The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-06-27

vember, 1882. He can probably have
q Job as assistant attorney general OF
the state, or a Job as assistant United
States district attorney; or, who
knows?-maybe the Job of United
States treasurer!
NEW ROCKFORD.
A LOT ABOUT TAXES
Wing, N. D., June 10, 1892
Editor, Tribune:
The Defenders of the Public Schools
are alarmed because certain initiated
measures threaten to reduce taxes
They challenge the measure setting
a new basis for taxation. Also the
measures limiting certain county
salaries and reducing the mileage OF
some officials. The public schools
may be in danger but the menace
is rather In destroying the means
whereby they live. Loading the tax
payer with such burden that he Is
unable or refuse to carry the load
does not help. High taxes beat down
and destroy the price of land. You
can see 1t here as we'll as other places
1t Is my humble opinion that there
is more land owned by the public to-
day than there was 30 years ago in
the homestead days. It is reported
that In South Dakota over 100000
acres. Wisconsin 100000, Michigan
100000 have been taken for taxes.
Then to that add the federal land
banks and a few state banks whose
holdings are beyond taxes. It is the
over-taxation that is threat to our
public schools. A continuance of the
present system will certainly bring
wreck and ruin.
In looking over some county COM
missioners' proceedings find two
items to the point. l find that a
sheriffs office drew $47O in mileage
month or 1854 per day, including
Sundays. Some farmer must feed,
milk, separate and haul the cream
from 10 good cows to town for ~ days
to pay the mileage Of that sheriff for
one day. find in another place that
the county superintendent of schools
drew somewhat more than $3.50 and
presume for one month in mileage
alone. That is $500 per day for every
school day in the month. I would
like to compare this with a farmers
profit on a bushel of rye. but am
up against a stone wall. The profit
is so small can't find it. We may
ignore his item Of labor but we must
allow for threshing. time and deliv-
cry. II We do, We can only hope for
profit of one cent per bushel. AT
one cent per bushel you can soon fig
ure how many bushels of rye it takes
to pay county superintendent $500
a day mileage.
Let us make a few more COMPARE
sons. A license for an old car should
be a. dollar where it cost $500 a few
years ago. Teachers who got $50 to
500 per month would be getting from
$50 to $50 per month. A county au-
ditor who 10 years ago got $4,000 pei
year should now receive a salary Of
$500 to $700 per year.
But no one has asked for any such
radical cuts in either salaries or mile
age. They are moderate to the ex-
IRENE. Those most nearly affected by
them should congratulate themselves
that the reduction is so light; that
the new basis of taxation will produce
a steady flow of money to the public
treasury and insure the schools a
firmer foundation in the future. This
is just little effort to help balance
the public budget.
Governments are run by paid taxes
not by the unpaid. Better small as
sessment, and it paid, than large
one unpaid.
Unpaid taxes mean more state prop
erty Is dead to taxes and leaves its
burden to those just behind, thus max
ing their load heavier. They, In town
one by one, or a few each year, give
up and little by little, year by year,
we arrive at state ownership and state
ownership is communism. We need
not follow any red flags or listen to
any long haired orators but we will
reach the goal and We will recognize
it when we see 1t.
We are in a depression. It has
lasted three years. Prosperity Is sup
QOSCO w UC Juot al OuAIA UA1V SVAAACA
We'd give worlds to know which cor
ner.
Some think it a saloon corner, but
we can't get around there on account
Of the 18th amendment. It looks as
though a continuance of this depres-
sion was simply a struggle between
natural and artificial prices. Natural
are those controlled by the law Of
supply and demand such as the prices
Of cotton, wheat, hogs. milk, corn.
common labor, while artificial are
those maintained by the government
or through government aid such as
tariff, licenses. interstate commerce
commission monopolies and labor
unions and banks; In fact; any class
that derives part Of its income through
government aid or other artificial
means. We can't change the law of
supply and demand but we want to
see whether or not some of these ar
tificial prices are still within our
power. It Is only small. weak CT
fort to make the scales Of justice bal
ance.
Are we going to allow the fear of
reducing our neighbors' tax to stand
in the way Of looping off some of the
burden of our own. That old fraud
of putting the burden of taxes on the
railroads. public utilities. merchants,
elevators and absentee land owners is
being revived to defeat these laws.