Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1921-02-18
GIVE US MORE LIGHT
AND LESS HEAT


ing denuciation of the profteer. But
the wise guys. the leaders of opinion,
came forward and told us that the real
trouble was that we Wern't working
hard enough. that if we would talk less
and work harder we would forget about
high prices SO beautifully simple that
you wonder why you didn't think of it
Yourself.
Now the high tax bug is getting
on our nerves While ordinary people
are cropping for light on the subject,
the high priests Of the Tax Protest
League clOquently proclaim that all
that is necessary is to damn IaFOl-
lctte and abolish the county agent,
county nurse and county board. An
other beautiful and simple remedy, cas-
lily applied and no charge for the pre-
scriptiOn.
For years have personally felt and
said that we were moving pretty fast
in the way of public appropriations.
But the very fellows who are now
scattering incense from the altar OF
the Tax Protest League said it was
Old-faShiOncd TO oppose development
We must have gravelIcd roads for the
autOiSt, regardless of whether or not
the farmer on the outskirts of settle
ment had paSsablc trail. And right
now the same fellows are demanding
paved streets and white ways, and at
the same time demanding lower taxes.
OF course. they must be right, but
their attitude is Il little confusing.
One point which seems to have been
overlooked is the fact that general
prices are double what they were four
or tive years ago. Government eX-
penSeS are incurred for services and
materials, and when the prices Of those
commodities got up. the cost Of gov
ernment must go up. The real estate
man rails at progressive taxation.
apparently forgetting that wild land
has in the past ten years advanced
from IS or $40 per acre to SD and $40.
We are told that high taxes deter set
tiers from coming here Which is the
strongest element in checking settle
ment. the increase in taxes or the $50
per acre added to the price of the
land
In order to get anywhere in dis
cuSsion of the subject of taxes. in or
der 10 fix the responsibility, we must
consider the different ways in which
taxes are levied. Some are levied by
the state. for which the legislature is
responsible Others are levied by the
county board others by the towns.
villages and cities. and others by the
school districts. In the towns and vii
lagos the voters themselves determine
the amount. and in the cities the cOun-
Gil makes the levy. This division OF
responsibility seems to be lost sight
Of by the high priests of the tax pro-
test league According TO reports, one
of them lays the whole trouble to Bob
LaFOllette. OF course, we must CON
cedc that when one acquires certain
sort of talk habit it is hard to break
away from it.
Considering property taxes only. the
smallest by far of all of these tax ele-
ments is the state tax. Compared
with the others II is really inSignifi-
cant. The elements that make up the
bulk Of our tax bill are determined
by the county board. the city council
and the voters themselves. This being
the case. we won't get far in reform
ing taxes by raving about swivel
chair officials" at Madison. If we are
to have any material reduction in
taxes. it must be by reducing the
amount levied here at home
Taking the Ladysmith tax rate for
purpose of illustration, the state tax
is less than per cent of the total tax.
If all Of the swivel chairs" at Madi-
son were abolished, eliminating the
state tax entirely, the man who now
pays 500 tax would then pay sos.
In former years. the county tax was
a small element of the tax BILL but in
recent years the county dads have been
hitting a rapid gait. In seven years,
from 1910 to 1917. the tax levied by
the county board increased from
SGT. 400 to $9S.32S. the average annual
increase being $4409. In the next
lnftO years TIC ItitCt Was SitdtiS ttNNi
Grated, the tax levied i'm 1920 being
$164 .543 The average annual in
crease during these three years was
S22O71.
The county tax is a material elc-
mcnt of the total. Taking the county
as a whole. it is about Onethird OF the
total If we are going to reduce taxes,
we should certainly take the county
tax into consideration. Personally. |
believe that appropriations by the
county board have been unnecessarily
high during the past three years. l
don't want to stretch this article to
too great a length. but if space is al
lowed me will be glad to point out in
Il subsequent article some apprOpria-
tiOnS that seem to have been mneces-
Sary.
d. w. MALONEY.