Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1932-01-07

People should pay taxes Accord
ing to their incomes or ability to
pay. A citizen without an income
or actual profit in any year, should
not be penalized and his property
confiscated by reason of his being
unable to pay.
Farmers Viewpoint.
A farmer owning land goes out
in the spring and plants his usual
acreage-during the growing sea-
son along comes prolonged drouth,
| destructive hail storms or some
other calamity over which he has
no control whatsoever-he has
nothing to harvest-nothing to
market-he is wiped out proper.
His wages have been arbitrarily
reduced 100 per cent. This seldom
happens to the salaried people.
Now, if Mr.. Taxpayer proposes, in
time of dire economic disaster and
intense human suffering from
drouth, unemployment, etc, to
have teachers and local govern
ment servants voluntarily reduce
their wages 10 per cent for the
general welfare-they register a
wicked howl, and, in doing so, they
get under the umbrella of the mine
workers. The farmers have always
been friendly and sympathetic
with organized labor, and espec-
tally the miner, on account of his
hazardous occupation. We farm
ers and Taxpayers cannot help but
feel that our Public Officials have
in some instances acted very self
ish in response to the appeal for
help-and failed to show much
sympathy for unfortunate farm
ers and unemployed in the recent
Red Cross drive-Carbon made a
most miserable showing in compar-
ison with most of the other coun-
ties of the state. Most all of the
other county public officials and
salaried people gave literally of
their salaries, but, not so in Car
bon county.
We, the Taxpayers, feel perfect
ly justified in asking a reduction in
the salaries of our school teachers
and all other public officials,
whose salaries are not fixed by
statute, also elimination of all I'M
necessary deputies from the pay
roll. The only way to reduce taxes
is to reduce salaries and spend less
money. The state, county, towns
: and school districts are all smoth'
|. cred by interest bearing bonds. WI
/ have mortgaged the future of oul
children and grandchildren-taker
away their heritage. We cannot
help but believe that these reduc,
, tions can be made and should b'
made. Our population has been re
uced in the last ten years from
over 10000 to a little over $4,000
, and our expense of running count,
government should be reduced il
j proportion to the decrease in pop
uIation and wealth.
Miners and Bankers.
With reference to the Miners
: Union in their recent resolution al
to rates of interest charged BY
bankers-we hold no brief for th'
! bankers. We believe and know tina
interest rates to most borrowers
! are too high, and should be reduc
, ed, and are ready to join with an!
group of people to endorse ant
support any plan of procedure
which would assure for the majol
part of our population a reasonable
and sane standard of living, in
stead of an extremely high stan
dard for the few, and an extremel.
low standard for the many. Saw
ing and economy only will accom-
plish that purpose.
Referring to the editorial ap
pearing in the Carbon Count!
News of recent issue-which refer
to the managerial form of count.
government-the law providing
for the manager form of count.
, government is not complete or per
feet, nor, expected to obtain all o
the desired results. 1t will still de
pend greatly on the county com
2 missioners, as they are the fina
: authority in most matters. How
ever, we believe that economies ca
e be effected by adoption of manage
t form of government, as the man
ager and commissioners will b
: free to act for the best interests 0
the county. We believe it to tn
n best interests of the taxpayers an
that it is a step in the right d
, rection, and, when the law is pu
S into operation, the law can b
amended from time to time to rem
edy the defects as they occur.
AS Regards Schools.
al Reference is also made in tn
+. same editorial to the present hig
; school law. We believe that the ne
l. law is an improvement to the oil
6 law, except, in n instance; this
it did not fix the maximum lev,
: that can he levied for high scho'
o purposes. In the old law the max
mum was set at 7 mills, but in tt
new law the gates were left ope
8 so that high school trustees raj
" ed the levy in this county 10 mill
!. They are very liberal with the tai
payers money, They eve pay OF
nnn,nAr coz ~