The Marietta journal. (Marietta, Ga.) 1918-1944, 1924-03-27

iy
ply in your community
When the depression of 192O-21 hit us we waro =;
just ABOUT the same tax situation any other county in
the Moole west. we were really off because in
1920 our county suffered coud-burst and scores of
bridges were destroyed and had to be rebuilt and Maid
for Before begin to tell about the remedy for the
tax disease let me show right here at the start what
the remedy accomplished:
1t saved the county $50 900 on the one te Of
bridges alone.
It secured cuts of from to 20 per cent in the local
taxes in individual precincts
It increased the amount of property returned from
to 20 cent in years when the valuations were pener
ally falling thereby reducing taxes for the man who had
always been honest in making his return
Best Of all, the net result feeling of confidence
and general satisfaction instead of mstrus unrest and
suspicion.
Here is how it was done:
During the year that the depression lasted in
earnest, people tended to become radical But being
radical is more or less state of mind When we began
to get radical about our taxes simply meant that we
didn't know where our money going and consequent
ly didn't know how to stop the money from going
farmer would the school ma am spinning along
IN her jtney. 'Well looky there" he would exclaim
that's where all taxes go!' Another farmer few
miles further would see the road graders at work
Hump" he would exclam, "I bet that's taking all ur
taxes" 1t all depended which way fellow looked as
to what he blamed his taxes on
The fact that people didn't know Ignorance
of where money went bred suspicion and suspicion
bred radicaism. few people already making
themselves heard, when it suggested that the
bureau might take a look into the matter William
Wingett, president of the county farm bureau and lit
tie group the committee were handed the lob
Some people for calling countrywide meeting to
protest vigorously and nosy against all of taxes
But before had public meeting it was considered
proper for someone to find where money did 60
So we went over to the county offices and through
the books and determined just what money was be-
ing spent for. And little later did this for every
school district the county On this page reproduced
the poster got out showing what every paid on
81 200 actual valuation in School District No. 49,
There not any hedging guessing, here was cv-
eryhing in black and white: $3.50 for State taxes
for county taxes $115O for school district No. 49, and
$3.50 for the village of Wathl And each of these was
sub-divded off to show somewhat minor expend-
lures.
At the first public meeting there around $50 far
mers and few business present We began to hold
meetings all the county, and every meeting we
passed around circulars that showed where the money
in that school district We had wall charts and
maps.
The upshot of all this that for the first time it
suddenly dawned people that most of the expend
lures for things directly under their control Po-
litcans had sometimes talked if the state capitol the
state government the university and normal Schools the
state institutions for dependents state roadsas if these
things taking the money But if had cut out all
of these things altogether where lived it would have
decreased bill only about 10 per cent The larg
est expenditures concentrated right down in
in VIII
the most intimate control themselves
We found that there wide variations in different
parts of county, and that taxes in individual
school districts varied all the from $1,000 to 5000
81, 900 valuation.
When people began to find these things out the atten
dance at the annual meetings of the school districts in
creased from four to five persons to forty fifty In
districts found that things had not been mani
aged efficiently. In some cases it was found advisable
to cut down teacher where she was teaching only
very few pupils the size of classes for oth
teachersathough in the salaries of these
other teachers had raised In there
also disposition to economic other matters, such
as the purchase of the time of year when it
cheapest, etc.
In this cuts varying from to 20 per cent were
effected in the taxes of individual districts
The next big thing was to discover hidden property
which was escaping taxation throughout the county Our
tax system has always been constituted that the man
who is honest about turn ng his property at its rgh
full value indirectly pays the tax of the man who just
forgets that he quite so well off when the tax
comes around You know an assessor hate to raise
runpu with his merit neighbor and too often whole
lot of things do not appear at all on the tax books
Co +be committee decided to the community