Newspapers / Watauga Democrat (Boone, N.C.) / Oct. 23, 1919, edition 1 / Page 1
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DKVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF I'.OONE, AND WATAUGA COUNTY. $l.(X) Per Year I VOL. XXXI. ROONE WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C., THURSDAY OCTOBEK 23, 1919. NO 2. a : Advertising Rates on Request. N. C. Taxation Plan. mi .11 ! . A . . ! 1 ine louowiug lnierosung ami highly instructive article by Edi tor Clarence Poe on the State's ''f taxation plan, which appeared in '!,the last issue of the Progressive Farmer, "ought to be read by everybody in North Carolina," .llays Governor Biekett. tl All over North Carolina there It 1 much interest in the State's I new taxation policy and many in- qiilries as to just what is propos- vi'The matter has already been eipliiiiicd in the ProgressiveFar- UltTI, uui since uwi was several months ago, it seems well to ex plain the matter afresh to our farmers who are now reporting "on; their land values. ' THE $3000 TAX EXEMPTION. jJFhe new taxation policy.of the : State aims at three things: r ,f-AlJ nonesty in assessments. v2) A reduction in tax rate to Correspond to the increase in as sessed values. I -ch (3) Provision for lightening the P 1 O J .1 . .1 .A uruens oi poverty ami ministry, . 4nd putting a larger share of the '.".burden's of taxation on men with V'V arge incomes. With regard to the latter point, wjmaynoie in me ouisei uiai tie recent Legislature was the first one "to take advantage of the . . i .. . . . i a authority given it by the Consti I tutif.M '.o provide a $3(X) eaemp M tion for tax payers, this provis ion of the new law reading as fol lows: "From and after the year KH9 there shall be allowed an exemp-1 t 'or, for each person o& wearing apparel, arms for muster, house hold and kitchen furniture, the mechanical and agricultural in struments of mechanics and far mers, laborers and scientific ill s' ruments, and provisions, not exceeding a total value of three hundred dollars." fl. THE KEVAUWTION PLAN Now about the plans for secur ing just assessments. In the past everybody understood that he was permitted to list proper ty for something less than its real value; and the result was that the more pliable a man's conscience, the lower the rate he named; and this thing had grown WJise and worse year after year until it has amounted to a state disgrace. For a man to list his property at its real value mea-nt that he would have to pay prac tically twice as much tax as ho ought to pay. Such a system en couraged lying, and corrupted pijblic morals at the fountain head. If the sworn officials of the state set the example of as s?ssing real estate at 33 1-3 per cent of its value, how could the state expect the individual tax payer to list his personal proper ty at 100 per cent? Now all this to be changed Hereafter every property owner . in the state is expected to list every, cent's worth of property he owns and list it at what would brinir if offered for sale under favorable condition, anc not merely at its probable selling price at a forced sale. Now if this plan for revaluing property for taxation were offer ed without assurance that the tax rate would be corresponding ly cut, of course this plan would be correspondingly cut, of course this plan would largely fail. It specifically provides, however, that as assessed values increase, the tax rate must decrease. It is provided that the amount of tax collected by the state or by any county, city, town, or social tax districts shall not exceed a 10 per cent increase in amount now raised by taxation. unse fluently if assessed values are in Geruaay's Condition. Tiiose who have made investi rations as to Germany's present condition are widely divergent in their views. For instance strik ing contrast is afforded in the statements of Ambassador Mor genthau and H. C. Stevens, New York bankers. Mergenthau some time ago reported that Germany is a 'perfect dynamo of strength' and said that Germany, encour aged by discord among weak and struggling States, undoubtedly will resort to arms within a few years and regain her lost terri tory." Mr. Stevens, of the National Bank of Commerce, of New York after investigating business in Germany, declares "Germany is but a shadow of the great Em pi re of 1014. She is a sick Sam son bound with chains and watch ed by a thousand guards. Her people are not working and have not learned economy and self-denial; her industries are operating only spasmodically and her once wonderful railroad system is at the point of disintegration." The American people who have not been to Germany but have sought to keep themselves in formed as to Germany's plight will doubtless agree largely with the, view expressed by Congress man Hritten, who is now in Rer un ana Jias been there lor some time. He says: "At present the Germans are wholly under the control of the Entente. Germany is down and out and a return to militarism in the old sense is out of the question, if for no other reason because the Government prevails against it. ivlr. Britten hnds it difhcult to understand Mr. Morgenthau't statement. 