The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1922-03-16
REGRETS NOT
BEING PRESENT
March 1st, 1922.
Mr.. Frank Heimes, Chairman,
Barnes County Commissioners.

Barnes County Commissioners.
Dear Sir: .. =
l regret exceedingly that absence
from the city will prevent my attend
ance at the meeting called by you on
the 9th to discuss ways and means
of reducing public expenditures. It is
the greatest public question in the
country today. The alarming increase
in the cost Of government is menace
to all business and to all personal and
individual interests. 1t bears like a
| dead weight on rich and poor alike,
more particularly on the poor who
can i'll afford to carry the burden, for
the heavy taxes paid by the rich or
well-to-do are passed on to the poor
in the increased production costs of
the articles which all have to buy. In
directly, all taxes are eventually paid
by consumers, for taxes paid are ad-
ded in the cost of production, the
same as labor or any other COST
Waste and extravaganza in the ex-
penditure of public money wrung from
taxpayers have become the rule and
not the exception, not only in our
state, but in the nation much more. /
make this statement without thought
| of any special criticism against any
| particular board or government, but
in the hope that as a result Of your
meeting and the discussion of the sub
ject, all our taxing authorities will
resolve and find way of curing the
disease which is nation wide. 1t is
plain from a comparison Of the cost
of our schools with costs formerly
prevailing and with costs Of other
public service, that our school boards
have been the most extravagart OF
all. We all believe in education but
the cost of same should be held with
in reason and, under present condi-
tions, within strict necessities Of op-
Grafton, economically administered.
Total taxes levied by the state,
counties, townships, school districts,
cities and villages, of North Dakota
have increased from $11,992, ,300.62 in
the year 1912 to $31 ISL ,094.OO in
1920, an increase of 1859 percent in
eight years, and the state taxes levied
for the year 1921 show another heavy
increase over the year 1920, which is
the latest year for which l have the
final figures.
So far as public debt is concerned,
we are even worse off in the nation
than we are in the state, and even
though we in North Dakota pay d.
rectly only a very small percentage
of Federal taxes, yet we all pay them
indirectly and there is no escape from
paying our share.
The Civil War debt July 1, 1865,
was in round numbers, two and one
half billions of dollars. Interest paid
on this original debt up to the present
time is another two and one-half bill
lions of dollars. And yet, after more
than half century since 1865, there
still remains six hundred millions of
the original Civil War debt not yet
paid off.
Pension payments on accounts of
the Civil War have so far amounted
to more than five billions of dollars,
and the end is not yet. We may have
to pay out another billion dollars to
Civil War pensioners,-perhaps much
more. Thus the grand total of Civil
War debt, interest on this debt, and
pension payments, will amount to
eleven billions of dollars.
The present war debt of this nation,
in round numbers is twenty three bill
lions of dollars. If it has taken us