1976, February, Pg. 156. On the Soapbox.

• Author: by Christopher R. Brauchli

5 Colo.Law. 156

Colorado Lawyer

1976.

1976, February, Pg. 156.

On the Soapbox

156On the Soapboxby Christopher R. BrauchliFor my part, I travel not to go anywhere but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. Robert Louis Stevenson

Travels with a Donkey

My first thought, when told the Governor was contemplating moving the Inheritance Tax Department to Sterling, was that the teller of the tale was a Republican and his tale was proof that people in one political party will spread any kind of rumor to make elected officials in the other party look foolish. Upon learning that the tale was true I changed my mind about Republicans and instead tried to fathom the reason for the move.

The proposed move to Sterling is, no doubt, the result of the Governor's preelection walk across the state. Walking down the highway in eastern Colorado is a lonely business, even when one is followed by an occasional reporter. The result is a tendency on the walker's part to greet the first person he meets with excessive enthusiasm and, in the case of a political candidate, to make grandiose promises which he may later regret. A look at the map discloses that in traveling west across Colorado the last major town before Sterling is Julesberg,(fn1) some sixty miles distant. It is probable that Governor Lamm was so pleased to get to Sterling that he agreed, if elected, to move the Inheritance Tax Department there in exchange for a glass of water or a coke. He now finds himself in the awkward position of having to honor this commitment and make it seem like a good idea.

Having given some consideration to the possible cause of the contemplated transfer, we may now turn to an analysis of its effects, and speculate on how the move may be beneficial to the state and its inhabitants.

The most obvious result of moving the Inheritance Tax Department to Sterling would be to partially decentralize state government. Should an opposing power attempt to conquer Colorado by bombing the capital, the Inheritance Tax Department would be spared. Hence, at the very time when a substantial part of the population of Colorado had been done in, the Inheritance Tax Department, which following such an attack would be very busy, would be able to continue to operate safely from the town of Sterling, generating substantial revenue for the surviving...