The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1932-02-25
Consider What We Have

Consider What We Have
IN comparing tax expenditures of today with tax
costs of 20 years ago, great many speakers ana
writers too often lose sight of the fact that no IN
vestment can be termed bad until study has been
made of the return realized
1t is possible for one to pay 5000 for a motor
car and find that he has been cheated while another
NAV nav 81 900 or more and still have purchased
bargain The same applies to houses farms, business
es-even taxes.
In 1910 there was small levy for roads. But
did we get roads? At that time twelve foot graveled
grade was fine road most of highways were dirt
cartways impossible after rains, never capable of
carrying much of load and in the fall all motor cars
stored until May, for effort was made to keep
off the snow and when the spring thaws came it took
four horse team to get lumber wagon into town.
1t has cost millions of dollars to bring high
way SYSTEM state county and township to its present
status. Not one of would want to return to the
roundabout peaked grades of few years ago. yet
many of us talk it should have been accomplished
without increase in taxation.
Consider the agricultural expenditures of the
state In 1910 bovine tuberculosis free counties were
unheard Of the state had little interest in hog cholera
livestock breeders associations county fairs Exten-
sion work. experiment FARMS county agents gen.
orally unthought of.
Most of us will admit that school chill
dren are getting better education than received
which were unknown in 1910 when reading writing
and arithmetic were the extent of country and in
many city school instruction Teachers then were
under paid schools were unhealthfu equipment crude
or lacking.
And so it is with every department of government
where expenditures have mounted Some OF the I'M
provements are unnecessary, perhaps unwise In the
face of conditions but the taxpayer has no one to
blame but himself. Our public officials have followed
the road pointed out in making the changes which
cost money. There is more waste now at least
in proportion to what money is spent for taxes than
there 20 years ago.
1t is wise now to consider savings. We will do
well to retrench extent but in this era of tax
saving hystera it decidedly unwse to try to get
budgets of 20 years ago for by doing bet
ter investments will deteriorate for lack of repair
funds and become total losses and it will be necessary
to pay for building up all over again.
Leap Year
TT HE fact that the earth does not make revolu-
ton around the sun in an even number Of days
has caused much difficulty in making calendar
that would hold good any considerable length of
time In fact, such calendar has been devised
but the present is accurate enough for
teal purposes
In reforming the calendar in AZ B.. c., Julius
Caesar considered year to be 1854 days, he add
ed day every four years to take up the fractional
excess But the true year is 365 days. hours, AZ
minutes and 1851 seconds in the of time the
Julian calendar, based year some IL minutes too
long, became and more Inaccurate To correct
this Pope Gregory in 1882 caused 10 days be drop
ped from the calendar and also modified the rule for
leap years by emitting the extra days from the ending
year of each century except those exactly dvsibe by
400.
Thus the year 1900 was a leap year, while the
years 17OO 1900 and 1900 not 1000 will be leap
year. and SO on Even with this correction there will
be of one day in 1928 years, discrepancy
hardly great enough to worry about.
One disadvantage of leap year is that persons born
February 20 have real birthday anniversary only
once in four years-f that is disadvantage. Based
the law of averages, only in about 461
would be thus handicapped.
+
The Lethal Submarine
~ NOE more the deadlness of the submarine ever
in peace times, has been illustrated by the re-
cent loss of the British M-2 in the English chan
mel with its entire of 60 The vessel was
engaged in practice exercises with other ships when it
dved and failed to up again. Eight days later il
found the bottom of the than 100 feet
below the surface.
Although the M-2 was equipped with every known
safety device, including individual escape apparatus
not board saved
This is the fourteenth submarine disaster in the
last 10 years. the total lives being 6O7 Of these
Ia vessels Great Britain has six the United States
Japan and Italy two each; France and Russia one
each.
This latest submarine tragedy has revived talk of
outlawing underwater craft as feature of armament
reduction, but there is little likelihood that this will be
done The nations will probably continue to build