Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1921-09-01
SUPERVISORS
ARE NOT ALL
TO BLAME
High Tax Question is Intelligently
Discussed By Newspaper.

"Rex," who is citizen and taxpayer
of Holmes county. 1t seems that Rex
severely criticized the Board of Su-
pervisors for increase of taxes and
tax values and for it's seeming extrav-
agance and domineering spirit in that
county.
The article is the editorial answer
of the Lexington Advertiser to the
criticisms of Rex. Many taxpayers
are making similar criticisms OF
boards of supervisors in their respec-
tive counties. For this reason the
Weekly is publishing the Advertisers
answer to Rex. The article throws a
world of light on causes for existing
high taxes and discloses the people
themselves to be primarily responsible
for conditions that bring them about
Criminations and recriminations will
do no good in relieving existing high
tax conditions. The people themselves
must get right and set the pace fc1
economical government. AS long as
they continue to vote bonds they must
continue to pay high taxes to meet
inter and liquidate the bonds.
Bur read what the Advertiser has
to say:
GAS a taxpayer, the Advertiser
knows full we'll that taxes have in
creased rapidly in the past few years
and that in that time tax values have
also increased. Not only is that true
but the general county expenses have
increased, and putting all these in
creases together makes our taxes
enormously high compared to what
they were in former years.
"But is the Board of Supervisors
altogether to blame for this condi-
ton? AS citizens let US look back
and see what has brought about this
state of affairs.
'Under the name of progress, we
have for some years been indiscrim-
inatingly voting for the issuance OF
bonds for all kinds of purposes, but
mostly for improved roads, and with
every bond issue there was bound te
be an additional tax, for the bonds
are all interest bearing. To meet the
principal and interest on these bonds
taxes had to be assessed, and there
are but two sources from which take:
can be collected These are from rea
estate and prsonal proprty. Wher
there were no bond issues and the val
uation of property was low, il lit' no
REQUIRE az much revenue to neet TIN
general expense to the county as i
does when we have voted these bur
dens on ourselves, and to meet thes
increased demands the Board of Su
pervisors were necessarily compelle
to increase the tax levy year by yeal
"No aly have we voted during tn
Ipast few years hundreds of thousand
of dol ars in bonds for good road:
but our public schools have come i
for increased appropriations for re
modelling buildings, building new one
and also for consolidated school buile
ings and the transportation of tn
school children to the consolidate
schools. To meet these expenses at
Iditional taxes had to be raised, as W
have said there are but two source
| from which the money could be ha
real estate and personal property.
"Two and three years ago we too
but little thought of what burden
we were building that would have
be met under directly opposite cond
tions to what they were then. We al
now feeling the burden, and, like "
always do, we are forgetting that "
ourselves are somewhat responsibl
for them, for the Advertiser assume
that It's friend, like the rest, jus
voted for every bond issue that wa
presented; for then we had the none
and never gave the proverbial "rain
day. a thought. If Rex voted agains
the issuance of any or part of thes
bond issues, then he is not to blam
for their issuance If on the othe
hand. he voted for chem, then b
voted just as much additional taxa
tion upon himself and every othe
taxpayer Of the county, If he too
| no part in these elections, then he d
rectly gave half Of vote to the is
suance of the bonds and has no lega
| right to complain as he failed to dis
charge moral obligation. The Ad