1 he American pub ic generally finds it just as difti cult no doubt. Charlotte Obser ver. bably will be, the tax rate per $100 worth of property will be proportionately reduced, phis the nominal 10 per cent increase. Mr. A. J. Maxwell, who is the state s foremost tax authority, expresses the positive opinion, in fact, that under this revaluation plan, the average tax rates will be reduced to about one fourth the present rales. The State tax commission will supervise assessments and valu ations through a scientifically de signed system so that the man who voluntarily lists his proper ty at full value maybe sure that his neighber is going to be com pelled to do the same thing. This new valuation recently began, and it will take about a year to get this .monumental task done for the whole State. Then the legis lature will be called toget her and the tax rate ior $100 for state county, special tax disrict and municipal purposes will be cut hist in projxn'tion as valuations have increased. lit. THE INCOLE TAX CONSTITU TION A L AMENDMENT. But some one may say "While the Legislature forbade an im mediate increase exceeding one tenth in amount of taxes collect ed, will not this soon be increas ed as a result of revaluation? We think not, and for a very important reason, The big purpose of this revalu ation of property is not. to in crease the amount of taxes to se cure justice and equality, in as sessment. Then in order to pro vide Jarger revenues for thestate and .give us the necsseary money for the many important tasks which an advancing civilization places on the commonwealth better schools, better roads, bet ter health, better care of the un fortunate, etc. -the Legislature Ev tract from article by W. H. Swi ! t in Greensboro Daily News entitled, Whfit Sort of State? N rth Carolina should be a state where every child born or livin i within her borders has and takes the fullest opportunity to develop into the best possible man or woman. Now that it is written we feel that we should have gone a little- further back. So let us try a- gain. worth. Carolina should be a sti.te where every child begot ten has the assurance of being born under prbperconditionsand of growing into a strong man or woman and where some one sees to it that each childactually lakes the opportunities provided for it. Let us put it in another way. North Carolina should be a state where every child begotten has the assurance of being well born and of growing and does grow into a strong man or woman. It is evident that our standard lies in the growing of as many possible of strong men and wo men. It must also be evident how hard it is to define. Rut de line we must if we are to get on with our study. In our opinion the test of any civilization lies in the growing and having of the proper kind ol human being. That stat is best where the greatest number of the propel- sort of happy folk grow and live. It must be meas ured by the greatest number. You can do some tlfings next week, but some you cannot. So don't wait, act now! Insure your house before it burns. Insure your health before you get sick. insure your life before you die for then it is everlastingly too ite. I sell the best policies at uni versa! rates GEC. F. BLAIR, Plowing I lock, N. C. submits to the peopleanotherim portant plan. At the election in November, 1020, the people will vote on a constitutional amend ment authorized the State to tax the income of the wealthy with out regard to whether any par ticular income is derived from in vested wealth or otherwise. We hepo every Progressive ''armor reader will now make up us mind to vote lor this amend ment and urge others to do so. heretofore we have had a shame ful system in North Carolina. In comes derived fnyn labor have been taxable, whil incom es de rived from invested capital have boon exempt from taxalio i, un der constitutional proisions. Thus it is said that a famous to ll icco manufacturer of this state lad an income of Tibout a half a million dollars a year from his property, and was not required to pay one cent of income tax on it, while his stenographer or clerk, 1,2.)0 a year or more was 'd li i red to pay an income tax In England for years it has been the ;plan to put a heavier tax on unearned incomes" that is to i i ... say, wvaci ueriveu lrom invested capital that on 'earned incomes' that is to say, on those derived from one's labor or profession. Our North Carolina planhas been on the oilier extreme, and the vo ters of the state ought to pile up 100,000 majority for changing it, just as they did for changing the constitution so as to provide asix month's schoollerm. A trreat part of the state s wealth is concentrated in the hands of comparatively few weal thy .persons, and it is only fair that they bear a larger share of the burdens of taxation. This is all the pvojwsed income tax a inendment means. Electricity Farm Servant. Lexington Dispatch. Av traveler through the conn try today notices one thing more than any other, and that is the number of farms whore electric service is now used. A few years ago, three or four at most, the coal-oil lantern and ampaud the long-handled wood en pump, which stood in the barn yard, and froze up solid ev ery winter, were symbols of the farm, just as the street car and the department store are sym bols of the city. AVith the farm were associated idea of old-fash- men ways