THE WAYiNESVILLE MOUNTAINEER
Page T
Equalization Of Taxation
As A Farm Relief Measure
"Hay Had to Be Cut," Says Arthur
. i .n.
THURSDAY. AUGUST 3, 1933
(go to (Eljurrlt mtimij
Ed. Note: The following article
-,a'- delivered by Arthur Francis at
Young Tar Heel Farmer meeting
in Raleign recently- Mr. Francis won
third place in the state for his paper.
He was elected secretary of the organ,
ization after receiving a good vote for
president.
By Arthur Francis.
On this problem of taxes there is
much which might be said, but I wish
to emphasize a few important facts
1 can not imagine who the first tax
collector of the world was. but I
know he must have been the most un
popular man of his day. We all real
ize that from scnptunal days down to,
and including this year of 1933. the
way of the tax collector has been a
very hard one.
This human attitude about tax col
lection and taxes has had unfortunate
results- This problem has disturbed
much thinking of ours on problems
of taxation. It has stimulated an
unthinking, mistrust of our govern
ment, it may be local, or national. It
has altogether concealed services of
'the government. First, and most im
portant of all. it has caused many
citizens to be against any attempt at
understanding the operation of gov
ernment The second thing to do is to study
tax problems. Fortunately, as a
check to this attitude, we can point
out a way that i growing daily in
strength. Is this I mean the force of
education, operating now with better
resuJs about (the farm press and
also farm organizations, and based
cn facts gathered by state and federal
i search men- The leading farm or
ganizations in their discussion at
their recent meetings dug deep con
cerning the things related to taxa
tion problems.
As this educational Work continues,
it will mean, in the end, tha't farmers
will understand better than ever why
tax burden is so heavy, where most of
it ciiginates, and what can be done
".o nelieve the situation. In the second
. plt'.cc it will mean, that an individual
farmer will see tilings in a new way
and the possibilities of farm organi
zations. The farmer at the present
time can do only one thing about tax
ation and that is to complain. When
you think of the individual farmer
his voice is small. Rut in his farm
organization he can and already is
effecting important reforms in taxa
tion. The tax authorities must lis
ten respectfully when the organiza
tions of agriculture are speaking.
Our National Grange and Farmers
Union, an, American 1-arm Bureau
have tremendous influence on legis
lation. If the three fold priciples of abili
ty to pay, benefits received, and con
venience of collection were adhered
to, the solution would in a great ex
tent take care of itself.
Who should bear the burden of the
greater part of the tax if not the ones
who are able 'to pay? As an example
of the farmer's ability compared with
that of other industries, the Cornell
University's Farmer Economics for
February of 1931. reports the farmer
products were l'r above pre-war
price; New York factory workers
122T- above the same period, while
average price of leading industrial
rices
P
Ad
vancing on
Build
mg
For Anything In
BUILDING MATERIAL
MILL WORK
SEE US
Our Prices
Always Right
Junaluska Supply Go.
Jerry Liner, Owner
Phone 263.-J Lake Junaluska
stocks were 218' i, while the cotton
growers were receiving 73' c of pne
war price. The tobocco grower
far below cost of production were
wre-tiing with the problems of liv
ing a n j paying taxes, the big tobacco
companies were paying their officials
fat salaries and declaring millions of
dollars in dividends. How do they
manage to escape? Why not demand
that they carry their share of the tax
burden? Why allow the tobacco
trusts to rob agriculture and give
millions to Duke and others? Tax
should be enforced demanding of the
extravagant spenders and high livers'
that they lear more fairly the burden
of taxes. Income and inheritance
taxes should be more vigorously fol
lowed thereby letting the class that
gets the money that is in circulation
contribute more to expenses of 'the
government.
Those who get the benefits of pro
jection whethen it be in the form of
tariff or some other should be more
responsible, and certainly the big bus.
iness of our country pets the benefits
of our high tariff wall. The farmers,
necessities are sky high while the
things he sells are not adequately
protected, thereby giving the big
business all the advantage- In case
of highways the modern way adopted
by all states is to place a tax on gas
thereby letting the ones who use the
roads build tnd keep them in repair
which will naturally relieve the bur
den, on real estate and let those most
benefitted pay most.
The convience of collection has
here-to-fore been very much abused
because it has been and is much easier
to collect from real estate and the
farmers's old cow than to dig in and
learn ami collect on stocks and bonds.
