail tax $4.6s, making increase
for 1919 S72S3.
Richland county, southwest quar-
ter 81, 135-49, owned by ?. f. Slet-
moe, chairman county commission
ers, 1917 tax s54.43. 1918 tax 5000
and 1919 tax s121.63, hail tax Sl.3S
making increase for 1919, $56.97.
Dickey county, northwest quarter
5, 131-63, owned by Bruce Scott, 1919
tax 5000, and 1919 tax $1O743.
without the hail tax added. the in
crease for 1919 is 1858.
Ransom county southwest quarter
8, 1886, owned by Joseph +
Grange, 1918 tax $56.97 and 1919 tax
C1OO 81 ,x-ifbo,,t tho l,H 90. IoJ
increase is $500.
LaMoure county, northeast qua
ter 6, 1850 owned by Sam Felts.
1918 tax 1896 and 1919 tax $70.07.
without hail tax added, total ncrea.,o
for 1919 is $37.01.
| Valuation. Multiplied Five Times.
A most impressive exhibit is given
in the valuations placed on all prop
erty for the purpose Of taxation ~
the State Board of Equalization,
which shows that farm lands, excln-
sive of improvements, had an asses
ed valuation of 1921, 459 ,525 in 1918.
This was multiplied nearly five times
or 4.S to be exact, the 1919 figures
being $1,072,167, 653. While the TO
tai figures for all property in 1913
was $403,422,2 5S, in 1919 it was
$1,523,767 Alb; and these figure;
analysed show that while in 1913
farm lands share of taxes was az
proximately SO per cent, in 1919 the
farm lands of North Dakota must
bear more than 70 per cent of the to-
tai tax burden of the state.
This naturally means that there j.,
a marked decrease in the percentage
of taxation on town and city proper
ties, on railroad, telegraph, telephone
and express lines-at the expense of
the farmers.
All this proves that it is the firm
purpose of the Socialist leadership
of the Nonpartisan league to put in
to effect the Socialist program for
the confiscation by taxation of all
means of oduction-includng farm
lands; that is the gospel preached in
one of the text books of the Nonpar
tisan league, "'The High Cost of Liv-
ing" by Frederick c. Howe, and his
authority" for his Socialist Single
Tax theories, Henry George.