oi doing -things, oi hard work and long hours. But what change has taken place! Drive out into the country at nightand look at the fariii-ho.us- os you pass, in a great many el t'lein, instead of the dim glow t.iat used to come lmm one or . . , . . IWO Windows, or the bobbins' point of light that marked a Ian- i t:'rn being carried up to the house from the barn, you will see fio whole place brightly lighted. Drive info the barn yard. In stead of waiting while some one at the house iiglits a lantern and comes out, you'll suddenly I'md tho. whole yard Hooded with light from the electric lamp on a pi le in the center of the yard, or per haps on a corner of the barn. ami when your host comes out you II nnd that he lias turned on the yard light from inside the house. Then he'll take you through the house and barns and show you what a difference electricity can make on the farm. As you go through the conn try you will find a surprisingly large number of farms eleelri cally equipped. And nearly all of this equipment has been put in within the lastlhreeor four years One ihanufacturer alone announ ces 'over seventy-five thousand Nitisnod users, a surprising fae, in view of the farmer's well known tendency to make a long and thorough investigation be fort he buys anything in the way of farm equipment. What, then, is the reason for this rapid increase in the rural use of electricity? Simply this. that electricity has proved to hi wonderfully useful on the farm Much more so, in lact, than -in city homes. IWoctric. light is not only supe rior to ell others as alight, but is itHi more convenient, much sa ler, and in larin us:: 'o, saves a great amount of liiiie. The differ eiiee between t'ir'ful ' a switch at the house and li rhl.ing a lan tern has already been mentioned , ., . , . . and tins greater eo:onienco is found throughout The- upstairs lights can be switched on switched on irom t.ielower.hail, and even the barn i.. . i:. .1 . .1 r .-I... I iiiii.v o: jifcinvo i hi. ii un,- ihmiisc. FPlwk fiftntMllift.iMt iifV.i'.fj ik irtMiol snving of time. Theuiily clean- ing and filling of liiin oi is no Ion- ger necessary. There is no walk- ing from barn to the house to get a lantern. And in !,he barn it- self, it is found tie.: well-placed electric lamps nmlcii fvery move- ment surer nnd fa- ter, ' saving nearly half the timo it used to take to do tha chores. Electric light is s.u'er, too, par- ticuiariy in the barn, .where the hazard of lire irom an overturn ed lantern was great. formerly very Hut electric power on the farm is even more useful than electric light. An automatic water sys tem will pu mp every drop'of wa ter formerly pumped by hand, supply ins wiue r iii.uur pressure atfauietsftlloverthehou.se and hams. Electric, motors will do tho milklnir. seiitiratinir. churn Good Progress of Sanitary Inspectors. The excellent progress being made by the State sanitary in spectors is even beyond expecta tion, according to Dr. W. S. Ran kin, is the author of the State wide plan. Dr. Rankin states that in his opinion one principle which is largely responsible for the hearty reception accorded to this law is the fact that the in- specters are not policemen and do not approach their work in any way suggestive of that atti- tude. It is at once apparent that the law itself meets the hearty endorsement of all thinking peo- pie. The inspectors are prjnci- pally concerned in helping the people of each community to de- ... , tannine the best ways and means 0f following the specifications of k'lo law in order to make it most c - Toctive. The inspectors use in t h e i r Wl,rk throe signs; one of which t.'iov ivwt on nn.cn nrive Insmnet- t'd, us follows: Licensed. Li- c -use pending" and insanitary- unlawful." They aim, so far as possible, to use only the "Licens- ed ssign, and only in stubborn l M t i i . ill and unruly eases will the Insan it iry-Unlawfnl sign be used, Such privies asarenotfound sair it try will ordinarily be placard- e l as License Pending, provid- ing then is sufficient evidence that the work required to make them sanitary be done promptly, In each instance, however, the inspectors are roqu'uvd to col- hct the inspector fee of 40 cents, In general it is the practice of t'.ie inspectors on visiting a town for the first time to p;iy atten tion only to such privies as are tit to receive a "licensed" sign, 'thereby designating them as int- t rns and examples US the rest of the community. It is taken for granted that those whose inten tions are good will strive to be in Jhe Licensed class without hesi tation or delay. Salisbury Post. ing, washing and sweeping, will turn the corn she or. fannnu; mill and grindstone. Electric irons, fans, toasters and percola tors also make the household work much easier. All.of this electric serviceisen joyed on the farm at a low cost and with practically no bother The best of the farm ' electric plants show a very low running cost and are practically trouble proof. Their engines are cooled by air, which does away with the trouble of carrying water and ,11 i . me danger oi over heating or freezing. They burn kerosene for fuel. Direct connection of the generator and engine, auto- mntie lubrication. olf emnlrinif ' n and self-stopping are other fea- tures of up to-date