The farmer has all his investment in
land and other property that cannot
be hidden from the public therefore
he usually is caught 100r'( while the
men of wealth and high earnings are
dodging. The burden is placed where
it is hardest to hoar on the land and
the farmer.
The farmer is not a tax slacker or
dodger, but he has come to the place
he believes he should have relief by
asking the untaxed and under taxed
classes to shoulde,- a fair portion of
the laxes thereby equalising moie
nearly the load.
,A a means of catching every one I
would advocate a sales tax, so rigidly
enforced that there would be no escape
for any one. It will get the common
laborer who earns any amount what
ever and reaches the professional
class in every vocation of life. Just
i'( tax on all sales will cost the
common laborer who ispends $500.00
per year $5.00 tax. while the profes
sional man who spends $5,000,00 per
year would be given $50.00 to carry
the burden of government.
An example of our present unfair
system 1 will give you a case in In
diana as stated by Lewis Taylor, a
noted writer in "The Country Home."
In a certain section of the state there
is a farmer whose gross income is
$3,000 per year, while his taxes are
$1,200. In 'the same town resides a
doctor with an income of $7,000 who
navs $38.00 tax. A professional man
with $1 000 income who pays $35-00
per voar. The head of an institution
in the same city gets $0,000 while his
Are
material
Mil
Are
-'-'.
' Wo jusl had one liorse, and the luiy hud Jo he cut," said ;on yeiM-oM
Arthur Oilell wlien sherifTs deputies went to his father's farm near Detroit,
Mteii., to Investigate reports that the boy was being forced to work teamed
vita a horse. The young man Is shown nt his self-appointed Job.
wife gets $2-500 paying $19.00 com
bined tax. The combined income of
the four persons mentioned being
$19500 paying $92.00 tax. At the
same time the above farmer with
$3 000 income was paying $1 200 or
two-fifths of his income in taxes, this
shows the absolute unfairness of our
present system.
In 1931 here in North Carolina the
Duke Tower Company paid 9 of their
rhief executives a total of ?2SS.8ol.OU
in salaries but the tax collected was
small. In the same year the Southern
Public Utilities Company paid four
officials a total of $88 970.00. Why
not demand that these big incomes
carry an equal share of the tax load
with the farmer? Last year how much
tae was paid by the five presidents
of the New York Life; Prudential;
Mutual Life; '.Metropolitan: and
Fquitable Life Insurance Companies,
whose incomes were $075,000.00?
If all property paid taxes in the
United States and in North Carolina,
deficits would disappear and the leg
islature could go home -without
scratching their heads off in their
efforts to balance budgets.
"Upwards of forty billions of dol
lars are hiding out from the tax col
lector inth e United States behind
the bulwark of tax-exempt securities.
It is estimated that Federal bond
issue- wholly exempt from taxes
total $22,250,000,000, and the state
and local issues, exempt in whole or
part from taxes, amount to some
$10,3000.000.000 more.
And yet these Vast sums escaping
ii ne
This
1 1 ,'&irLAnm
k
t
r -v-. "etH1
taxation are only a part of the great
property in America which escapes
the tax gatherer.
In North Carolina it has been cs
finintP.i timi einct.ooo.000 in foreign
stocks escape all taxation in the state
except a small six per cent income tax
on their dividends which was added in
1931.
In Washington ami uaieign mere
never was a time when it was so nec
essary to bring to the tax books the
millions in property Which are es
caping the payment of their share.
On the books the taxes from them
would wipe out deficits and balance
budgets. The time to liegin this re
form, both in Washington and '
eigh is now.
In our si liooU the burden is unfair
Some of our communities are rich in
natural resources, and some -are poor
If liuvs and trills are to have the sann
opportunities the burden of the weak
must be distributed." In the total
nomilation the number of children erf
school aw is said to be greater in the
rural than in urban communities.
C,ini- liurk in 1'!V0 children below the
age of 19 years constituted 35.8 per
cent of the population in cuios, u.i
ner cent in the vill.iires, and -IS. 9 per
cent on the farms. Rural communities
therefore had to bear the co t of edu
eating a larger number of coming
ir.ih i v-ihiin
It is etsimated 'that from the farms
in every -'county '.there leaves for the
towns and cities more than 100 boys
ami girls annually. If the cost is
only $.")00.(i0 per person this would be
FOR
ONE
YEAR
Aimh
ies
.M. M. :
Renew a I Su bscript
FIRST BAPTIST
Hev. H. W. Baucom. pastor
Sunday school, 9:45. W. C. Allen
superintendent.
