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September 23 19u4 ' 11-1l ; 141\.LL : : : CI1Y 1Kl1jUN
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I , SOlncthil\g of Taxes
I ! In Richardson County
( Continl1cd front former page. )
.Phis shows how much thc bur-
den has addcd , even after thc state
board hag madc thc ten per cent
incrcasc. Hcrc arc fiftecn individuals -
viduals , taken as their namcs ap-
I appear at thc head of thc records
who have been increased only
$ : ; } 0.2.t for all of them for state
j
taxcs.
I 'I'hc fad that some these mak-
I ing' inc1iviclual showings of less
than $200 in valuation arc generally -
erally ) } reputed to hc worth upwards -
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, wards of $50,000111 personal prop-
I crty-farmers too , makes the room
for complain smaller yet.
' 1 ' lic showing in thc matter of
; , real estate also leaves little room
for complaint. Trout thc records
arc here takcn two quarter sec-
tions from thc extreme corner of
each of the fifteen precincts of
Richardson coun ty. For the nine
precincts first named the south-
west quarter and the southeast
: quarter of thc sections are takcn.
hot the other six thc northeast
and northwest quarters arc citcd.
The figures for J04 include the
I
10 per cent increase usad , by the
I I state board , and which is now in
the courts for legal intcrprcta-
! tion.
Val State Val State
See 1903 Tax 19Q4 Tax
Speiser.-.1 S 880 S 83j ( 51,520 S 9 12
Speiscr _ . _ _ 5 880 8 36 1.58.J. 950
Iluutholdt6 1,155 101)7 1.J. 11 7f
I 111l11bohtt.6 ,8jfi ( 822 1,300 780
1"I'allkliu1 1 925 878 1(123 973
I'ranldinl 1,0.J5 992 1.683 1009
NClllalia _ _ 1 711 6 ( 7.i 1,58. 950
NClllaha . _ 1 700 G 65 IS8.J ; 950
Gl'auL.l 1,100 10.J5 2,178 1306
GrauL . . .1 1,070 10 16 2,178 130j (
Porter . _ _ .2 9.J2 8 94 1,336 8 01
1 Porter _ , -.2 1,12.J 1077 1.J25 855
Ohio.2 1,259 11 96 2,182 J301)
+ OhioA 935 888 1,551) 935
llarada . _ .1 420 3 1)9 712 4 27
Ilarada _ .1 440 4 18 . 712 427
Arago..2 530 503 792 4 75
. Arago.3 555 527 , 1,330 798
alcl1l..1 1,210 11 79 2,534 1520
i 8alclll : . . .1 1,100 1045 2,376 1425
Liberty _ .1 1,133 10 7G ,376 14 25
Lihcrty _ .1 1,133 10 76 2,217 1330
Falls Cityl 1,075 10 21 : 1 l.m 10 15
s Falls City 1 1,175 1116 lm2 10 15
MlIllc1 ) ' . _ _ 3 1,050 ' 99' ( 2,257 : : 13 ii4
Muddy. . . , .4 1,100 10 45 : ,106 12 1 63
efrcrson 1,075 10 1 17 2o59 12 I : 35
Jefferson 2 : 900 855 1,584 91io
RI\I0..12 1,105 1046 1,99 ; ) 1497
Rulo..6 Boo 760 1,663 997
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S269 97 S30061
In reading the above it must bc
remembered that much of this is i
' $100 an acre la)1d. ) There is very
' - little of any other kind in Rich-
ardson. The Muddy precinct ' man
whose farm shows an assessed
valuation of $2.257. ( an actual : :
valuation of $11,285) would not
sell thc place for less than $1(1-
000 cash if a buyer should appear
{ ! t01110rrow. His state taxes are
increased from $9.97 in 1903 to
$13.54 to 1904. He is willing to
pay that much additional toward
paying off the state debt provid-
lug for thc growing needs of thc
.
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Mt
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state institutions. The increase
is larger than the average , 'Jut
thc extra $3.57 will not break
him up. lIe is likely to say less
about thc new revenue law than
some man who has had his personal -
son a 1 taxes for J state purposes
raised from 22 cents to a fearful
total of 3 ; } ccnts.
Sold ; l'HH'l'INHN'f QU1 S'l'IONS.
Some instances arc particularly
intcrcsting' i . Take thc 253 acre
farm of Henry Gcrdes of Ranula.
Gcrdes is running for the legislature -
turc on a platform demanding the
repeal of the "robbcr tax law. "
The fusionists arc going to try
to elect him , using thc other leg-
islative candidates as trading
stock. T , aRt year thc Gcrdes farm
was assessed at valuation ot
$1.315 , although he would not
have soW on an offer of $20,000
sput cash. His share of the state
tax was S12.49. 'l ' ltis year the
assessors ; placed thc valuation at
$2,317 and thc state tax on that
amount is $13.90. ' 1 ' hat gives
Hcnry $1.40 worth of campaign
thunder to use before clection.
If the 10 per cent raise by the
state board stands , hc will have
been abused to the tune of $1.39
more all for the trivial u'nd insuf-
ficicnt reason that the state needs
more money than it has been receiving -
cciving' during past ycars.
Another interesting case ' may
bc notcd. Take the , Sani Lichty
farm of 160 acres in Falls City
prccinct. The farm sold pa few
months ago for $ HIOOO cash.
Last year the valuation was placed . -
ed at $1,375 by the assessors ! and
the state tax was $13.06. This
year thc valuationVflS $2,558 and
thc state tax on that is $15.34.
