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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1928)
PAGI? TWO MEDFOTCD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFOKP, OT?EflONT, SUNDAY, APTNL ft, 1028, Tax Plight of the Farmer By Juliu II. t in Liii Speaker C'arkiu Awcrli.: Thp pUftht of aeHcuItum due t fumlitiiH mul liffr- eneoH between UuhImpkm it ml agriculture, in that the' fai- nipr haa tu buy In 11 clear unil Bell In a cheap market. The farmer must either in- crease the price for bin pro- duct or cut JiIm cokIh. Cooperntivii marketing bill- annintf of indUHtry and auri- culture and farm IirIhIhUiui. 1 not KOt );uk 'war finaiic, tariff. niarKetliiB bu 1 1 f while ut help In raining the price of farm producl. are too slow and uncertain. Tho moHt effective remedy in for the farmer to cut hl costs by reducInK hit tax bur- den. 4 The atate tax burden can be reduced by oiiuullzlnt; tuxcH, rellevliiK fnuern of nil 4 state tax. and uImjIIhIiIiik board a and commlnluiiH. their own offieialH? Did you ever Hlup to think how much more Luxeii the furinerit have to puy bc-L-uurie cltlc do nut have to pay taxeH on municlpul water and oilier utilities and throw the extra burden on the farmer? lld you ever Kip to think how much more taxeH the farmerri have to pay be niutic the city him acU.h'cd lotN for delinquent titxen and a Kwi'HHinentH anil tlot'H not have to pay taxeH in them? Jild you ever nut to think of how much moi e It contH the farmer to run a hundred Indepen dent Hchool dl.sti letH for the far-mei-M, each pui'chuninjr ItH own .suppliex, than It doea the city fin UK own central Hchoul and with Uh finally to Jimt onei""1 i imunui-ni to run uie cny m iiiiiu njfii-m ; 1'iu jwu ever biuji to think how much more it coMh the farmer to build IiIn roada under a dozen or 15 road diMrlctH than It doea tho city under its one street superintendent. I'ubllr KriiH-mJnii Xt-tilnl And now I am cumlng to two reaus, ntnte elevator, state banks. rural credit h. eontrol of suridus cripK. and ho on, have not lifted the farmer out of the mire. If we find the farmer unable to Increase the price of products, what then ran he do in cutting his coats? I'rices of the thlnps he must buy are in a dear market, and there Is little hone of his materially reduc- 1 Iiik his machinery, labor and other costs. i What then Is lie to do? Do uc proposition, that if the farmer Hi T j to cut hfa cost materially he can niily do so by piuallzin; and re- jduVlnK the tax burden of which we , have found he probably paya a ' larce iiiirt ? Let uh consider this tax burden. The feilernl titxeM iimminl tu around three billion dollars, and oinrr "urprwinif numeric i ne ete state anil local tuxes to around five I ! and the market .v roau lax. v mil mwe investtKatlon by reducing the farmer'n taxes, putting tho farmer on a par with the city man, re- Ueving him of burdens foist- cd on him by politicians. 4 billion more. It is estimated by economists that approximately fin Is Local taxea can be reduced ,(Cr rent of the tax burden The plight of the farmer hiis bten attributed to many caunea, but few bf them still stand the test of analysia. If we are to find a cure there must be a reasonably correct diagnosis of the sickness from which agriculture Is suffer ing. What are tho facts? ' Agriculture, Jlahsun saya, pays but In taxes S3 per cent of Uh net profit. Other occupations he chuuuflefl an follows: Mining, UU per cent of ItH not profits tiaiiH portatlon, 3tt per cent; eunHt ruc tion, 32 per cent; Insurance and banking, 31 per cent; trade, L'7 per cent; manufacturing, 24 per cent. According to The Oregon Voter. laxen paid by ngrlculture and panned on and n very large pnrt Is paid by agriculture. These taxes are due chiefly to road and school expenditures and heavy bond issues and to tho rap Idly expanding activities of boards and commissions, ami the great Increase In number of government employes. The best information available Is that approximately the commission Iihh been able to give these two subjects indicates that