Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1855-04-18
For the Tribune.
THE LAW OF ASSESSMENTS.

There are some passages of Scripture which,
owing tle difficulties which beset their nterpre.
tation are called skandnla, stumbling blocks"
The lax which prescribes the duty of Assessors
is certainly one of the skand,sla which the legal
profession he's TO mourn.
The law makes it the duty of the Assessor to
appraise all property at what he judges it would
fetch in cash, at forced sale; or, in other words
at its cash value but leaves him uninstructed
to what condition he is to suppose the market
TO be in. He is to appraise peoples property sew
orally and relatively, and also collectively; and
the collective appraisal is 10 be the OF the in
diVidual appraisals.
Now the question in the mind of the Assessor,
on approaching piece of property, a village lot
for example, is, shall he suppose this lot the only
one in market, and appraise it with that under
standing or shall he suppose il and all the other
lots in town in market together or, shall he sup
pose state of things somewhat intermediate be-
tween these, that this and several other lots,
here and one there, are in market He is uncer-
tain what degree of competition is to be presum-
ed He has 10 choose between the extremes of a
degree of competition almost killing, where the
whole town would be on sale; or, no competition
at ALL
If he were to proceed upon the latter assump-
ton, evidently, his summing up of his several val
uations would be great exaggeration of the
whole amount of property in the town. 1t would
be moreover selfevidently false estimate of val
ues; for each step in the appraisal would have as
its basis what was belied by every other step
The total valuation would be summing up of
false, because mutually classifying, estimates This
is clear.
But does not degree of the same objection at
tach when the competition is supposed to be part
ly cut off only? The superstition here is of the
every day Casa lot for sale here ard there If
were called to make an appraisal in an indi-
vidual case, he would undoubtedly have respect to
this, the common state OF the market Ii he were
making up price current for publication, this
wonld be the state of things he would suppose
But for the reason jus, explained a radiation of
the property Of The to,cn Collectively made up as
price current is would be- 10 degree, an exagger.
alton. For example, the price current quotations
Of flour n. Y. city always are predicated upon
there being but certain proportion of the ci;ys
stock, at the time, for sale. To suppose an ex-
treme case, it might be that the price of barrel
of flour at given time would be rightly quoted
at double what would be its price if the rest of
the flour in the city not held back by monop-
ollsts; SO that, in such case ii would be greatly
erroneous to estimate the value of all the flour in
the city by multiplying the number of barrels in
and out OF market by the price per barrel.
Because the current price evidently was made
sucl, only by very considerable portion being
ignored, as not being to be had
So, the multiplying the number of all the lots
IN town, of particular descriptions by the cur.
rent prize of snch lot for the purpose of collective
radiation, would .eai 10 an erroneous result.
How then If the judgnlea, of the Assessor is
not to be governed in making up price cnrrent :;
what else has he to suppose, than that the whole
stock Of property in the town is up for sale 10 .
gether, in the market of the world? And what
guide mas he in determining the degree of sacrifice
which property would suffer, sold under such cir
cumstances3 If other towns are tsing sold 81.
! mui:aneously. who may be calculated upon to be
present as buyers2 1t is respectfully offered as
nut 10 crack, to the curious. viii some one OF
our lawyers please to " shine az
A