Imagine Sam Lichty or the present -
ent owner of this magnificent
farm making a howl because there
was a raise of $2.28 in thc state
tax , or even because thc state
board added on $1. 53 more. Far-
mers like Lichty do not kick on
paying their dcbts. ' '
They know
that thc state debt must sometime
be paid , and that increases of two
or three dollars on S1J.OOO farms
wilt no snore than keep the state
machinery grindingand wilt not
catch up with thc debt in a hUrl-
drcCl ycars.
RAILROAD VAI.UA'l'ION.
In 1903 the railroads in Rich-
ardson county were valued } at
5454,221 and this year thc valua-
tion is 5768,396. The increased
state tax on this is S301. The
fusion campaigners wilt fry to
show that this is not cnough. Yet
a fusion state board of assessment
left it at the lower figure and
worse during their four years of
control , and John Ii' Cornell ) } , a
.
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r T I Moi-iiIJ--sEEV.l
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lAlex F. My eY > ,
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! : : 1' ; ; ; k"V' m 1' ' : " " : 'I L ' S . '
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Richardson county man , was a
mcmber of thc board. Cornell is
high up in the counsels of thc
fusion party here and desires to
run for the state senate on a
platform demanding a return to
thc other revenue law. He is thc
saute Cornell who as state audi-
tor rod : ; over the llHlin lines of a
railroad with his family in a spec-
ial car \ luring the night time in
order that he might continue to
assess the propert r as branch
hncs. One of these fictitious
"branch lines"runs through Richardson -
ardson , and in thc old lays the
railroaders induces ! reformers hke
Cornell to leave thc figure as
placed by reformers like Bcn ton.
ltt the mcantimc a , poorer road
which maintained no lobby in thc
fusion court was assessed high to
n akc up sonic of thc diJIcrcnce.
Vhen Cornell runs for the legis-
lature this fall he will not explain -
plain in his speeches why he per-
mitted this to go on while 112 was
au itor. He will simply charge
that thc increase of thc roads
here was smaH this year at the
time of readjustmcnt because a
lobby kept the valuation of one
clown and thc other was already
so high they were ashamed to
jolt it up much mon' In the
meantime thc democratic board
and the local democratic officers
have been busy piling up county
taxes and township taxes and
school taxes and township taxes ,
and all other possible kinds , in
order that the tax burden may bc
so heavy it will prevent the citi-
'ens from seeing where thc real
fault lies.
The situation i'n other counties
may bc thc same as here , except
that few of them can show up thc
real wealth in such quantities.
Frequent lawsuits are carried on
here over a million dollar estate.
Nearly $1. 700,000 on deposit in
thc banks . True , under the
revenue law so much abused the
assessors found only $4)6,224 of
these deposits , and the state
board in its widsom mauufactur-
cd 546,000. But that is ten times
more than was ever found in one
year under the old revenue
1 aw.
aw.Here
Here arc some items from this
ycar's assessors' books showing
other things that go to make up
the wealth of Richardson.
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Total I. ! h\ " ' .
'No. Valuc. Vi'luc l
Ilorses..1 ' ; . 5140Clg ( . $12.30 ' ' . N
Mulcs , ,1,847 30,283 16.40
Cattle , .37.818 ' 153,477 ' 4.06" _
Hogs . .54,323 63,563 1.17 f ,
Sheep . , 7 'Jr. _ " e r.- _ " "
.ICCp 7,26 3,967 .54 , .
Wheat , :29,586 6J,343 .15 ' { , .
Corn ,901,248 66,343' ,07 , . : : . ' : " : : : J
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As to thc need of the new 't , ;
revenue law . there is 110 honest : - :
difference of opinion All political -
cal parties were pledged to repeal
the old one and enact a new one. .
r-Iere in Richardson wc have the .
ofiical message of Auditor Cornell .
for rcfcl'Lncc. In his annual report - . . .
port to the governor he said : ' ' i '
"This il1debtc'dllc < ; call never " ' , ' _
be stet under our revenue Jaw a < ; . ' ; 'M
it is now enforced ; hence a prob- , ' , ' ' ,
able increase in prospective lia- , , ;
bitities without any prospective " , : ; . t ; I
assests. Such is =
thc condition
f : : : ; 1
that '
confronts ,
us '
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"The inequalities resulting ; . ; .n ,
from the present construction and '
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enforcement of thc revenue law ' , ,
relating to assessment and fax a- '
tion is agitating the minds of the . : Y
peoplc. Immediate legislation is ' ' T ' 1
deiuande(1. } . , } , , , " , .1
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'If all property was assessed " . , ' ' ) , " 'j. '
at one-fifth of its money value ' , :
there would be 110 \ inju t.icc to'f tom'
tax-paycrs. In fact the only injurious - ' f _ l ,
jurious result that could possibly
come from the low valuation is" - ,
reducing the revenues below thc "
actual l needs , of good g'ove1'tlmcn ' , _ ' , A
Admitting thc fact that the revenues - . ! . , > .
enues are " not sufficient to meet . . - > .
outstanding obligations and ' 11
current -
,
rent expenses of thc state wDuld " - : : - ' ' '
it not be better to enact a law - " . --7j
that would absolutely ta. , all , ' s ' , a
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kinds of property rather than to" " " ' :
increase thc value of thc property , . .i , k'I
that now bears the burden of tax- :
atlon ? " , " , ' _ , , '
So here wc have good official - ; ; ;
fusion authority that the law , ,
was a failure , that the state was _ ;
running into debt under the ' , . r " J ;
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fusion administration so fast that ) ' ' .
a new revenue law was needed , "
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and needed badly , and that thc :
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assessment of all property at one .
fifth its actual cash value would . . . j '
be no injustice to anrone. The ; ; ' '
important thing about this new . ' :
law is its enforcement all along - : .
the line. The more dodgers , }
that are reached , the less will bc
the . burden on patriotic citizcns. ,
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