the elementary school tax, which we were told was to be paid by the cities in order to help the rural one-room school houses, iu running with reverse Kngllsh, and that the farmer Is paying extra taxea in order to help run the city hcIiooIh. We find that the market road law. which haH been tooted aH being for farmers' roads, Is be- more than oni-haif of the cost of ! inK uia tuv hiy '' ' the government goes to paying anl arle and that every 10 of us hup port one person on the public pay roll. What Can Oregon Do? If the foregoing premises are Hound, the most effective remedy on the part of the farmer Is reduc tion In the federal, state and local tax burden. Some will say that tho federal taxeH are of no concern to the average taxpayer because they are paid by corporations and rich men, but 1h that sound? As we have Juiit seen, approximately one-half lated corporations consumed 44.20 ,hP trtX ,,ur(,en iH l"' f'iii the per cent of their net Income I be- j manufacturer, wholesaler and re fore deducting taxea. while for all j tllik'r lo (nw "Himiiln consumer, corporations the average was 27.75 I und UKrlcullure buitrs a large shar e per cent. . 'of this. Hut the present admlnis- Therc Is reason to believe hi- I nation has Deen cutting the feil- Ued, the department of aurlcul- eni1 fxpenilitures ad paying off ture sayH, that taxea on many of the leH favored farms have, ab sorbed all the Income from rent. Farm taxes in Oregon, nccord Injr to Tho Voter, therefore would Beeni to bo 25 per cent higher than tho average for tho United Htatea, hi proportion to tho value of farm property. ! believe an investigation will ahow that tho plight of agriculture U due In the main to fundamental differences bo t ween business and dffHculture. Taxea an a rule are passed on, If possible. They therefore con stitute a part of the cohI of every manufacturer, wholesaler and re taller, and ho adds them, together with the other cohIh of manufac ture and wile, and passes (hem on to the consumer. Tno situation with the farmer is the national debt, so we wilt pass that. 1'rcKldcnl Coolldge has well said that the national government is re ducing Its tax burden and It Is now up to the states and local communities to reduce theirs. Whut can Oregon do? 1. Initialize taxes. 2. Itclifve farmers of all state tux. 3. Abolish board and commis sions. "What the Htate of Oregon needs most of all," says Thomas U. Kay. slate treasurer," "Is uniform taxa tion. The way to bring mich a condition about Is to give the state tax commission authority to review tho assessments of county asses sors. " Statistics are presented by Mr. Kay to show that under the extst- merH for tho uso of the city dwel ler and tourist. These arc only a few of the things that we are be ginning to find out. It all goes back to what was previously said, that the only way to mako im provements In our lax uyntem Is through study and investigation, and educating the public In mat ters of taxation. These investigations have not been carried so far that we can be dogmatic ahout them, but it is probable that these conclusions will be borne out by a complete study. If ho, the remedy Is plain. We must give the farmer the same deal the city man haw. We must relieve him of these political mea sures which, like the market road and elementary school taxes, have been put around his neck by poli ticians. We sometimes hear It said that the business man Is against the farmer, but 1 do not lor a minute believe this la ho. Our investiga tions show that these conditions have arisen through Ignorance re garding the tax burden and that many tinicH the farmers them- hl'Ivch uru the ones who are advo cating the very things which hurt them. ;ven The Oregon Voter says: We have yet to encounter a ! large taxpayer residing in any city in Oregon who does not subscribe the view that farm html taxes should be reduced. There Ih a widespread realizat Ion among the large taxpayers In our cities that city property Is better able to carry a heuvy load than Is farm property. ' I am sure that every man