The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 17, 1916, Page 15

Leader Is Labor’s Organ At a meeting of the board of dxrectors " of the North Dakota State Federation of Labor held in Fargo, Sunday, August 13, the Nonpartisan Leader was made the officidl organ of the state federation, and the state secretary was ordered to notify all secretaries of locals of the action and to recommend that members subscribe for it. The board also canvassed the recent referendum on a change in the constitu- tion of the state federation and found that it had been adopted by a vote of 119 to 2. The change increases the vot- ing power of the board of directors from three to five, giving the president and the secretary a vote, wluch they have not had heretofore. A legislative ' committee was also authorized: for the purpose of drawing up some bills favorable to labor for presen- tation at the 1917 session of the legis- lature. Thé members will be A. W. Bowman and F. W. Zeller of Fargo, and S. & -McDonald, James Leonard, and William English of Grand Forks. The committee will give particular attention to a child labor bill, workmen’s compen- sation act, women’s minimum wage law, and a labor bureau for the state. Owing to the failure of W. G. Besserer to qualify as first. vice president, to which position he was elected .at the. annual meeting in Grand Forks this spring, the other vice-presidents . were advancéd, and James Leonard.‘of Grand Forks, who was not present;at the board meeting, was named as third vice presi- dent. The reorganized board of officers now is: president, S. S.’McDonald; sec- retary-treasurer, William English; first vice president, A.-W. Bowman; second vice prestdent F. W. Zeller; -third-vice president, James Leonard. - ‘A’ number of routine matters ~were - -also attention. : Write Your Own As'sésysménts' (Continued from page 13) basing their procedure on a lot of court rules, regulations and precedents which no legislature ever established as a law. SOME “CORNERSTONES” ki FOR A FAIR TAX PLAN Let us plan our system, beginning with the following four propesitions, or eornerstones. First—All property has an owner. Second—The owner of property knows what -is its real value better than any one else does. Third—All property should be taxed at its real value. Rty Fourth—The owner of the property should be required to establish its honest value, for taxing purposes. With these four blocks of granite to - support our structure, let us proceed to build, (first having wiped off the statute books all present plans of assessment by guess, through the means of hundreds of assessors, no two of whom see values in exactly the same way) with a law something like the following: Be it enacted by the legislative assem- bly of the state of North Dakota: (1) Every owner of property located within the state of North Dakota (except household effects in actual use in a home) must file with the county auditor of the county in which said property is located a true and full inventory of all said property, in suffici¢ht detail to enable an intelligent person to identify same, and showing the actual cash value of all said property on the first day of each year on blanks furnished by the state for the purpose. (2) At the expiration of the month of February in each year, the county auditor of each county shall place in, the hands of the sheriff of said county, a complete list of all-real estate within said county for which no return has been filed by the owner thereof, and it shall be the duty of said sheriff to visit and assess. all said real estate at its true value, and file said assessment with the county auditor before the end of June following. so arrange as to cover all the work done with the least number of miles travel possible. DOUBLE TAX AS PENALTY FOR DODGING (3) It shall be the joint duty of the auditor and sheriff in the period re- \ The Hoiland Wild Oats Separator Can you farm successfully without this wild onts separator ? New catalog just out will be mailed on application. ddress ALBERT HOILAND FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA .° In doing this work he shall - ferred to in the Tast sectlon ‘to ‘ferret out and assess any and all personal property also, which has not been disclosed and filed for by the owner thereof. (4) All property so assessed by said. officers shall be taxed as a penalty double the amount levied against prop-. _erty for which inventory was filed by the owner, as provided by section one (1) of this act. (5) All inventories filed by owners shall be subscribed and sworn to by the owner that they are complete, and the values listed to the best of -their knowledge and belief. (6) It shall be the duty of the board of county commissioners of each county, the supervisors of each township, and the boards of directors of school districts, cities and other sub-divisions within the county to file with the auditor by June 30 each