The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-12-05
New TaxLevies
Are Proposed
In Cleveland
Small Home Owners,
C.P. and Councils Fight
Impost on Masses

CLEVELAND, O., Dec. 4.-City
and county officials marshalled in
full force at an open hearing yester-
day to mobilize behind their pro-
posed IS mill levy on the poor peo-
pie Of Cuyhoga county to pay police
and meet welfare" needs. Although
supporting the general sales tax
which Governor White is now try
ing to rush through the lame duck
session Of the legislature, Mayor
Davis and the county commissions
ers admitted that the tax would do
nothing for Cuyahoga county relief
needs. The officials, who called
the public" hearing in room
which could hold a maximum Of
fifty people, tried to confine the
discussion to methods Of getting the
State legislature to vote a new cleo
ton en- the As mill levy.
Mayor Davis said the city has
joined with the county officials to
bring about special election in
January and that unlss this As
mill levy were passed, it would mean
a complete breakdown of the city
IA ID county.
President James A. Kennels Of
the county commissioners said that
although a $60,000,OOO sales tax
would probably be passed in the
State legislature before Jan. l, that
this would by no means solve the
problem in Cleveland or in Cuya-
hoga county and that the needs Of
the county would fall short by some
S6,000,000. His frank statements
point out quite clearly that al
though Governor Whites sales tax
problem has been heralded as the
only immediate solution to the tax
crisis, in reality it is no solution at
all and will require millions Of
more dollars from the poor to sup
port the ever growing bureaucracy
of the local government.
Home Owners Oppose Levy
Although most Of the organiza-
tons represented were not working
class organizations, the only one
present that was qualified to speak
in the name Of tax payers was the
Small Home and Land Owners Fed
Grafton, an organization of some
10000 working class small home
owners in the State of Ohio. E.
c. Greenfield, sta tie chairman,
spoke sharply against the AS mill
tax levy. He pointed out that this
was Just another move on the part
of the government to thrust still
more the burden of taxation upon
the lower middle class and working
people. He said that the small home
owners we're very well acquainted
with the tax situation, that thou
sands of them were losing their
homes because they could not meet
their tax or mortgage obligations,
that Governor Whites S60,000000
sales tax proposal was tax that
would have to be met by the already
impoverished small home owners
and working class people
He stated that the organization
fully recognized the needs Of the
unemployed for more relief, more
money to take care of the needs
of the veterans, both disabled and
unemployed, and that any move to
thrust the burden of meeting these
needs upon the already impoyer-
ished people did not solve the
problem but that, instead, any con-
structive tax legislation can only be
at the expense of the rich.
Councils and G. P. Cite Demands
Frank Rogers, speaking in the
name of the Unemployment Coun-
ellis, demanded that the State legis-
lature pass laws suspending pay
ments on the debt service of s34,-
.631, 100 to the bankers pending the
passage of adequate unemployment
insurance and that instead Of this
narrow meeting of politicians, that
the county commissions, meeting
with the welfare department and
Relief Administrator Grossman
should hold an open hearing on
the welfare problems and the tax
situation where the whole question
could be put before the people who
would have to meet this new pro-
posed tax.
A. Landy, speaking for the Com
munist Party, showed clearly in his
remarks the class nature of the 412
mill tax and pointed to other
sources where this could be OBJ
tanned such as higher utilities tax
and a steeply graduated income tax
on the high brackets of income.