on the different. He cannot shift any of ! ostein of taxation In Oregon ! ut l"ily tax relief commission and DIM tnxen. His market, both for lM(,'t! nusiness property is assessed buying and Helling as a rule, is not made hy him, with the result that he generally buys in a dear market und bo! Is In a cheap one. lie pays the name as the other consumers, bat ho nlono sells his products below tho levol enjoyed by others. He cannot Incroase the price ex cept in exceptional cases, unorgan ised na he la. nor can he restrict the supply. The conclusion Is luescapablo that tho farmer munt either in woOiM the Helling price of his pro ducts or reduce his costs. Some people have great hone that the farmer can Increase his aH low as 2f tier cent of Its true cash value, while In other parts of the state Him liar property Is as sessed at XU per cent of Its value. Oata gathered by the state treasurer during the past few months Indicate that a large amount of property in Oregon Is escaping taxation altogether, or Is paying only a small part of tho total burden. It Is Mr. Kay's opin ion that the valuations of the state would be Increased several million dollars thru the adoption of u law providing for uniform taxation. Tho Oily cluu of rortland says: "In Clackamas county tillable Belling price by cooperative mar- hinds are assessed ut $r9.0S per acting and varioun things of a sim ilar nature. The report of tho Oregon Hank ers' association ayn: "Lust year out of a total crop production for California of $3711. 000.000. it Is claimed that $2t!u. 000,000 was Hold under the group marketing plan and that, notwlth standing the large advertising ex pense,, the growers received 48 cents of tho consumer's dollar, as acre, while In Marlon county till able lands are assessed ut $37.43 per acre." Mr. Kay Is surely right. There Ik a man's size Job In Oregon for a state board of equalisation. There Is no single thing, other than equalization of taxes, which will do more to relieve the farmer than to relieve him of the state lax and collect It entirely from indt- I reel sources, thus doing away w ith contracted with eight cents they Ith1' bug-a-boo of "the ratios" and nveroged before these associations ' l'in f every county assessor were functioning. In Denmark, the i ,hat n "utH 11 proper assessment home of the cooperative marketing Kywtom, the growers have been re ceiving 72 cents of tho consumer's dollar." But the progrerts of cooperative marketing and other Himtlar reme dies. With the people scattered as much uh the farmers are. and as Independent as the farmers are. is ho Blow an not to jUMtlfy expecta- nn properly In his county, he is only thereby loading his county with more ut the slate lax burden. Kami taxpayers are at a disad vantage as compared with city tax pa crs. because: I Municipally rendered ser vices increase city rents and values Taster than farm values It is so well known that water supplies. tton of great immediate results in (schools and other city services in increased pri ces. 'crease values that It needs no ur The head of the American Hank-i Rument era' association has still another j - values have doubled HChente for lnereHHliiK the price ur:sim 'he war and ass' jised values have not caught up with them, w lib the result that farms are again diM-riutinatcd against , I rbaii Tan Nhirteil y. The turnover in most cltj Mines Is much raster than In farm lurm products. w says: "There Is no legislative remedy Tor agriculture. It Is an ecoitomic Qwsllon pure and simple and must be worked out accordingly. It is a fact that no community and no state has ever become great from agriculture, ulone. There seems m le u real remedy for small com munities and for agriculture. TliN remedy Is the mixing nf Industry with agriculture, and It Is now be HIS applied in many localities with satisfactory results. Industry and agriculture are better balanced in Ohio, North Oarollna and I'enn Kylvanla thnn In any other states, and In these Mules there is no serl ous agricultural problem and we hear little complaint from the tur wera." . Many farm otganixatlon have etlll another scheme for Increactng tha price of farm products. The American Karm Iturcnti has mild: "With an unprecedented tariff for Industrial men. a steadying banklnft law for flnaneliii Interests a transportation net for railroads und nn immigration law for tabor, tho farmers think themselves crowded out of tile house of their 'of the tux burden in Oregon, and fothcrn." 