| Show TAXES AND FARM RELIEF for the reaper by frank P litschert we are hearing a great deal these days about farm relief and the revision of the tariff and these questions are rightfully occupying a big place in public attention let us not lose sight of the fact however and one which affects farm relief to a certain extent is that of tax reform one of the biggest obstacles which confronts the farmer in his efforts to get back on the high road to prosperity ro is the obstacle of increasing taxes the problem is purely a local one few farmers are arc affected directly at least by federal taxes the semiannual semi annual tax bill which confronts them is the one which represents their share in the payment of state and local expenses if the farmer is to get further relief from his tax burdens therefore the remedy will have to be local the question may well be asked what is causing or has caused the tremendous increase in the property tax which now burdens the real estate owner in the town and in the county certainly a great share of it is due to modern modem improvements we do not live as we did a generation or so ago the man in the country has better roads for instance than were enjoyed by the man in the city a dozen or so years ago the horse as a method of transportation has well nigh vanished and the high powered automobile has taken its place the man in the country now travels more swiftly and smoothly in his machine than the city man did in his electric transportation a few years ago we have improved in other ways the country schools of today are better than the city schools of a generation ago and every small community now has its hospital for the taking care of the sick and the injured in short the standard of living has improved in the city and in the country but there has been more relative improvement in the country than in the city all of this costs money and doubtless most of it is worth the cost but if modern living is worth more than a few years ago it also costs more and this cost must be made up in increased taxes to prevent unnecessary expenditures the public must always be on its guard for the average citizen must finally pay the cost either in increased taxes or in higher rent and increased cost of living reasonable and necessary improvements should of course go forward but all proposals for new outlays of money should be carefully scanned by the man who is interested because he must pay the bill for instance the writers attention was called recently to an item in a middle western newspaper which set out that arrangements were being made for the improvement of a certain country school in a typical rural township in that state A few years ago this school building was pointed out as a model rural school it contained and still contains modern equipment laboratories class rooms playgrounds and nearly everything that was supposed at that time to make up a modern modem school house but now it is proposed by the local officials to spend nearly a hundred thousand dollars to improve the school house further the building is still solid and modern modem but it is set out in the news dispatch mentioned above that a now new gymnasium is needed the inference being that the school possesses no adequate place for physical training now it happens that physical training in this particular instance means training the basketball team for the high school there are two or three other consolidated schools within a radius of a few miles including a small city high school and baske basketball tb a 11 rivalries are intense the proposal really therefore is to spend the money of the taxpayers most of whom are farmers for training quarters for the schools basketball team which of course comprises only a handful of the children attending the school basketball is undoubtedly a clean american sport and one which ought to be encouraged but this instance is cited as an example of an occasion on which at least due consideration ought to be given to the taxpayers before the improvement is made and there are hundreds of other examples of a similar nature throughout the country high taxes are not only burdensome to the individual but they hurt business no new enterprises will go into a community burdened with high taxes it behooves us therefore to do what we can to see that the tax burden is made as light as is consistent with good government and sane and comfortable for table living salt lake papers announce that miss winnifred parry miss bliss emily cannon miss bliss louise cherry and miss larue madsen will spend the summer touring europe they will be accompanied by miss elma bennion of logan and will join miss bliss ellen nielsen of salt lake who has spent the past year in philadelphia for the trip abroad the itinerary in eludes england france italy germany switzerland belgium holland and scotland miss bliss cherry and mias bliss M madsen d se n will leave friday june 7 and an d will w ill sail from montreal eaI canada on june 14 miss parry miss bliss cannon and miss bennion will sail from new york june 12 on the leviathan leaving salt lake on june 5 the two groups will meet in paris for a tour of the british isles and the miss nielsen will spend the summer in paris studying piano returning the party will tour the east visiting in new york washington D C and other points of interest mis alls parry is the daughter of mrs J M parry now of salt lake city but formerly a resident of richfield mi miss ss winnifred graduated from high school |