year, a budget of all monies required for the proper expenses of their sub-divisions, and the auditor shall prop=- "~ erly assess the number of mills required against the property within the county to cover said expenses. (7) Each county auditor shall, during the month of July each year, transmit to the state auditor a statement showing the whole assessed valuation of his county, and said state auditor shall figure therefrom the number of mills to be taxed for state purposes, and advise the county auditors promptly the amount so levied, which shall be included in the total number of mills to be levied by each county auditor, against the property in his county. ACTUAL PROPERTY OF CORPORATIONS TO BE TAXED (8) The actual property of ‘corpora- tions shall be inventoried, and, not. the stock certificates issued to represent it. (9) All accounts and notes and other evidences of .debt, owing by parties within the state, shall be listed by the creditor in filing his inventory, and fail- ure to file such an inventory shall.be a bar to the-collection of any debt until it has been so filed as herein required. No action at law can be maintained in any- court to collect any debt which has not been so_filed by the ereditor. (10) Banks, in filing their inventory of property, shall list all cash, notes, real estate, fixtures and all other property owned, and from the tota: footing of said . property the amount of deposited money in the bank at the close of business the last day of each year shall be deducted from the total of property owned, and taxes paid on the balance. . SPECIAL RATE MIGHT BE MADE FOR CASH ITEMS These ten sections should cover most of the conditions,-but modifications can be made t6 reach any kind of condition not specified: Now,v what honest objec- tion can any’ pro such a law? ! None. " It -provides a’ way in which all property can be. listed at its honest value. I ,repeat.vthe question, what honest ob; owner, have t0-i If for any of advanced, it /is>ath money and _credit them. Really, there is 'no reason why . they should not bear the same rate of tax, but like many other matters it must- PAGE SIXTEEN ~given - be considered somewhat in harmony with what other states do, and until such time as other states would adopt the ‘plan, and assess all property alike, it 'may be well to put a lower rate on money and credits. To guard against any owner fraudu- lently undervaluing ‘his preperty a pro- vision can be made that by unanimous . action of the board of county commis- sioners any property can be taken from the owner at the price he puts upon it. This provision would of course need.to be well safeguarded, probably by a dxstnct court trial of the matter. " The proposition is substituted for the consideration of all who wish to get at not only a better tax system, but the best that can be devised. e A GOOD POSITION ‘ The Umion Commercial College “of Grand Forks, N. D., placed MF, " Edgar Berg and’Miss: Plorence . Bruce: in nice positions, one with Moore Aato: Co and one with Stone, Ordean & Wells Co A business education. helps -many.. We furnish students board for only $2.50. Send for free catalog -and find “out how ~ a busmess training can help you. 47-4tf Cream Shlppers' Write us how to procure a beautiful 28x54 Rug absolutely free. Fargo Ice Cream & Dairy Co. Creamery Department. WHY DO WE SELL A GREAT MANY MORE MONUMENTS e THAN ANY FIRM IN THE STATE? Write us . when you need any- thing .in our line. We will then either send you eur catalog or have our man call on you. Being reliable is-our aim. - DAKOTA MONUMENT COMPANY, Fargo, N. D. Piow Boy T ractor Burns kerosene—four cylinder motor. Fully guaranteed and delivers its full rated 10 h. p. in draw bar and 20 h. p. in belt. Price $775.00 f. o. b. ‘Waterloo, Iowa. Distributor. to mset existing laws. <" Our legal blanks are legal because we have an atforney that keeps them so. Buy your fal blanks and suppltes from us and when your man puts otted lirie, you’ve got him. i We also publish the complete-line of Elevator forms as adopted by thc his name on the Ra:lroad Commissioners. WALKER BROS. & HARDY Remember This the law demands are not legal. blanks, and are worth nothing. Legal blanks, to be LEGAL, must be changed Write for dealers contract. PALDA MORSE MOTORS Inc. MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA Legal blanks that .are not printed as . They ‘are simply : _ Fargo,- N. : D. BARGAINS IN SHOES _THE CHEAPEST PREMIUM SHOE SUPPLY HOUSE IN U. S. Men’s and Boys’ Gun Calf Lace or .6 Montis’ Guarantee Sizes: Men s, 6 to Il, Boys 1 to 5 1 RE E \wtth every palr of BOYS’---Automatic Pea Shoofer i of MEN’S---20-year Gold Filled Watfh Chain. The retail price of these shoes without the prenuum is $3.5 WOMEN’S BAREFOOT- SANDAL - ~ Sizes 3 "’.48,. o Button 8235 . Ladus’ Cloth Top Patent “CUPID Slzeszto7 ‘" Write for our Preminm Catalogne. ASSOCIATED MERCHANTS 'Corn Exchange, MINNEAPOLIS mmmmrmmumm y