'I tlt only run, but should be. and Xo student of taxation will deny j ultimately wilt luive to be donr. that legislation can have a marked ; Old ymi ever stop to think how MToct ' upon a natlon'H life. We nuirh more. tuxes the f.nmei s havt have but to 'look ttt pur policy of j to pay with their probate judge protection, our national banking land two commissioners and elected ayvtem. our federal Income tax, to I county official tq run their gov know that those effects can he far Imminent than the urbanity pay to reaching. 1 run n city government, where a But, at leust, farrr legislation, 1 board of buttlnc men can hive cm iT-.ens generally reel tno same and will- cooperate. Only by co operation can we remedy the situ ation. Improvements In the tax situa tion will come only as the result of thoro study mid Investigation by bodies carefully selected for that purpose, lias Oregon follow ed such a course? Immediately after the enact ment of the Initiative and referen dum or aocalled Oregon system. ome yearn ago. in spite of the fact that land already paid more than So per cent of our taxes and It was even thnn recognised by all that the burden on land was too great. Oregon was made the ex perimental ground for single tax by Kels, the Cincinnati soap manu facturer, and for 10 yeara there was little etsu but agitation and turmoil In an effort to nmke. land pay all the taxes and let everyone also tho business man, the profes sional man. the banker, the capi talist, go aeot free. Was this movement the result of thoro study and investigation by undies carefully selected for the purpose? Hid a group of Oregon men Inves tigate the situation and find that land was under-taxed and propose the single tax us a remedy for that condition? Kor the last 10 years, ignoring the recommendation of the I. , Hay commission for a flat rate personal tax ami ignoring the fact that, even if enacted, such an in come tux could at most bring a reduction nf only 6 per cent in our ti'.x burden and might easily be an added tax, certain of our citizens waged campaign after campaign for the Wisconsin income tax, tax ing not only Individuals, but cor porations and business. Hid a group of Oregon men In vestigate the situation and find that business and corporations were taxed less in Oregon than in Washington and California, and therefore recommend the Wiscon sin tax on business and coro.u. ! The I. X. Day commission nin la laudable start In this work, but instead of following Its recuiumen idatiun for u personal income tux ion salaries und personal Incumcu, I which probably would have been 'accepted by the people of Oregon j at that time w 1th joud grace, it J was seized upon immediately as a baslH for the Wisconsin income ; tax, taxing corporations und busi j'nesH as well, with the result that j business has successfully opposed ilt and nothing haa been atcum ! pllshed. ! The house of representatives of (the legislature authorized the 'upeaker to appoint a state finance commission to Investigate the tax I' situation but, handlcappcl by lack of money. It will probably not be able to make a complete survey j and get at all of the facts, and will either have to be continued, or a permanent non-partisan state tax commission or board of equaliza tion will have to be provided, if we In Oregon really ever expect to get a modern tax and revenue sys tem. Oregon has been the outstanding state in its gasoline tax and road l program, due to the appointment of such high-minded citizens as I Henson. Uoulh. Veon and others. ! What could Oregon not do If it 1 were to take matters out of poll j tics and follow its own highway 