The Washington times., 1934-01-02
LARGE TRACTS
BOUGHT FOR
PARK AREA
Some In Shenandoah Section
Have Lost As Much As so
Per Cent of Taxable Land
BY JOHN E. TAYLOR


BY JOHN E. TAYLOR
The United States Government
Is forcing some Of the Virginia
:; counties to consolidate their gov
/. ernments.
g BY buying up large tracts of
land in the Shenandoah National
=. Park area, the Federal Govern
ment is taking away from the
+. counties in which the land is To-
:. Gated great stretches of taxable
area. The Federal Government,
Of course, does not pay taxes.
Some Of the counties in the
Shenandoah National Park have
:. lost as much as so per cent of
their taxable area.
4 County Union Seen Needed
e John S. Battle, State Senator
representing Albemsrle, Green,
Madison and Fluvanna counties
and the independent city of Char
lottesville. today said the counties
in the Shenandoah Park area
have got to consolidate their gov
-ernments.
He added:
''The other counties also will
have to come to it,"
- From Fairfax comes the opinion
of Charles Pickett, well-known
lawyer, who said:
IL have thought for long
time that this consolidation Of
county gOvernments) should be
done.
"The office holders and SEN
= timentalists will fight it, but the
latter can be pacified, 1 believe.
by giving the new counties new
names and allow the old county
names to stand as district
Names"
Pickett opposed bond issue re-
Gently, the money to be used for
construction of new Fairfax
county Jail. He opposed it on the
ground such a Jail was an eco
.non1ic waste for the county. Why
not Join with several other coun-
ties in erecting a modern jail.
with a farm around it, that
would stand a chance Of being
self supporting?
Bond Issue Voted Down
Incidentally, the bond issue was
roted down.
Pickett cited the fact it cost
the state of Virginia $1,000 last
year to feed prisoners in the Fair
fax county jail-prisoners who
served out their terms in idle
ness.
Over on the Eastern Shore of
Virginia lives Henry A. Wise,
whose family has made it's home
on the tip of Cape Charles for
generations.
Wise Notes Deficit
Mr.. Wise declared:
with our national govern
ment showing a deficit of one
billion dollars for the first six
months of the present fiscal
year, our State government OPP
Grating with heavy and rapid
" increasing deficit with prac-
tically 20 per cent of our State
taxes uncOllected and with all
of our counties operating with
q deficit and incapable Of col
lecting the taxes now assessed
and unable to meet their cur
rent expenses and our Governor
suggesting the necessity of find
ing new sources of revenue and
proposing an increase in State
taxes and our counties crying
for financial aid from the
state, it is high ime that think
ing people consider ways and
State, it is high time that think
penSeS.
every dollar we spend must
be repaid by us. This money
is not coming from some mys-
teriOus source. The Virginia
taxpayers can save themselves
millions of dollars by cOnsOli-
dating counties and abOlishing
useless operation.
HE URGES RELIEF
''With fewer than half of the
present number of counties
and with more efficient gov
ernment in such counties we
might start our new year with
the promise of substantial re-
lief from our present intOler-
able burden of taxation.
"If our people insist on main
tanning the present senseless
county government for dozens
Of insignificant and useless
counties they should not be
heard to complain of the cost
of government"
Wise is the son of a former
Congressman at Large from Vir-
ginia: grandson of former Gov
ernor of the State, and is himself
a former United States Attorney
In New York.