Thief Busy In Shadows

Hello Folks — I think that withholding taxes from the payroll is another of our growing evils, as far as government is concerned. It is almost another form of hidden taxation; that is, the money is never seen by the payee, he or she does not realize that it is being paid as it is not handled through the family budget.

Government is a service to the people and therefore should be treated the same as any other service we buy. Meaning that we should know and be willing to pay out the amount necessary to promote the necessary services for the efficient operation of government. We would never had gotten into the financial jam we are now in if we had had direct taxation from the start.

When we know that we have to pay for what we get and know what we are paying for we are pretty apt to keep the costs in line and keep better tab on the ones who handle it.

We lived under the 'soak the rich' plan for many years and got the idea that we have a 'sugar daddy' who was footing the bill and would continue to do so. Now we are beginning to realize that taxes and deficits really hurt and that 'Santa Claus' was the long-bearded fellow who reached into one of our pockets and took out $10 while we saw only the $5 he gave us back.

When the wage earner has his taxes taken out of his earnings before he gets his check he gets the idea that taxes aren't so bad and that the politicians who spend it are not doing wrong in making it bigger and bigger all the time. The pinch he feels is in the size of actual check he gets, and probably blames it in the belief that he isn't getting enough wages. So he either gets sore at the employer or gets another job to up his take home pay; when al the time the fault is the politician who robbed him behind his back.

Peterson Files for State Representative

Edwin Peterson, 42, Oakland area farmer, filed for the state representative, the post now held by Rep. Edmond Conn, Alden.

Peterson, who operates a 120 acre farm northwest of Oakland in Moscow Township, is a native of White River, S. D., and has farmed in Freeborn County since 1937.

He is a past resident of the Freeborn County Farm Bureau, served two years on the Oakland School Board and was the chairman of the Oakland School reorganization committee.

The Petersons have 10 children.

Farmers Claim Taxes "Unfair"

Hollo Folks! Some people are like blotters; they soak it all in and get it all backwards.

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Life today is not a fun-way street.

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Forgive and forget, and you'll never regret.

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This is the time of year when Farm Bureau goes to work on resolutions for the coming annual meetings. The other evening the resolutions committee composed of Eric Ausen, John Nordby, Mrs. Lawrence Gustafson, Doug Vandgrift and myself, met at the Bureau office and with Doug as chairman we went into the study of resolutions and problems to be studied at the various units in the next few months.

Senator Rudolph Hanson was our guest and gave us a number of ideas and suggestions we might present to the farmers of Freeborn County. One of the problems we went into was the discrimination of taxation between residential and farm property. From a summer report of the Minnesota Department of Taxation the following facts were revealed:

Farm property is assessed an average of 43 per cent higher than is residential property. 

The law states that all property shall be assessed at its real and true value. Generally this has not been done for various reasons and instead a percentage of the real and true value is used. 

There are seven types of property. The state average ratio of assessment is as follows:

TYPES                                     RATIO

Residential                               30.44 per cent

Multiple dwelling                     37.82 per cent

Commercial                             38.79 per cent

Industrial                                  35.06 per cent

Public Utility                             45.88 per cent

Lake Shore                              16.20 per cent

Farm                                        43.68 per cent

Total Acreage                          35.99 per cent

With farmers in a cost squeeze now, and taxes making up a large percentage of their expenses, it is important that each citizen bear a fair and proportionate share of the tax dollar. In Freeborn County the difference is about 35 per cent. In other words the farmer is paying over $3 to the rest of the tax payers – $2 as far as real estate is concerned.

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Another problem taken up at the meeting was the moving of sealed corn and grain. In Freeborn County the A. S. C. Committee has been rather slow in getting the stored corn moved out of the Government bins so that the farmers can get their bins ready for the new crop. With the drought we are having here it is more important than ever that the stored corn be moved early. Last year the Freeborn County Farm Bureau passed a resolution asking the county A. S. C. Committee to put forth greater effort in getting the bins cleared for further storage. 

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A person learns a lot by traveling. Other people do things differently and we get new and helpful ideas that we can put to use. 