'example and appoint such a per- manent com mission on taxation j and finance and follow them In season and out of season with the same loyalty that they have ac corded the highway commission We are particularly Interested in ways and means of developing our Htate and Increasing our prosper ity. No doubt we shall hear about our wonderful resources and the great opportunities for Hettlers and industries in thir state, but since we cannot lift ourselveH by our bootstraps, our problem Ih how to get new people and wealth to come Into this state and help de velop these resources and Indus tries, as well as to help tho far mers we already have. But why worry about the plight of agriculture? Itecause we be lieve in Oregon. President Kooscvelt once said, "The theatre of action of the next generation will be on th Pacif1'-." Koger Babson, the noted etatls tlclan. said in Neattle recently. "There Is no question that tho Pa cific Is going to take the place of the Atlantic uh the market place for world trading." Dr. J. Itussell Kmith of Columbia university wrote, "It Ih In tho northwest that I expect Anierlcun civilization In many ways to reach ' its maximum. Many of uh have lived all our HveH In Oregon: others have come here from other states to pass the rcHt of their days. To nil Oregon Is "Our dream come true." Into the waiting west they come. With the dream-child of the east And they find their hopes, the hopes of old. A thousand fold Increased: For there in the cast we dream the dreams Of tho things wo hope to do, Hut here in the west, tho golden west. The dreams of the cast come true. taken over by the Council of Nice, 1002 years ago, and the day of celebration fixed us the fb.st Sun day after the paschal full moon, the sea son of the Hebrew j'ast over. The egg" with ItH life germ, destined to burst forth after the appearance of death, became pop ularly associated lithe general idea, of resurrection. jul as the Kgyptlans hud adopted it as u sign of man's regeneration, and the Jews as u symbol of their delivery from bondage -The lore of Kaster eggs touches on many phases of life in many different countries. I'nder old er elcHiastical laws in Kngland rent was payable In eggs on Kuster; games were played with them; and in the north of Kn gland rhiMrcn a-ked for them to play with. The custom of dyeing Kaster eggs lcentuiles old. Commoners for the most part dyed thein red as a symbol of Christ's blood. Lords and ladles covered theirs with gold leaf. Later the deco ra tions were elaborated, particular ly In continental L'urope. .Some times the eggs were merely mar bled in a variety of colors; some times they bore cupitls and love knots, flaming hearts and tdgns of the zodiac. Again, they would be halved and the shells hinged to gether with ribbon ami lined with gilt paper and religious pictures. Venetians used to send out gift eg bearing their portraits. NATIONAL REALTORS TO MEET AT LOUISVILLE Kentucky's i h hiKtoeic.il back ground, lo r unrivaled scenic beau ties and a Hplrlt of real southern hospitality play most important parts in the entcrtainyient pro gram being arranged for visitor to the twenty-first annual conven tion of the National Association of Heal Kstate Hoards In Louisville, June IS to L'L'. Announcement has been made by J. Kdwurd Heising, chairma publicity, tnai ail ine Mate's hi toric and beauty spots, now bein re-discovered and made shrines 1, I the world, will be displayed to id 6000 realtors expected to visit tli convention in a setting auch a n other month than June can pn vide. Among them are: Mammoth Cave, Cliur c h j Downs, tho famous HluegrusH tion Man o'Wur, the Old Kentuck Home. Abraham Lineuln s bin place, home of Henry Clay, toml of George KogeiH Clark and Zacli ary Taylor. Camp Henry Knox n. the birthplace of -Jefferson iMv The largest known star Is Beu- ense. The Record Month for Eighteen Years Easter Eggs E&aamam! tax system product. For cxumide. the mer chant s turnover may be in times a , ""MN as a personal income year, when the tanner's is only tax' one. The city man's Income m -' When the legislature met last rives weekly or monthly, where i J;"U,;II'V of tlio.