American Agriculturist 
THE FARM PAPER THAT PRINTS THE FARM NEWS 
“Agriculture is the Most Healthful, Most Useful and Most Noble Employment of Man.”— Washington 
Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. 
Established 1842 
Volume 113 
For the Week Ending March 15, 1924 
Number 11 
Who Is to Blame for High Taxes? 
If People Constantly Demand Appropriations, They Must Pay for Them 
By HON. L. G. KIRKLAND 
Representing Cattaraugus County in the 
New York State Assembly 
I N a recent letter I told you that I would write 
you something about taxation and give you 
something of my views. I was prompted to 
do so because of an editorial that you had 
some time since scoring the politician for increas¬ 
ing bureaus to give men jobs, and general criticism 
of men in our legislative halls, and those who have 
to administer the business of our State and nation. 
You have stated a condition in 
your editorial. There is a law of cause 
and effect. This condition is but the 
effect of a cause; that cause, I am frank 
to say, the officers of our State are not 
wholly responsible for. My experience 
has been that there is no hamlet, vil- 
age, county or municipality but what 
is glad to have the State or federal gov¬ 
ernment spend money rather lavishly 
within its border. I think any com¬ 
munity would make every effort pos¬ 
sible to get a public building by 
special appropriation from the federal 
or from the State government. They 
would get harbor improvements, river 
improvements or any improvement 
by special appropriation. You would 
not hear the voice of the citizens in 
these communities raised in protest 
(or fear that it would make the State 
tax rate too high. 
I notice this year at the opening of 
the session of Congress, after the 
President requested in his message 
that the nation was demanding busi¬ 
ness economy on its part, that there 
was a flood of special appropriation 
bills. Every Congressman introduc¬ 
ing one of these bills undoubtedly 
knew and believed that it xvould add 
to, his popularity at home could he 
get a special appropriation for something within 
his district. 
We have laws, both federal and State, which 
provide for federal aid, providing the State or 
municipality will enter into contract to raise a cer¬ 
tain percentage of the cost of the project to 
match with the federal funds. Many times 
communities back projects in order to get what 
they claim is their share of the federal aid 
money. The same contractual relations are 
made possible by State law between the State and 
subdivisions of the State. These kinds of laws seem 
to stimulate the expenditure of money and this 
expenditure seems to be quite popular with the 
People, providing they can get State or federal aid 
us provided by contract. 
1 here are many expensive programs going 
throughout the State for which the people are 
’esponsible—among them could be mentioned 
the demand for libraries, hospital facilities, im¬ 
proved water supplies. We could go on indefinitely 
mentioning specific propositions which are all 
legitimate and worthy of support. The are 
simply recognizing the demand of the people for 
better living conditions, better surroundings, bet¬ 
ter transportation facilities, and this demand 
comes from the people. Your legislators and ad¬ 
ministrators of the government are just carrying 
out that which the people are demanding of 
them. 
Among other expense upon which there is 
a divided opinion is adding cost to the conduct of 
our elections, with the hope of protecting the voter 
in exercising his rights that he may be granted 
a greater voice in the selection of his officials. 
Our election machinery, and our elections, 
anyone who is familiar with same will have to 
acknowledge, is getting to be in some places ex¬ 
pensive and somewhat cumbersome. Of course, 
these items totalled is what adds to our tax 
burden. 
I hope that in writing the above I have created 
the impression that the people are demanding of 
their legislators the expenditure of money, and 
most of them have learned that he who gets money 
for his constituents to spend in their immediate 
localities is judged to be the best legislator. I 
think this a very regrettable situation. I think 
the people are responsible for this situation in 
a large part. My observation has been such 
that I know 7 that the minute 
a man is elected or appointed to 
office in this State, immediately his 
friends, and his w ould-be friends, or 
anyone else in the county or district 
from which he might come, immedi- 
ately feel free to ask him to get a 
place for themselves or for some of 
their friends whereby they will be 
placed upon the payroll of the State 
or nation. I regret that in many 
instances they do not take into con¬ 
sideration, in any way, the fitness of 
their candidate for this place, nor 
his ability to earn anything for the. 
State or nation, or, in other wmrds, an 
official’s ability to get “patronage” 
for his district is considered to reflect, 
in some degree, upon his ability as a 
public official. I am convinced that 
if many of your so-called politicians, 
who are holding places of responsibil- 
ity, could be left alone by their con¬ 
stituents, they wmuld be glad to effect 
some economies along this line, and 
most of the men with whom I have 
had personal acquaintance, if not 
every one of them, would like to serve 
the people who have trusted them 
with the very best there is in them. 
These officials have an honest desire 
to be of service to the State and 
nation were they left alone and not influenced 
by public clamor to do that which w r as against 
their best judgment. 
In conclusion I firmly believe that the citizens 
of our country are demanding a lavish expenditure 
of public funds. 1 hey are the people respon¬ 
sible. Until you can convince them of that you 
can have no real economies. 
Y ou may use any of this, if you can see anything 
in this statement that would be of use in your 
columns, for I feel every word of the above. You 
have no idea of the insistence unci' persistence of 
some people asking for something all the time, 
and these people, some of them, are among our 
very best citizens, but they become very inter¬ 
ested in some project; this project undoubtedly 
very meritorious. Immediately they begin to ask 
for State funds after having created some public 
sentiment for that they wish to do. 
Farmers Pay the Local Taxes 
‘fT^T’E believe Assemblyman Kirkland has, in his letter on 
▼ * this page, put his finger right on one of the most 
dangerous situations in $ American government today. 
Mr. Kirkland is right. The people are just as much to 
blame for high taxes as are the politicians. If taxes are 
to come down, we must realize that we cannot “eat our 
pie and have it too.” If every time we stub our toe we run 
to the government for help, or if we insist on pushing all 
of our relatives or friends into government service, we must 
pay for it, 
It comes back to the principle which American Agri¬ 
culturist has stated many times, that the least governed 
country is the best governed. We have too much govern¬ 
ment, from the nation to the school district, too much 
service, too much red tape; but we, the people, are to 
blame for it. Our representatives, as Mr. Kirkland points 
out, have only tried to do what was asked, and even de¬ 
manded, of them. 
May we point out, too, that our highest taxes are the 
local ones. The cities bear a large part of the national and 
State tax burden, BUT THE FARMERS PAY ALL OF THE 
LOCAL TAXES. Watch coming issues of American 
Agriculturist to show how county budgets have increased 
in the last ten years. If they are to stop increasing, people 
must realize their own responsibility.— THE EDITORS. 
