April, 19)1 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Thirteen 



Whiteside Cuts Values; 

 --.— Endorses Incoine Tax 



I 



Board of Supervisors Takes Action 

 in Meeting April 1 



THE Whiteside county board of su- 

 pervisors voted on April 1 to cut 

 valuations of land and city lots in the 

 county an average of 20 per cent, and 

 went on record in favor of the Lantz 

 state income tax bill as a step toward 

 placing taxes on the basis of ability to 

 pay. J. D. Conrad, Sterling assessor 

 and prominent Farm Bureau member, 

 presented evidence to show why the re- 

 duction in land values should be made. 

 The cut will not be a horizontal one. 

 An effort will be made to equalize 

 downward an average of 20 per cent, 

 each assessor being authorized to use 

 his own judgment in making the re- 

 ductions. 



Supervisor R. A. Norrish of Morri- 

 son, former president of the Whiteside 

 County Farm Bureau and a director in 

 the Illinois Farm Bureau Serum Assn.; 

 Supervisor S. C. Given, Fenton, and Mr. 

 Conrad drew up the following resolu- 

 tion which was adopted unanimously: 



"Whereas, the supervisors and as- 

 sessors of Whiteside county now in ses- 

 sion, find that the valuations of land 

 in Whiteside county have decreased 40 

 per cent since the last quadrennial as- 

 sessment, and, 



"Whereas, it is the opinion of this 

 group that on account of the deprecia- 

 tion in land values, a reduction of as- 

 sessed values will be necessary, and, 



"Whereas, a reduction in values will 

 cause a loss in revenues for the county 

 that will make it impossible to meet 

 the ordinary and necessary expenses, 



"Therefore, be it resolved that we 

 request our senator and representatives 

 from this district to support the Lantz 

 income tax bill now before the state 

 legislature or any other tax relief bill 

 that will aid in the assessment of in- 

 tangible personal property. 



"And further, that the county clerk 

 be instructed to forward a copy of this 

 resolution to the members of the legis- 

 lature from thi^district." 



Mr. Norrish, in supporting the reso- 

 lution, stated that many farmers are 

 paying from 20 to 40 per cent of their 

 net incomes in taxes on their farms, 

 that holders of real estate are compelled 

 to pay taxes on such property whether 

 they own it or not, while the mortgage 

 holder escapes. County expenses can't 

 be reduced much, he said, because state 

 laws require counties to pay such items 

 as mothers' pensions, blind pensions, 

 TB sanitariums, war veteran relief, etc. 



NOTICE 

 ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSN. 

 FXECTION OF DELEGATES ^ 



NOTICE is hereby given that in connec- 

 tion with the annual meetings of ail 

 County Farm Bureaus to be held during the 

 months of May and June, 1931, at the 

 hour and place to be determined by the 

 Board of Directors of each respective County 

 Farm Bureau, the members in good standing 

 of such County Farm Bureaus and who arc 

 also qualified voting members of Illinois 

 Agricultural Association shall elect a dele- 

 gate or delegates to represent such members 

 of Illinois Agricultural Association and vote 

 on all matters before the next annual meet- 

 ing or any special meeting of Association, 

 including the election of officers and direc- 

 tors as provided for in the by-laws of the 

 Association. 



During May an annual meeting will be 

 held in Massac county. 



During June an annual meeting will be 

 held in Ogle county. 

 Signed: 



G. E. Metzger, Secretary. 

 April H, 19J1. 



Marshall-Putnam Tax 



Valuations Too High 



Large Audience Hears 



Pres. Smith at Rochelle 



MORE than 500 farmers and towns- 

 people gathered in the Rochelle 

 township high school the night of 

 March 26 to hear President Earl C. 

 Smith discuss legislation pending be- 

 fore the 57th General Assembly. 



The proposed state income tax fig- 

 ured largely in Mr. Smith's address. 

 The Lantz income tax bill, the speaker 

 said, is aimed at the injustice of the 

 present system which forces real estate, 

 creating only 10 per cent of the state's 

 income to pay 90 per cent of the taxes. 



Mr. Smith expressed the belief that 

 the measure has an excellent chance of 

 passage in the present session because 

 the fairness and justice of this tax is 

 becoming widely recognized. With the 

 antiquated property tax breaking down 

 in almost every section of the state, 

 with tax delinquencies mounting higher 

 and higher, students of political econo- 

 my and statesmen realize that taxation 

 based on ability to pay is the only fair 

 method of deriving revenue to support 

 government. 



Property owners of Ogle county 

 would have saved $133,710 if the bill 

 had been a law this spring, the speaker 

 said. 



He deplored the fact that so many 

 Illinois farmers are still outside the 

 ranks of the Farm Bureau and I. A. A., 

 emphasized the need for all farmers 

 working together to solve their prob- 

 lems. ~ ~ " 



G. A. Lazier of Lindenwood, former 

 president of the Ogle County Farm 

 Bureau, presided. On the speaker's ros- 

 trum were C. E. Bamborough, Polo; 

 George F. Tullock, Rockford; L. D. 

 Carmichael, and Anson Rosenkrans, 

 presidents respectively of the Ogle and 

 Lee County Farm Bureaus. 



Assessors Act to Reduce Taxes as 

 Result of Farm Bureau In- i: ; .; 

 . formation Service 



As we go to press word is received 

 that the Marshall county supervisor of 

 assessors, Ray Litchfield, instructed the 

 assessors to make a 25 per cent cut in 

 the value of best farm lands in that 

 county. Timber land and cheaper pas- 

 ture lands will command a 30 per cent 

 reduction. Vacant city lots will also 

 be cut. Improvements on both city 

 property and farm property will be al- 

 lowed a reduction. V ''■'.' 



Putnam County Also Reduced 



Putnam county was not so seriously 

 out of line in its valuations as was 

 Marshall. The supervisor of assessors 

 therefore instructed the assessors t-o 

 make the necessary equalizations on the 

 cheaper lands in Putnam Co., effecting 

 a considerable reduction on that class 

 of property. City lots and personal 

 property will also be reduced. 



"The reduction in valuations which 

 will be effected in Marshall and Put- 

 nam counties this year, largely as the 

 result of tax studies made by the local 

 Farm Bureau tax committees, and which 

 was supported by general sentiment in 

 favor of such changes both by the as- 

 sessors and by the people at large, will 

 be a substantial savings to taxpayers. 

 In some instances local taxing bodies 

 will find it necessary to reduce their 

 budgets because they have levied to the 

 limit of the legal rate. In addition, 

 Marshall county residents will have the 

 assurance that they will be paying very 

 little, if any more, than their just share 

 of state taxes. This saving alone will 

 result in at least $15,000 reduction in 

 the amount of state tax that will be 

 paid." 



Sec'y* Hyde Visits I. A. A. 



Secretary of Agriculture Arthur 

 M. Hyde and C. B. Denman, live- 

 stock member of the Farm Board, 

 called at the I. A. A. office, Chicago, 

 on April 6. ^ 



E. W. "Farmer" Rusk, formerly 

 county adviser in Macoupin county, 

 has severed his connection 'with the 

 Chicago and Illinois Midland Ry. 

 and Station WENR, to take charge 

 of agricultural programs for Sta- 

 tion WMAQ, owned by the Chicago 

 Daily New^s. 



Error cannot exist where truth 

 is continuously promoted. 



