IOWA ECONOMIC HISTORY SERIES EDITED BY BENJAMIN F. SHAMBAUGH HISTORY OF TAXATION IN IOWA BY JOHN E. BRINDLEY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY AT THE IOWA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE VOLUME I PUBLISHED AT IOWA CITY IOWA IN 1911 BY EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION The writing of a history of taxation in Iowa is not an easy task; indeed, it involves many difficult problems both of research and of presentation. From beginning to end the scientific investigator is really embarrassed by a superabundance of materials. The statute books of the Territory and State, the journals of the legislature, the messages of Governors, the reports of Auditors and Treasurers, the reports of special commissions, the decisions of courts, the financial reports of counties, special and miscellaneous public documents, and tons of newspapers yield a richness of data that is inviting and at the same time appalling. The facts and statistics of industrial and economic developments, covering nearly three quarters of a century, are equally abundant and far more difficult to obtain. The problems of handling such masses of detailed information fully, accurately, and without confusion can only be appreciated by those who have successfully carried to completion similar investigations. But the problems of historical research are not the only difficulties which confront the writer of such a history of taxation as has been produced by Professor Brindley. Underlying the statute and code provisions, the reports of public officials, the decisions of courts, and the facts of industrial life are fundamental economic principles and theories which must not only be $14996 seen and appreciated by the investigator but by him also successfully handled as scientific interpretations of the facts of history. And of no less importance are the problems of politics and administration involved in the actual workings of the machinery of assessment, equalization, and collection. Moreover, the opportunities for utilizing and making practical application of the results of historical research are perhaps nowhere more promising than in the field of fiscal legislation and administration. Nowhere, indeed, are there to-day greater opportunities for the science of Applied History than in the solution of the complex problems of tax reform. At the same time there is no line of reform that is more difficult and perplexing, since from the very nature of the problems involved the whole subject is one which is too often handled with prejudice, or partisanship, or from the standpoint of selfish interest. Indeed, any program of tax reform is sure to be more or less unpopular and meet with opposition simply because the subject of taxation is affected with so much individual self-interest. The small taxpayer will undoubtedly favor much needed reforms in regard to the taxation of public utility and other corporations and demand that they may be compelled to bear their just share of the burdens of the State; but the same small taxpayer will probably be shocked when he is told that tax reform means that he too must clear himself of dishonesty and perjury — especially in reporting moneys and credits. Effective tax reform will consist not simply in perfecting the machinery of as |