lighting which makes them easv to care for nnd operate. And of course with i . . each ontrine and irenerator is a I tit'itiviirit K'lHu'lT ii'liiil-t ft i tnuliALi light nnd power at all times of the day and night whether the generator is running or not. Where the plant has been prop erly designed and made, theown er is'iissured of satisfactory ser i vice. And he s not slow to tll his neighbors aboil t the kind f satisfaction ho's getting. The result is that where one gcod plant goes into a rural commut uy it is usually followed by sev oral more. That there are reiki- ble plants on tho market is indi cated by the figures quoted n hove. And they surely show tco that the farmer as a class is tal ing an interest in the subject of electricity for the farm. neju SALW: ine pair young Mules. Also Holstein-Jersey cow, three years old. H. W - Horton, Uoone, N. C, President Slowly Improving. There seems to have been stea dy but slow improvement in the condition of President Wilson. He is still a very sick man. There is no foundation, however, weare assured, that his mind is serious ly impaired. On the other hand, the suggestion that he is feign- lug illness to arouse sympathy is ridiculous. That personal feeling or political partisanship should lead to such extreme is indeed unfortunate. It is with pleasure . that ono turns to the following 'expression from Young Democ-' - racy, a magazine strongly oppos- ed to tne President: "We hone the President will make a speed v recovery from his . - not su rprising break-down un- der the tremendous strain of re- cent months. Our differences with Mr. Wilson are many and krroat. but we should nrofortnro. ly for vindication on the strength .. . - - , v . and unnmlnnuM nf mm iuUin rather than on his physical and mental exhaustion. Moral Don't Borrow. A man who was too stinerv to subscribe for his homo paper sent his little hoy to borrow tho copy taken by a neighbor. In his haste the bov ran over n. l stand of bees and in ten minutes looked like a warty summer squash. His father ran to his assistance, and failing to notice the barb wire fence, ran into that cutting a hole in his anatomy and ruining a !j pair of trousers. The old cow" took advantage of the gap in the fence and got into tlu corn field and killed herself eating green corn. Hearing a racket, the wife ran out, upset a four-gallon churn full of cream into a basket of little chickens, drowning the entire hatch. In her haste she dropped a $35 set of false teeth. The baby, having been left alone, crawled through the milk into the parlor, ruining a brand new $25 carpet. During the excitement the oldest daugh ter ran away with the hired man, the dog Ijroke up 11 setting her s and the calves got out and chew ed the tails of four line shirts ( n the 'clothes line. Sebree (Ky.) Banner. NOTK'KOK SALE. Under and liv virtun of mi order of the superior court of Wutuujfa county mude in tho special proceedings enti tled, M. A. Church, Administratlx, of tiie estate of J. It. 1 Church, deems- d and widow ol IuiiluIno, VS Walter Henry, Frank and Jesse Church mi nors, the samo beinjf No. , upon the special proceedings docket of vttld court, the undersiL'iied commissioner will on the loth day of November HM'.t at 12 o'clock m. at the court liou-io door in Walaujra County, North Car- h1!'"'1- .,,r,'r f,.)r .sa)o t( '1,n Mtfhest milder for cash that certain tract of land lying and being in Watauga !,'"TB ' iVl.lUv ';"a'.5dj0,l"i"g and more nurticuliirlv de-u-riiuwl n follows, to wit: Beginning on a white walnut on the bank of Watauga Riv er at ine moutn or a ditch Charlie Church's corner, and runs S fW 1-2 de grees W crossing the public road at In polM and same course continued in all SO poles to a stake in an old road, Jieii witii said road the following course and distances; south 11 1-2 de grees K poles then S 111 degrees west li polea then is ,lo degrees east li no. then north Ii2 degrees east poles then south 14 poles then south 1(1 degrees east H poles to a stake in said road one pole west of a poplar Wade Wag ner s corner, then south m degrees w with said Wagner's line 52 poles to a double chestnut Henry Yules and Wag nen corner, then north WJ degrees w with Yates line 40 nolcs to a birch and small poplar then N 40 degrees west .villi the east side of the Haul Road 20 poles lo a small Im-ivIi, near the road ami a branch, then down and with the branch norili 14 degrees east 22 poles, lb n north 01 degrees K IS poles, then north 27 degrees en st 2H poles then N .1.) degrees east 20 poles then north 50 degrees east crossing the road po. ihui i; degrees west to a spruce pine stump on the bank of the branch Wal ter llaird's corner, then north 111 de threes east Willi said' Hilird's line oil poles lo a rock on the bunk of Wa laugn Kiver, then S 31 degrees east general course with said river, 71 po , to the beginning and contains 80 and one fourth acres more or less. This tho 8th dav of Oe'ober IU1. T. C. HA HID, Commissioner. Si ' J ' .-4 ."i ' ,1 creased 200 per cent as they pro- : T ' t - ' i' - V v. s jl''s . IV. ' i;sw'!feir. V':''?V-''.jW"j-?'1i''"',j;v':-'-''-
Watauga Democrat (Boone, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 23, 1919, edition 1
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