Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1932-10-20

are building road without even
asking for donation from the
abutting landowners.
Did the elimination of the county
agent fund lower our taxes? IN
1881 we paid in taxes to the county
treasurer 100000. We spent ST.
500 Of that for extension work. The
state and federal government paid
the salary of $4,000. The $1,000
paid for office rent and supplies.
secretary, and auto expense. The
$1,000 saved this year was around
l-24O or 2-5 of one percent of the
total taxes. If we pay s1OO tax, ou..
part of $500 would be about 4Oc.
Wouldn't Morgan county farmers
have received more benefit from
dropping of $4,000 per year road
assessment? That would equal
about SO per 500 tax compared TO
the 40c per s100 for extension
work. Were the officials really do
ing their best to live within their
income, or was it only political
gesture?
If we had some Organization in
Morgan county to get behind our
officials and give them some en-.
couragement, we might get some
real tax reduction. Roads and
schools take most all our taxes.
Salary cuts of local officials should
be made, but it will mean but little
III our taxes. Considering the times.
we should vote down the 2-mill
township road levy next time it
comes up. That would cut our
taxes about SO or go. That would
cut roads 100000, but there would
still be $4,000 left which is most
ly gas tax and is two or three times
what was spent on roads four or
five years ago. When the county
debt is paid off, the 1-mill debt levy
will let taxes be cut another 4%, Or
total Of about 1870. We need
commissioners who will drop the
road assessment, who favor con-
fining road building to gas tax mon
ey, who favor voting down the q
mill road levy, and who will not in
crease our public debt, but will de-
crease it. We have no objections to
the present ones in the matter of
debt, if they can be trusted to con-
tinue their present policy
1t is suggested that all candidates
for commissioner make use of our
local papers and state plainly and
squarely their present opinions on
road assessments, extension work,
and local tax reduction. If any can
didate prefers to fit his platform 10
the individual, and keep his views
from those who might differ, that
candidate. if elected, can be expect
ed to still try to keep the public in
the dark. If they have any settled |
convictions or definite policy other
than politicians customary general
izations, may we have them here |
where all may hear alike?
May we demand now, as electors. |
of our public servants, that we
know what we vote for, so that we
may show by our vote in November |
what we want. Personally, the |
writer is not a Democrat. This is
not written with the approval of any
political party. We care not for the |
politics of any local official We |
do care how openly, unselishly, and
justly they perform their official |
duties.-Paul Wells, Homer town
ship.
p. S.:-The following taken from
the 0. S. Grange Monthly are of in
terest. Get September issue and
read all the extracts about taxa
ton, taken from leading Ohio pub
lications:
If road building has progressed
to such an extent that the officers
in whom discretionary authority il
lodged by law can find no bette
places than paths among the briars
to spend hundreds of thousands of |
dollars, the time is at hand to re-
duce tax levies, bond issues, and |
special assessments for road con-
struction.- Blade.
All elected and appointed public |
officials are asked to take volun-
tary 20% cut, in a report made pub
lie Thursday by the Seneca County /
Inter Organization Tax Committee.
Journal.
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