The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1935-03-26
THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE ARE BEING
OPENED

A SQecldl QlSpdlCu IlOAtA w ''N-NNe>
The Wall Street Journal is as follows:
'The public ownership chickens are coming hoihe
to roost.
From four widely separated southern communl-
ties have come vigorous protests against the loss
of local tax revenues resulting from acquisition OF
property by Uncle Sam and its consequent removal
from local tax rolls.
For the first time the realization is dawnlng
back home that the people can't eat their federal
ownership cake and have the taxes, too. With the
Wheeler bill for government ownership of railroads
impending and with President Roosevelt eager to
sell the IVA idea extended throughout the country
this realization may have important political roper
cuSsions.
1.-The mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, is petitioning
Senator George Democrat, of course, to do some
thing about the loss of municipal revenue occa-
stoned by two large tax-free PWA housing prof.
ects which are suppianUing a hundred or more for
merly tax-paying pieces of property.
"Swain county. in the Smoky Mountains of
North Carolina has appealed to its representatives
in congress for legislation granting it some return
on a huge acreage withdrawn from taxrolls for
park project. Hyde county, in another part of the
state is distressed because some 80 900 acres of
its taxable real estate has been taken away for
federal waterfowl refuge.
"Six Tennessee counties clustered around the
Twas Norris dam development are all wrought
up about the IVA purchase, and consequent loss
20 their tax rolls of realty valued at from to 35
per cent of the total assessed valuation of all real
estate in the respective counties.
"All of these counties are heavily bonded for
roads. bridges and other local Improvements. In
the most extreme cases the federal activities threat
en- bankruptcy to the local governing unit
ALREADY legislation has been introduced in con-
gress to authorize and require the iva to reim-
burse the local government for lost revenues, and
there is talk of bill to permit the federal govern
ment to contribute to depleted local revenues in
all such cases.
zone of the bills that to aid counties affected
by iva purchases was introduced by Repubi-
can Rep j. Will Taylor, of Tennessee, but oppon-
ents of public ownership generally may be expected
to oppose such legislation on the ground that it
would simply impose further strain on the federal
treasury to hide one of the big objections to public
ownership-Ioss of tax income.
'Public ownership of railroads would cost nv
state $3,OOO,000 annually in lost tax revenues one
senator declared Public ownership of utilities
would deprive it of $4,000, 900 more a year Where
in Gods world are they going to make it up?'
'The Taylor bill, before the military affairs
committee as an amendment to the IVA act would
require the IVA to pay to an affected county what
ever portion of the face value of the countv's ont
standing bonds represented by the ratio of the
TWAS realty purchases to the county's aggregate
valuation. In other words, assuming that the iva
bought 35 per cent of the taxable real estate in a
county which had funded debt of 100000 Il
would have to assume IS per cent of $500, 900
county bonds, or $4,000. so q
Rep. Taylor estimated the ratio of IVA mr.
chases IN six counties to the total valuation of real
property in those counties as follows Granger and
Hancock, per cent; Anderson, Is per cent; Clai-
borne and Campbell, 20 per cent, and Union, s5
per cent. '.. '... -. o.
Emphasizing the need for his bill Rem TAYLOR
asserted that the IVA could bankrupt county by
buying all Its taxable real estate, leaving nothing
on which to levy for the countys bonds'
AT last, it seems, the people in some sec
tions of the country are awakening to the
significance of facts which were called to
their attention months ago by far-seeing
citizens and newspapers-and for which
service to the nation these patriotic citizens
and business institutions were roundly crit.
cised and abused by the radicals of the
country, the government ownership schem.
ers and the Socialist tricksters.
In discussing these matters months age
Inc Tlmes-News directed attention to de-
Velopments which were certain to ensue