The Butler weekly times and the Bates County record. (Butler, Mo.) 1918-1950, 1922-11-02
More Tax Figures.

tax figures published in The
Times last week and being cir
cufated by the Democratic Cen
trail Committee.
The figures published were
taken from the township collec'
tors books for the years 1870
1921 and 1922, made by the coun'
ty clerks office, turned over t.
the township collectors for col
lection and after settlement in
each year deposited i'll the coun
ty treasurer's office. The books
for 1920 and 1921 are now IN the
county treasurer office and open
to any citizen in the county, the
collectors of each township now
have or should have in their
hands these books for 1922
where they may be examined by
any one desiring to do SO.
The figures published are the
totals of taxes against lands and
personal property returned by
township assessors, equallzed un-
der the orders Of the State Tax
Commission and collected by the
township collectors.
There is no unfairness in the
use of the figures and what they
show is exactly the showing upol.
the books themselves.
Lest some person has been de-
ceived by the claim that these
figures are not complete the COM
mittee has secured some addl-
tional figures not shown by this
tabulation and offers them so
that the Republican campalgners
may draw what comfort from
them is possible.
Merchants licenses and taxes
are not assessed by township as
SCISSORS and are collected by the
county treasurer instead OF by
township collectors. Those fig
urcs did not appear III the pub
llshcd tabuIation. These figures
are subject to certain corrections
up and down which probably are
about equal in each year. But
t|e total amount charged to the
county treasurer i'll each year Tor
collection without reference to
what has been deducted or added
for their individual corrections
are as follows:
In 1920 Merchants licenses
were charged up with tax, Tor
state purposes of $S43.46, IN
1921 of $679.5S, and in 1922 OF
$77l.4l. In spite of the fact that
both blind and bonus pensions
were added in 1922 the State
Tax Commission and equallzlng
boards gave to the merchants a
credit for the impaired value OF
their stocks and cxacted from
them less total Of state taxes
bv 5000 than in 1920, while at
the same time collecting
xl5.OOO.OS more off OF lands
which had seen a depreciation
fully as great as had stocks OF
goods. In 1920 merchants H.
censes paid toward all taxes col
lected in the county $l2l79.6O, in
1921 they paid $1Q962.36 and in
1922 they will pay $S954.7. No
merchant in Bates county would
save taxes at the expense OF his
friends and customers, the Farm
err. But the State Tax Commits,
sion has adopted a policy which
means nothing more nor leess than
single tax in it's early stages.
The tabulation published in
1.-The Times did not likewise IN
clude another item of taxes
those Of Railroads, Telegraphs
and Telephones. And this was
for the reason that they are not
vet available in Bates County fol-
the year 1922 and probably will
not be certified to Bates county
by the State Tax Commission un
til after the election.
But in 1920 the Railroads, Tel
~
egraphs and Telephones (th'
public utilities and most OF then
part Of great systems) paid OF
their properties in Bates Count,
La total for state purposes o.
$3659.51. In 1921 they paid TO
state purposes $356S.61. Il
spite of the fact that a pension
for the blind had been adde's
they paid on property which i
: subject to far less depreciation
4 than farm lands total of 1909
{ less state taxes though the blin