Webster Echo
What We Need.
The Railroad and the Training School at Addison.
December 8, 1899
The people of Fork Lick district now have the very best opportunity of their lives of securing a railroad to Addison, and also the location here of a large school, which, no doubt, will have an attendance of not less than 200 to 300 students the year round, making a market for every kind of produce that the people can raise to sell at good prices. All of the students, teachers, and attendants at this school would have to get their provisions from the farmers of this county, and this means that something like $2,000.00 to $3,000.00 each month would be paid out by them, and paid to the farmers who furnish them the produce upon which to live, and this money would circulate among the people of the county and thereby to be a benefit to all of them. Every one knows that a school is badly needed in Webster county and will be of inestimable advantage to the people.
Vote the railroad subscription and the school will come, as one is necessary in order to have the other, and both will be permanent improvements.
Take the Assessor's books of Fork Lick district and you will see that the whole amount of property, both real and personal, assessed for taxation is $529,920.00, and of this amount non- residents of the district are assessed with $331,000.00, while the resident taxpayers are assessed with only $198,920.00, so, at these figures, non-residents pay $7,447.00 in taxes and residents pay but $4,475.00, or about one-third of the taxes. This being the case, non-residents would have to pay about two-thirds, of the amount of the railroad subscription and residents the other one- third while the residents would get the benefits from the railroad, as they could furnish the labor, materials, teams, provisions and every kind of produce that they wish to sell. For this reason the railroad would be of special benefit to the laborer and man of moderate means. After the railroad is built it will be assessed for taxation at something like $3,000 per mile, or making about $27,000, or more, upon which the railroad company would have to pay taxes in this district, and every one knows that the more taxes the railroad pays the less the people will have to pay. Every district of the county now has a railroad except Fork Lick. We have four months school, taught by poorly paid teachers, while Glade district has six months school, taught by teachers who are paid $30.00 per month. Vote for the railroad subscription.