American Agriculturist, May 3, 1924 
Governor Pinchot Outlines T ax Program 
Professor Warren Says, “Bring Farm-Made Dollars Back to Farms” 
T HE heavy burden of taxation on our farmers is 
a matter for public concern. A fair plan that 
will give relief must be found, but not at the 
sacrifice of roads or schools. Reports from five 
hundred crop correspondents to the Bureau of Statistics 
of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, in 1923 
indicated that as an average of the rural taxes in the 
State, 47 per cent, went for schools and 30 per cent, for 
roads, or 77 per cent, for the two. 
The demand for economy in public expenditure is 
proper. Equally important is the insistence of our farm 
folks that their children have the best of schooling 
opportunities, and that year-round roads to market, 
school and church be provided. Farm life must be made 
attractive for our more able boys and girls—the farmers 
of to-morrow. This means that the quality of schools 
and condition of roads must be improved and not per¬ 
mitted to drop back. Since this absorbs 77 per cent of 
local taxes, it would seem that a solution must be sought 
by some other method than at the sacrifice of roads or 
schools. 
The local tax is the greatest burden on the farmer 
although he is particularly subject to the vindictive 
quality of indirect taxation passed on to him as a large 
consumer. 
It appears to me that there are three ways by which 
very material relief may be brought about. 
First, more financial support from federal and state 
funds for roads and school purposes and more county 
support for road purposes. This should have the effect 
of relieving in part the local taxation burden. 
Second, the equalization of taxation by modernizing 
our system of assessing and collecting taxes which has 
lagged grievously behind the general progress of the 
country. 
Third, for the public to insist on such efficient admin¬ 
istration that a dollar’s worth of service will be 
rendered for a dollar paid. 
This Administration pledged itself to 
such reorganization and economy in the 
conduct of the State’s business as would 
enable it to pay as it goes. Starting with a 
twenty-nine million dollar deficit, such 
economies have been effected toward this 
goal by budgeting the expenditures of the 
State, releasing unnecessary personnel and 
securing a high efficiency throughout, that 
we are rapidly approaching the time when 
our income will equal or exceed expendi¬ 
tures.— Gifford Pinchot, Governor of the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 
lumberman and the miller, the weaver and the butcher 
have all moved elsewhere and profits that they make 
help to support some other community. The only way 
that these profits can get back so that the profits will 
be diverted back through the territory on which they 
have levied tribute is by means of income taxes. One 
of the most important features of the proposed rural 
school bill is additional State aid which in effect gets 
some of the “farm-reared dollars” back to the farm 
regions.— Prof. George F. Warren, College of 
Agriculture, Ithaca, New York. 
Progress In Taxation 
p\URING the last session of the Legislature the 
farm organizations and the American Agricul¬ 
turist made a strenuous effort to get a square deal for 
the farmers on tax matters that came before the 
Legislature. The fight has been productive of results 
of the greatest importance. 
In the first place the injustice of the reduction of the 
income tax while leaving real estate with added burdens 
was so glaring that during the last hours of the Legisla¬ 
ture a bill was passed reducing the rate of the Direct 
Tax FOR NEXT YEAR from $2.00 to $1.50 per 
thousand. 
Furthermore our attack on the present tax system, 
which compels real estate to take up all the increased 
cost of running the state government and pay all 
the interest and principle of the bonds voted, was 
recognized by the Governor and the Legislature; the 
result is that the Special Joint Committee on Taxation 
and Retrenchment are going to make a thorough 
survey of the situation this summer with a view to 
making recommendations to the Legislature next 
winter. 
Industrial Profits Gone From 
Country 
T AM very glad to see that American 
1 Agriculturist has taken up the 
taxation question. I believe that this is 
going to be one of the most important 
problems for discussion in the next few 
years. 
I am enclosing press releases on financial 
statistics of state governments and 
assessed valuation of property and tax 
jevies. I believe you would be interested 
in another press release on public debt and 
numerous others in the same general 
field issued by the Bureau of the Census. 
For example, the one on public debt shows 
that the net debt including national, 
states, county, incorporated places, and 
other civil divisions was a little under 
seven billions in 1912, and nearly thirty-one 
billions in 1922, or over four times as great. 
The taxes in some of dur rural com¬ 
munities are equal to a fair rental value of 
the farm. In regions of poor hill land, 
there are many farms that could not be 
rented for enough cash to pay the taxes and 
could not be sold for cash for enough 
money so as to provide the tax money if 
the sale price were invested at 5 per cent. 
In the early days in these regions the 
meat supply of the region was largely 
Produced and the profits that the butcher 
made helped to support the community. 
Ihe wool was woven in the community and 
the profits that the weaver made helped to 
support the community. The lumber was 
sawed in the region and the profits that 
the lumberman made helped to support 
the community. The wheat was ground 
>n the region and the profits that the miller 
made helped to support the community. 
Since the industrialism of the country the 
If you believe in tax reduction sign the petition below, get your neighbor 
to sign it, and send it IMMEDIATELY to American Agriculturist, 
m Fourth Avenue, New York City. 