One idea that South Dakota is using that I think is good, is using different colors on the road markers. For instance highway 16 is green, 14 is orange etc. Another idea I like is the using of the "Yield" variety of signs; where instead of having to come to a dead stop you must yield right of way to the other car.

The quality of our highways is gradually catching up to our high powered cars. It have been a slow job but many of these new roads are really nice. Here is a tip for anyone taking a trip toward the Pacific Northwest. Taking highway 12 from Wilmar or there about is a fast route. If you wish more scenery No. 16 is very good also but a bit slower and farther. 

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There is a lot of stir and talk around the state regarding the revisiting of the constitution of the state. Many ideas and proposals are advanced as to why this should be done. Most of the arguments for carrying out this program sounds quite logical. However, some of the main reasons for advocating a revision are not aired to any great extent.

The big question at issue is the reapportionment of legislative districts. This particular problem has come up in many states of recent years. In most cases a reapportionment under the old process would mean giving control of both houses of the legislator to the urban areas of the state. Reapportionment in Minnesota under the old process would do that very thing.

Michigan recently reached a fair basis of reapportionment by deciding to put the House membership on a population basis and the Senate membership more nearly on an area basis. Farm Bureau sponsored and worked for the proposal that was finally adopted in that state.

Minnesota has a trust fund which has been built up over the years largely from the income received from the occupational tax on iron ore. The fund at the present time amounts to 236 million dollars.

The state constitution provides that only the income from this fund can be used. The income from this trust is earmarked for school purposes. This income is small because of the low rate of interest secured on these funds.

Some people think that the trust fund is large enough and that it would be better to use that portion of occupational tax income for general state needs instead of adding any more to the trust fund. This is another question that might come up in the revision of the state constitution.

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A cannibal is one who loves his fellowmen — with gravy.

Only Your Mother Knows for Sure?

Hello Folks! — A man can no more talk about something he doesn't know than he can come back from somewhere he hasn't been.

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Seems that we will just have to relearn that civil responsibility comes before civil rights.

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I walked into the court house in Mellette County South Dakota and was re-aquainted with my former classmate Alvan Laird, Clerk of Court. After a few greetings, I told him I had come for a birth certificate. Figured I might need it someday and wanted it handy.

I told him it was May 5, 1916. He went into the vault, got out a huge but ancient book and proceeded to look up the vital information.

There was my sister Margaret and Evelyn, a year older than me; my brother Clarence whose name they had not gotten until a couple years ago when had had been ther to get his certificate. Evelyns name was just E. Edna, so I got that filed properly. But my name couldn't be found. Guess, I was just never born. Perhaps they were ashamed of me and just never got it recorded; or were they so overjoyed that they forgot it?

Maybe they just found me out of the prairie and I was never born. Anyway I must not be one of the plus two million population. I think I will ask for my income tax payments to be refunded.

Allan carefully explained to me the procedure for getting a delayed birth certificate. It sounded quite easy. "Just get your folks to sign this affidavit. Have it notorized. Get a copy of your baptismal certificate, service record of some such information."

Beings my folks are still living it should have been easy. After all they were there when it happened. At least mother must have been there I have never heard of a time when the mother was absent from such an occasion.

In the excitement of getting it all done up they got their signature on it without the witness. We got that corrected O.K. then we found out that they had to sign it in their own given name. That meant another delay. Dad rummaged through some old papers and came up with an old but still beautiful baptismal certificate. I got a copy made and off they all went for the final act. So I thought.

Today I got a letter from Allan explaining that the baptismal certificate had not stated what day I was born. Therefore it could not be used. He gave me a list of things I could check on to verify the date. Apparently, South Dakota is real fussy about this.

I don't have a thing against South Dakota. I have always said it is a good state to come from. Even HHH came from there, which doesn't make us see eye-to-eye on everything. But when a state won't even take a mothers word for it, that is going a bit too far. Wonder if friend Humphrey could do anything about it?

Tomorrow I go to the bank vault, I will try to find some papers that say I was born when I think I was born. I will get a picture taken of it and off it will go to ye old court house in Rosebud territory. I might discover yet that I was legally and lawfully born when that say I was. In the mean time I will try to be patient. It just might be I will need it someday. In the mean time all you good folks better beat a path to the court house where your birth is recorded and see that all is well there.