Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1921-06-24
STATE CONFERENCE ON TAXATION
ATTACKS PAYR0LlS AND COTTAGES
Governor Hart Delivers Address on Retrenchmen Favor
ing Elimination Of All Unnecessary Expense Par
ticulary in Next Years Budget

The meeting of the various taxing
bodies and others interested in the
demand for lower taxation held in
the High School auditorium yester-
day afternoon passed a couple of
resolutions after an all-day discus
sion of the various expedients Of
fered for reducing taxation in the
state. One of these offered by E.
Shorrock, of Seattle school board.
declared the sentiment of the body
be that since the tax burden was
:aused chiefly by pay rolls, the meet
ng should 60 on record favoring the
eduction of pay rolls proportionate
to the reduced cost of living.
The other by w. H. Abel, Of Mon
tesano, pledged the conference to
oppose the building OF teachers cot
tages in school districts Of the coun-
try, and to oppose any further build
ing Of school buildings at all, until
costs are lower.
The conference was presided over
by Governor Hart, who called the
representatives together to discuss
the rising tide Of taxation. He caued
to the platform with him State Audi
tor Clausen, and State Treasurer
Babcock, the two state oficials whose
duties familiarize them with the sub
ject of taxation in all it's phases.
Most of the discussion was directed
to how savings shall be made in ex-
penditures, and the remarks were d.
rected chiefly to the county commits
sioners and the school boards. Prac-
tically nothing was said as to the ex-
penditures Of state taxes: and mu-
nicipal taxes were touched upon
lightly, as compared with county and
school district expenses.
One delegate from Everett varied
the discussion when he attacked the
assessments Of the property in the
various parts Of the state. He told
Of acres of the most valuable factory
sites in Everett which were assessed
at mere nothing as compared to their
value. He called attention to the
fact that some counties assess at so
per cent, some forty, and some sixty
per cent of the supposed cash value
of property. But he charged that
millions upon millions of property
was not taxed at all, because Of
ridiculously low assessments, or be-
cause property escaped assessment
entirely.
Soldiers bonus, school curricula,
roads and bridges and wages Of en-
ployed laborers were attacked by
speakers at various times during the
discussion, and defended by other
speakers quite as vigorously. A res
olution to include the reduction Of
wages of elected ofiicials along with
cuts in the wages of employed clerks
and laborers was lost, or rather was
declared out of order by the chair
man, since the constitution fixes the
salaries Of these officers for the term
for which they are elected.
Governors Address.
Governor Harris address to the
conference on retrenchment given
yesterday afternoon at one O'Clock
upon the opening Of the session fol-
lows:
Believing that there was we'll
crystallized sentiment throughout
the state favoring reduction in pub
lie expenditures that would permit
the lessening OF our tax levies, is
sued the call for this meeting.
"In that call said, The only way
to reduce taxes is to reduce public
expenditures and that I desire to
meet in conference in an endeavor to
eliminate the unnecessary expense
and particularly all avoidable expen-
ditures from next years budget
LET US understand at the opening
Of the conference: First, with past
expenditures we have nothing to do;
second, upon carping criticism we
have no time to waste; third, with
systems of taxation we are not today