-e who had the farmers come once a year. I "fd for (lovernor Patterson blip. 4. tireater shifilhlllty of cltv ' Pl. cither rightfully or Wrong- taxes. As a rule, taxes on l.iun ",n- "'" some weil-thnugh lands cannot be pa.-f.ed on to the liuyer nf lain) products, while taxes on city real estate can gen erally be passed on in the form of increased lentat or purchase price. V ('.renter ability of city tax payers to pav taxes. ( ; em-rally the city taxpayer has not only greater income from his real estate, but a No en joys Income apart Horn real estate in the form of professional revenue, salary, wages and ow nership of ft re bonds stocks and other Intangible. Hvery one of those n factor which should be taken into consid eration In the proper co.ua Ihrath n Improvements In our would be suggested Vet no sooner had the Putiernon measures passed the legislature than the blue blank was prepared and startled an unsuspecting pub. He. only to be withdrawn by the boaid when they wete overw helm ed with protests. Meanwhile the anti-income tax people, heretofore hypnotlred by the governor pro gram, were K.ilv.uiued into new life and the 1'attcrson program was overw helmed in the ensuing referendum. O Thus it has been single tax. in come lux. tithing tax. I'lerce. Chapman, Orange, fit-eater Oregon a.-sodattou, initiatives. refcren dums L'tl years gone by und not it single foiward step taken In Oregon's tax problem. I have thus rriefly reviewed the history of Oregon tux. q Oregon needs not more agita tion, hut more information, more utility nnd investigation of Ihe veal tax situation. The custom of associating eggs with Kaster. like many other cus toms of Christian festivals, was de rived from pagan usages. I'ggs had been associated with the wor ship of Ashtoreth. of the Astarte of the l'heneelans, Isis of Msypt, Diana of the (I reeks and itomans ind KiiMtre of the Teutons wor shiped in spring. Kaster is said by some to have derived its name from the latter goddess; others say It was named for nn bid pagan spring festival in honor of the Hun'H new .birth in the east. Its time coinciding with that of the Resurrection, ibe symbol w -as SELECT GLADIOLUS COLLECTION B , FOR ll.M rUSTPAID wMtctl iwl-oi oml Hum i:h or ? It Fimii ltd Mm! PtpirUr VtMn Vtiili: j NCIIIA -" M'K mtm n. lhrl MrtxfV L t. SMHH:-tiMAt'4. imnuh. lCKHI9tR: -tkMMiHi ot m tm hit. ( It PHIS OF MM:- ....,... rtUCl OF wUtt;-tMiM itwv. um Qrtf j ftlCt: ti w: m c. tt rit. IUtrfRD(MCt:-M.MCi.i. ,w. aim e,i ott fn ihi oic coufceoM r u I 4fCi'Lit fi of ti M,t r i m avr BOitru, I WilMOUT tMl irtfMt MHtOCl.ltO out I 24 FREE GLADIOLUS BULBSI u LicMuoiotiiViVtn Ihtllrill ftfhlfcrit StlNlUH FttuMhf II 1 W Ih Mm h ik) Im 'i t tki Wti uk i mm fl -s VALENGOOD iULB CQ. lUtt) Third Ave, Seattle. Yuh. J. 0. Grey It is gratifying to find that the new line of Graham-Paige motor cars brought to this com pany during March the greatest month's business in 18 years. CRATER LAKE AUTOMOTIVE CO. Graham-Paige Dealers 103 South Riversicto Phone 202 ' Kivo clutKsis bIxcs itnd t'l'ihts prices bcKinnhiK "I flK0. Illus trated Is Mo:icl ri'aKsenacr Sedan, wl'lt -l-speed tliillr.iinssioii. $i!:i::r. DuliruriMl in .Medl'ortl lnlly equipped. H. D. Grey ROUND THE .j World Cruise Decl I'nttn New Ynrk. l.Vi da vs. nal. of 27 norl-! 1 e.tiintrii' turn via r.uumu ( Anoarii S. I ninri Australia Mr.'i.t. t.; ..f l'.niios. One ntanacement, . sliip and horr. tiv the worlds creatrsl trawl syw i tein. Hiktng th! i; (.et.i.l,., lUt'u ..!;,!;... 1 f('l!. i., i;.xxi III,- l .,I.M';m Canadian V aciiic WHOracon Cm 4utnt PawrDeor 5UhlidStr)iilanrt Multnomah Hotri Sl CHEAP TIRES ARE ALWAYS EXPENSIVE L0, A A v w. jfii- Gum-Dipped Tires Have Stood the Test for Years Out of 985 tires that we vulcanized during 1927 only 36 were Firestones The Reason is there will never be a substitute for Quality Most Miles per Dollar in Firestone Tires ' ' o Exchange Tire Go. L. P. OLDER , 28 North Riverside Phon - 020 h
