The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1932-03-10

cent. This does not include the enor-
nous sum from gasoline, race track,
and other special taxes, large parts
of which were applied to roads, but in
cludes only real, personal and intan-
gible property taxes.
Governor Ritchie's claim that he has
reduced the tax rate is utterly mis-
leading in the face of raised assess
ments and increased individual state
tax bills.
What has Governor Ritchie's state
government imposed in state taxes
on our farms end homes, as compared
with surrounding states and similar
industrial states along the Atlantic
seaboard?
According to the 1929 Census Bull
letin on the Financial Statistics Of
States-the last one issued-the av-
erage state property tax or realty tax
IN Maryland per person was about
three times the amount of the same
average tax per person paid by the
aggregate population of Massachu-
sets, Rhode Island, Connecticut and
New York.
The average general property or
realty tax in Maryland per person is
over ten times as much as that of the
average person in the aggregate pop
ulations of the nearby states of Del
aware, West Virginia, North Caro-
lima, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The
last three states do not tax real estate
for state purposes.
The farm and home owners pay no
direct national tax, and ninety per
cent of them are exempt from nation.
al income tax.
Instead of stongly intimating that
the National Government is respon.
sible for farm and home owners be-
ing sold out for taxes, why has not
Governor Richie relieved them of
State realty taxes, as Pennsylvania,
North Carolina, Virginia and Califor-
MIA have done?
The advance Bulletin of 1880 Gen.
sus Statistics of States shows that
all classes of Maryland state taxes
rose from $5.49 in 1917 to $13.22 in
1880, average per person.
Governor Richie complains mourn
fully about the alleged Capitalization
of power in the National government,
while during his terms of office he has
reorganized all the executive agencies
of the state so as to create a real au-
tocracy-which, like an octopus, is
seated at Annapolis, with powerful
tentacles reaching out into Baltimore
City and every county of the state.
Governor Richie, therefore, is re-
sponsible for the increase and unequal
burdens of Maryland taxation, and for
its poor showing when compared with
the notable decreases in taxation
made since the Wilson regime by Re-
publican administrations at Wash
ington.
Mr.. Tait's arraignment of the state
executive does not go far enough.
Mr.. Richie, through his commissions,
his various heads of departments, like
the State Roads Commission, the au-
tomobile commissioner and the State
Department of Education, is RESPONSE
BILE for the laws on the statute books
making it mandatory to pay large
salaries to officials, the creation Of
useless yet expensive departments,
the game and fish commissions as
an example-which spends thousands
of dollars annually for purpose that
is of little or no benefit to the people
at large.
Other useless and extravagant
boards and commissions could be in
cluded in the above, but do not think
it necessary, except to call attention
to the fact that the amount of money
required to maintain the County
Health unit is less than one-half of
one cent on each dollar levied for
county purposes, and the life and well
being of even one child per year that
may be benefited by this department.
of the county government is worth
many times the amount expended.
TAXPAYER.
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