All our state laws exempt from taxation certain kinds of property. The state cannot tax the property held by itself for the common use. The buildings and related properties of religious bodies and societies are not taxable. Such educational institutions as colleges, seminaries, and private charities are not taxed. Cemeteries and other places where the dead are disposed of are not taxed. County buildings, city parks, public schools, penal institutions, fair grounds for public use and similar property is never taxed. INSUFFICIENT TAXES There have been times in the life of the Government, and in the building up of the states, when the funds necessary for maintenance from taxes, heavy though these have been at times, have not been sufficient to meet the essential expenditures. This was particularly the case with our Government during the trying days of our Civil War. States entering on great public works, for the benefit of the commonwealth, frequently cannot raise the necessary money by the usual forms of taxation. In these cases loans have to be made, that is the Government and the state go out and borrow from those who have it to spare, the necessary money. The Government, the state, and it may be the city or county, gives to the party providing the money what is known as bond or bonds, each of a fixed amount and bearing a fixed rate of interest, payable as a rule semi-annually. PERSONAL PROPERTY There is no form of property so easy to assess for the purpose of taxation as real estate, that is the land and the buildings, for the last selling value of this property is a matter of public record, and then the assessors, who should be men of honesty and good judgment, are generally posted as to the value of the property under consideration. When, however, it comes to the taxation of personal property, which means any kind of property that can be detached and carried about, it is a different matter. Just as many people, otherwise regarded as honest, do not think it a great wrong to get the better of the Custom House, so many reputable people are inclined to revolt against the tax on personal property and to conceal their actual possessions from the assessor, nor is this peculiarity confined to the poor. Any man may be legally compelled to swear to the accuracy of his statement, and if it is found that he has knowingly sworn to a false statement, he may be brought to task for perjury. What is known as "personal property" varies in many of the states. Personal property generally includes, merchandise in possession; all fixtures, all furniture in home, offices, and factories; all live stock, all money on hand and in banks; other men's notes, not transferred; all stocks and bonds and other forms of security. TOWN TAXES