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