CHAPTER X 



FORESTRY AND TAXATION 



HPHE problem of raising taxes in such manner as 

 to make every citizen bear his just share of 

 the public expense and at the same time be as little 

 as possible a burden on the industries of the peo- 

 ple is admittedly one of the most difficult ones 

 confronting modern statesmanship. It might be 

 said that taxes are always paid grudgingly, little 

 credit though this fact may reflect upon our peo- 

 ple. The chronic grumbler, the tax-fighter and 

 perjured tax-dodger, is a well-known nuisance in 

 every community, and usually belongs to that sec- 

 tion of the people arrogating to itself the name of 

 "the better class." With all this dissatisfaction 

 created by tax laws in every State, it is remarkable 

 that comparatively little study has been devoted in 

 this country to this subject, and that most of our 

 taxes, especially those for local expenditures, are 

 still levied by a system which is almost barbarous 

 in its crudeness, inefficiency, and injustice. 



As everybody knows, most of the taxes raised in 

 the United States for municipal and local expendi- 

 ture of all kinds, and to a considerable extent 

 for the cost of the state governments, is laid upon 



208 



