The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-04-21
Equalizing the Tax Burden;
Five Million a Year

ing to pay their own half Of 1t II by
all joining together in paying that
half, they could Stick the railroad
company for the other half. And
then when they went out driving over
it with their friends from other
states, they brag about how they
made the railroad and Telegraph and
telephone companies-all corpora
tions-pay for the paving. They
would not only participate in the
steal, but they would brag about it
after it was done. Their ideas of
honesty arc developed to full size in
regard to pins and peanuts, but not
in regard to roads, railroads and cor
porations. The average person will
steal from a corporation or beat them
if they have the chance, thereby act
ing the part of common thief even
tho the groceryman they deal hon
estly with is stockholder in the cor
poration they are beating. If You
have an electric light IN your house
and you did not get bill for it the
first of April, you did not mail them
the check unless you are an ex-
ceptionally honest person with cor
porations. But if the company should
buy a dozen tickets to the COVER
nor's inaugural ball and charge it to
expense, and base the rates on the
expense, including the ball tickets,
you would say it was wrong, and So
it would be.
Common School Stealing
D,,4
poration, and they will steal for the
school district was organized by some
new settlers, when there was not an
acre of patented land in the district
they paid out, and none of the imple-
ments or personal property of the
settlers was assessed excepting two
horses. But there was long string
of railroad and telegraph lines to
assess and the settlers voted a tax
and thereby took $1,000 from the
railroad company and only $3.50 for |
the tax on the two horses. But that /
$1601.S0 set them up in the school !
business and the second year they ,
voted the limit for special school tax /
and raised $4,000 from the railroad !
company, and the two horses had
died and there was not a cent of
taxes raised besides what the rail-
road paid.
Wantonly Stealing
Not satisfied with that they de-
cided to bond the school district, and
they had bond election, the settlers
voted and the railroad had no vote I
and of course the election was I'M
animous in favor of bonds. 1t was
100 per cent, and that is going some
The people who voted did not pay,
and the people who paid could not
vote, yet they authorized the sale
of $3.50 worth of school bonds.
When they got ready to sell the
bonds they did not have any use for
the money, because that $4,000
special tax had paid for the school
house and the running expenses of :
the school. So the trustees went to
looking around to see what they
could find to invest their surplus
money in and actually consulted the
school superintendent, a woman, to
get advice about investments. She
smiled over their predicament of
having too much money and was
not able to advise them as to invest
ments. But later, she happened to
mention it to man who had moral
Ideas towards corporations, and he
gave her some brothely advice about
sitting by and letting the school
turstees and the settlers make an
absolute steal from the railroad COM
oany and thereby prostitute the pro-
visions of the school law established
IN mercy to protect every settlers
child against growing up in illiteracy
She was fine woman and would
nave been shocked at one of the
.rustees holding a man up with a
gun and taking money from him, and
The would have scorned helping him
o get away with the money, but in
his case she had smiled upon the
OBJ and would not have put a straw
n their way if 1t had not been for the
ldvice of the man who was moral
III round instead of just in matters
II personal honor and between in
livfduals.
Which type of thieves do you be-
ong to? If you don't belong to any !
# them, are you using your influence I
o educate your friends and neigh
ors and the Republican county CEN
raj committee in these channels,
7here they are crippled in the head?