.. ...,:..- r-hii. 11:00.
0:30 all B. Y. P. U.'s of church meet.
Kvining Worship 8:00 o'clock.
Midweek prayer service 7:30 Wed
nesday.
FIRST I'h'kSHYTFRIAS CHURCH
lh K. P. Walker. Minister
Bible School 9:45 a. m.
Sermon 11 a. m.
Christian Kndeavor, 7 p. m.
Mid-week Bible Study and Prayer,
Wednesday, 8 p. m.
-CRACK CHURCH '.V THE MOUS
TA1XS." VAY.FSV1U.F, ,Y.C.
Kevd. Albert New, Rector.
Sunday. August (th. 1933.
The Right Reverend K. G. Finlay,
of Columbia, S. C. will preach at 11
A. M. and administer the Sacrament
of the Holy Communion.
At 4 P. M. Bishop Finlay and Revd.
Albert New will conduct service in
"St. David's in the Valley," Cullowhee
Kverylvody cordially invited
an expediture of $50,000 which hard
pressed farmers of each of those
counties are making annually to the
life of the cities.
The cities, with their wealth and
population, are getting more than
their share of rural educational fi
nances They should belli to equalize
educational opportunities. The wel
fare of (he whole nation demands that
those boy ami girls on the farm
should enjoy an education compara
ble to that olfered by cities. . . It is
no: any more than simple justice that
base of taxation would be so spread
that the burden of - maintaining a vig
oivus and informal national life shall
fall equally upon all classes of our
citizens.
xorit'E of s,n: i i:t
CUTIOS
NORTH CAROLINA,
HAYWOOD COUNTY.
IN THK SCl'KRIOK COURT.
H vat i it ( 'om jianv.
Vs. ".',"
.1. N. Peacock and
Mrs. .1. N. IVaco.-k.
'.By virtue of an' execution directed
to tile undersigned from the Superior
Court of Tl'iywood County in the
above Clititled action, I wil1. on .Monday,-
the Tt It day-f" August'- 1933. at
o
ntameer
on New
ions
HAZELWOOD PRESBYTERIAN
1 CHURCH
Rev. O. C- Lundrum. Pastor.
Sunday School, 10 o'clock.
Morning service, 10:40 o'clock.
Junior, Intermediate and Sfcn'ror
vespers, 7:15.
FIRST METHODIST CHURCH
Rev. Wade Johnson, Pastor.
Sundav School. 9:45.
At 9:45 Rev. L. B. Hayes will lec
ture to the Young Men's Bible Class.
Kpworth League 7:15.
Sermon by Rev. L. IS. Hayes at 8:00
o'clock.
HAZELWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH
Rev. B. B. Caldwell, Pastor.
Sunday School 9:45.
11:00. Sermon bv Pastor.
7:00, Meeting of all B. Y. P. U.'
of the church.
8:00, Each Wednesday mid-wecU
Prayer meeting.
ST. JOHS'S 'CATHOLIC CHURCH
Rev. Arthur J Racette
Mass at 11 Sunday.
Mass, week days at 7:30 A. M.
11 o'clock, A. M., at the iVtrt House
door of said County, sell to the high
est bidder for cash to satisfy said,
execution, all the right, title and in
terest which the said Mrs. J. N. Pea
cock, the defendant, had in said prop
erty as herein described at the time
of -aid judgment was taken and dock
eted in the .Superior Court of Hay
wood County, said sale made subject
to the life estate of the said Mrs. J.
N. Peacock in said land described as
follows: Lying ami bring in the
Town of Waynesville, Hayvood
County, and being Lots Xos. 9, 10, 11,
12 and 13 in Block "C." of Foren Ad
tion the Town of Wayncvil'.e. Be
ginning at a point which is
distance 200 feet northerly from
side of Short Street. thtneo
83-4.") Fast, 287 feet tc Davidson
j Street; thence along the line of same
88 feet to property line; thence along
said line N. 30-34 W. .240 feet moro
or less to side of railroad; thence S.
54-22 W. 121 feet to Richland Streot;
thence along nid Street 100 feet to
to beginning..- Containing !M!5-1000 of
an acre Being the same hnd that is
recorded" in' Book 20, page 381, Rc
tWds of Deeds fo,. II a vwood County.
This the 0th dav of ,Iu IV. 1933.
J. A. LOWE,
Sheriff .-of Haywood County.
. 80 J uly 13-20-27 Aug. 3
or