Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1921-06-02
"Weasel Words" from Hyde.
. lMissouri STATE Journal.l !

through the publicity bureau OF the
Republican State Committee, this
week issued two thousand words of
fiction and mistatement, intended to
justify the action OF the Board in in
,creasing the tax burdens of the peo-
pie of the state. The statement is in
tended to try to shift the responsibility
from this Republican Board to the
County Courts, city councils, County
Assessors and local boards of various
kinds. According to this remarkable
statement, your local officials will be
to blame for your high taxes, not this
yirtuous board of such marvellous at
tainments.
A fictitious tax receipt is given at
the head Of the statement, as distri-
buted for publication. In this tax
receipt, the state rate is again falsely
stated as only 1875, when it has been
shown over and over again that the
state tax rate for the current year
will be 146. The Board naively ad-
mlts as much, in small print, in the
body of the statement, but says the
rate will be reduced at the special
session. Then it declares that / cent
of the rate, being presumed to be the
tax for blind pensions, was voted by
the people on themselves, and that,
therefore, the people are to blame for
this item themselves. 1t has not
occurred to these apologetic and
sophistical gentry that the people
voted the levy. but they did not vote
for the assessment, which Is the i'm
portant thing, as the assessment is
the factor against which the tax is
levied. Moreover the tax for the
blind is cents, not / cent. 1t is pro-
posed to reduce this tax, and pay for
the extravagant Hyde administration
at the expense OF the blind.
In this hypothetical tax receipt, in
which the state tax rate is falsely
given as 1875 instead of 14.6, an at
tempt is made to compute the amount
Of taxes paid on valuation OF $4,000
last year, increased to $4,000 by the
State Board. The state tax paid for
last year is stated as 90. so, while it is
admitted that the present years
taxes, at the actual rate, on the new
valuation Of $4,000 would be 1854,
which in itself is an actual increase of
62.2 per cent.
The Board calls attention to the act
of the ast Legislature providing that
county taxes should not be increased
SO as to produce more than 10 per
cent additional revenue. If your
county taxes amount to more than
this, according to this amazing utter
ance, the State Board is not to blame,
but your county court.
The policy of the Board seems to be
I to shift responsibility. Any sort OF
shift will serve, even If it be neces-
sary to say, as in the instance OF the
reference to the taxes for blind PEN
sions, that the .'people voted the
taxes on themselves If one were
to read this assembling document,
without previous knowledge of the
subject, the natural assumption would
be that this Board has been greatly
abused and imposed upon, first by the
people themselves, who voted taxes
(upon low assessments, of course);
second, by the grasping county asses
sors; third, by the extravagsnt Coun-
ty Courts and City Councils, who are
heaping these iniquitous tax burdens
upon the people. The absurdity Of
this assertion which can not even be
digniied by the term, contention
appears, when it is considered that
the State Board raised all lassessments
all over the State an average Of 50
per cent, and that all levies, made by
all County Courts and all City Coun-
ellis, and all School Boards must be
levied upon the new assessment.
Fortunately, the people will obtain
definite snd practical information
when they come to pay their taxes
this fall. The delusive and hypocrit-
ical evasions, put forth by this Board,
headed by the Governor, will be fully
revealed and conclusiyely proven
when1the people find out the actua
amount of the actual taxes they will
have to pay.
Let's quote few more burning
words from Hyde: sit is q time ol
increasing financial uneasiness. a
tightening Of money and credit hai
complicated the problem. Under sucf
circumstances, no conscientious Of
fetal can justify the unnecessary OK
penditure Of a single dollar, or coun'
tenance for a minute either waste q
extravaganza from the Governor
inaugural. Thereupon, the Legisla
ture proceeded to appropriate 30 1000,
600 more than any Legislature In th'
history Of Missouri, and tokeep pac
y