The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-12-02
HIGHER LICENSE FEE,
TAX ON GASOLINE ARE
FAVORED BY FARMERS
Especial to The Palladium)


Especial to The Palladium
INDIANAPOLIS. Ind, Dec. z Rec
concentrations that newspapers be put
on competitive basis in bidding for
legal advertising. or be ignored and
legal reports be published in separate
circulars. that architects engineers
and attorneys fees. paid in connection
with the construction of new school
buildings, roads and bridges, be redi-
cally reduced; and that auto license
fees for autos be increased by so per
cent, and for auto trucks, by 100 per
cent. in addition to a two cent gal
Ion tax on gasoline, were included in
the report submitted by the fedora
tons legislative committee, through
]. w. Riggs, chairman. The recon-
mendations were unanimously adopted
and will be made the farm bureau
legislative program for the coming
year.
w. H. Settle, head of the Indianap-
oils and Buffalo livestock commission
firms, was elected president of the
federation on the first ballot taken
during the election, Friday evening.
Everett Mcclure, of Aurora. first vice
president, and J. H GwaItney, of Po-
! SEVILLE, were the other nominees.
Weiks Is Promoted.
! Scott Weeks, of Shelbyville, second
vice president, was promoted to posi-
| ton of first vice president, by a vote
of S. His opponents were Russell
Van Hook of Rensselaer, and T. L
Ferris, head of the state wool commit
tee. Ray Flatley, of Blackford county,
/ 10 x-fa M.c
| Charles Sewell, of Otterbein, who was
given the first nomination, declined.
''If farmers could declare so or
/ 100 or 500 per cent stock dividend,
or 900 per cent one, as the sugar
company did recently, we could pay
our taxes and smile" said Mr.. Riggs,
in introducing his report. But with
economic conditions as they are, we
have adopted as principle of legisla-
ton, the promotion of all laws that
will make the tex dollar equal to the
business mans dollar.
Advise Economy.
1--WE advise economy wherever pos
sibl, especially in view of the fact that
farmers pay so per cent of all taxes
directly as owners of half the prop
erty, and 40 per cent of all other taxes
indirectly as consumers.
I'm our investigation We found very
extravagant practices in construction
of improvements Architects and a.
torneys' fees are figured as a fixed
percentage of the gross cost, and thus
encourage support of unduly extrav-
agant plans We recommend that this
practice be abolished.
1.-THE same holds true In drainage
projects, where attorneys are permit
ted to charge a straight fee of 4 pei
cent The higher the cost the great
er the fee.
at is compulsory In CONSTRUCTING
new school house, for the town
ship trustee to purchase plans and
Specifications from an architect
This must be done before any con
tractor can bid and there is no com
petition in submission of plans. Then
if for any reason, construction /:
postponed or plans changed, a star
must be made at the beginning again
and new plans bought, since in spite
of high fees paid. the plans are mo-
the property of the community buy
ing them.
Big Attorney Fee
"Tn Sullivan county, we found ar
instance of a price of $2,700 paid fol
plans and an attorney fee of Sl,0O0
for repairing of building and con
struction of a new one. The plans
= were not used and now in 1922, new
| start had to be made.
I'm another case, in my owr
county, $2,07S was paid for schoo
plans. The architect submitted plan:
for building with a northern expos
ure, only changing the location am
! direction markings. Our school wa'
J to be built with southern expos
e ure. and by these plans installation
/ was given too much radiation on thu
: south side. The CONTRACTOR knew o
: this but feared the architect Nov
: the windows on the south side ar
:, open all the time and the children
Y on the north side are always cold"
| consolidation of the license fe'
and highway maintenance depart
ments was recommended. The dull
, season in highway maintenance j
during the three winter months, !
was pointed out, while those month
are the height of the auto licens
l. season The same forces can b
/ handle both tasks at greatly reduc
ed cost.
J, Would Bring Revenue
!. Application and collection of tw
cent a gallon tax on gasoline woul
), bring in $3.500,000 or s4000,000 an
I; increasing auto fees so per cent an
: truck fees 100 per cent would mean al
additional 100000, with no increas
|, ed cost of collection. Indiana nov
:. has the lowest auto fee in the cour