Evening star., 1932-03-27
NatiOn-W Wide Local Tax Revolt
Seen Revival of American Spirit

Continued From First Page)
of the tax rebellion spirit might be in
teresting enough. Beneath this spirit,
however, and flowing from it, is a de-
duction which is of the highest pos
sible importance
At times like this, in all presidential
years, and especially in a presidential
year accompanied by hard times, there
is a division of public sentiment be-
tween what is loosely called "conserva-
tive" and radical" And what this tax
rebellion proves beyond the shadow of
doubt is that this country Is prevail
ngly-not prevailingly, overwhelmingly
conservative. What voter has in
mind when he demands reduced taxes
is that the Government shall take less
and do less, that the individual shall
keep what he has; less Government In
business, more freedom for business to
earn what it can and keep what it
earns.
Old Spirit Revived.
One angry Wisconsin taxpayer with
a gift for effective use Of words has
coined a pungent sentence, pregnant
with something new in America and
vastly important More accurately it
is an old American spirit now being
reviVed.)
Having in mind a State capitol and
the other State administration build
3ngs and the university and the county
seats, this Wisconsin Plato says: They
build themselves Greek palaces in
which to carry on their petty functions
while they leave to the farmer not
enough money to paint his house or
his barn"
80 49,.
OF public affairs. 1t means that it is
more important for the individual to
have enough money to improve his
house than for the Government to take
enough to erect costly edifices and
symbols. 1t is emphasis on the indi-
Vidual rather than on the State. It is
denial of the philosophy which had
got much headWay in Wisconsin and
elsewhere that the individual exists for
the benefit Of the state. The new spirit
means that the state exists for the
benefit Of the individual.
The principal participant in this tax
rebellion is the farmer. It means that
the farmer is through with having the
state carry on with greater cost at the
farmers expense. The farmer wants
the state to quit expanding its func-
tons. He wants the state to confine
itself strictly to the traditionally proper
function of government-and to let the
farmer keep what he earns, to do with
as he sees fit
AS a farmer in Ohio said to me: II
am tired buying mS farm from the
State over and ever every seven years
I might as well be in Russia and not
be allowed to own my land at ALL
What he meant was that his tax bill
each year is about one-seventh the
present value Of his land; that the
State, instead Of giving him absolute
tenure of his land and guaranteeing
his possession, actually gives him a
kind of precarious lease, for which he
must return the whole value of the
land every seven years
What the farmer is after at this mo-
mene Is that the State shall conf1ne
itself TO indispensable and accepted
unctions-keeping order, dispensing
justice through the courts, providing
the fundamentals of education and road
maintenance; that the State shall dc
this at the minimum Of expense-and
that whatever else the voter wants he
shall buy with his own money. And
the farmer, in order that he shall have
money of his own, is determined thai
the State shall stop taking so much oi
it away from him.
I have said that in Ohio the State
takeAs each year one-Seventh J Of the
EhoH value of the land. MeaSared in