TO THE GOVERNOR, THE LEGISLATURE, AND TO EVERY 
OTHER PUBLIC OFFICIAL IN STATE, COUNTY AND TOWN 
GOVERNMENT IN NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW 
JERSEY. \ 
WHEREAS, first, taxation has increased in this'nation more than four times 
since 1913, and in our State and local governments more than three and a half 
times, and 
WHEREAS, second, this burden of taxation, particularly for State and local 
governments, falls heaviest and directly on farmers and farpi property, amounting 
to 16.6% of the farmer’s income in 1922, stopping agricultural prosperity and 
fast becoming absolutely insupportable, and 
The State Tax Commission I imderstand are going 
into the same subject in collaboration with the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture so that the tax system will 
undoubtedly receive a thorough overhauling next year. 
Big Business has taken note of the situation and has 
already put in motion the machinery to make a thorough 
investigation of all the facts and secure the necessary 
data to protect their interests. 
The Public Utilities, which is the most heavily taxed 
group in the state, are doing the same thing. 
Now it behooves the agricultural interests to follow 
their example so that when the battle is joined next 
January we will not be short of ammunition. 
No more fruitful campaign has ever been put on at 
Albany by the agricultural interests than this campaign 
for equality of taxation.—H. C. McKenzie, President, 
Delaware Co. (N. Y.) Farm Bureau. 
Says Do Not Slow Up Road Building 
IN your last issue, you state that you are trying to 
-*■ work out a tax reduction program. As a part of 
this program you suggest slowing up the road-building 
program and taking care of the roads already built, 
but demanding that town, county and state officials 
hold up road building for a while. You ask your 
reader’s opinion whether you are right or wrong. 
Let me hasten to tell you without any further delay 
that I think you are dead wrong. The last place in the 
world to begin economizing is in the building of country 
roads. Good roads are fundamental to better rural 
conditions. They are bringing town and country into 
closer relationship. They are enabling the farmer to 
take a more active part in the life of the community in 
which he lives and making him part of a large com¬ 
munity. Nearly every farmer has an auto. He needs 
one to take his family to church, to take 
his children to school, to carry himself and 
family to Grange and Farm and Home 
Bureau meetings, and to attend meetings 
of local cooperatives. He needs good 
roads for his truck so that he can get his 
produce to the best market. 
The state, county and town have taken 
the business of building of roads out of 
the hands of the old time road districts, 
and are under obligation to build roads 
through all our country districts. The 
dwellers on all roads, good and bad, pay 
taxes for road building. As matters 
stand today, some farmers have very 
good roads, some have roads that are 
passable, and other unfortunates have had 
no road improvement at all. The road¬ 
building program should not be slowed 
down, it should be speeded up. Let’s 
economize somewhere else and give the 
fellow who lives on a muddy road a square 
deal.—G. W. C., Wayne Co., New York. 
WHEREAS, third, the general basis of taxation is INCOME and not PROPERTY, 
and 
WHEREAS, fourth, our national. State and local governments have made little 
real progress in cutting out unnecessary officers, government departments and 
appropriation bills since the end of the World War, therefore be it hereby 
RESOLVED: First, that we, the undersigned, are unalterably OPPOSED TO 
THE EXTENSION AT PRESENT OF ALL NATIONAL, STATE AND LOCAL GOV¬ 
ERNMENT ACTIVITIES. 
Second, that all of our national and local officers should give immediate at¬ 
tention to THE GRAVE NECESSITY OF LARGE REDUCTIONS IN ALL GOV¬ 
ERNMENT EXPENDITURES, to the reduction of government personnel, to com¬ 
bining and simplifying government departments and activities, to the need of 
short legislative sessions, to smaller expense accounts for public officials, to 
passing fewer laws, and in short, to the necessity for practicing the same economy 
in public affairs that farmers are constantly obliged to practice in the production 
of the necessities of life. 
Third, that we as farmers are not interested in credit or any other unsound 
farm relief legislation, BUT IN TAX REDUCTION. 
Fourth, that taxation, both State and national, be maintained on all luxuries, 
as for example, chewing gum, tobacco, motion pictures, etc. 
Fifth, that tax reduction be made TO ABOLISH DIRECT PROPERTY TAX. 
A REDUCTION OF INCOME TAXES IS NOT SATISFACTORY. The farmer’s 
income is from his property holdings and therefore his assessed valuation, par¬ 
ticularly on paper, is high. The reduction of income taxes, while government 
expenditures are still so high, will inevitably result in greater taxes on property, 
chiefly FARM REAL ESTATE. Signed eventually by 100,000 farmers. 
Name (write plainly). 
Address. 
{Paste blank paper to this petition for additional names.) 
Slow Up Road Building For a 
While 
Y OUR editorial, “The Good Road 
Problem and the Farmer’s Taxes” 
interests me, for it is an angle of our tax 
problem which I have discussed with our 
town officials, and have counselled avoiding 
the extreme in road building at this time 
of tax burdens. 
We are all in favor of good roads and 
would not return to the old dirt road under 
any consideration, but when we on the 
farm must neglect and curtail our repairs 
and improvements, it is no more than right 
and proper that public construction should 
likewise be lessened to relieve over¬ 
burdened agriculture. 
There is a disposition by many to 
criticise our taxes because they are high, 
the same people, not knowing or realizing 
from whence they come. The Superin¬ 
tendent of Highways of Cayuga County at 
our last Pomona Grange meeting gave an 
analysis of the tax burden as it relates to 
Cayuga County. The figures showed that 
44% was for highway purposes. In my 
own town I find the several rates which 
make up the total of $19.45 per thousand 
were: State tax, $3.43; County general 
tax, $6.82; County and State highway 
tax, $6.12; and the Town highway, $3.08, 
making $10.25 State and general tax and 
{Continued on page 4-38) 
