The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1858-09-18
From the Des Moines Citizen.
Misrepresentation Rebuked!
Great Reduction of Taxes this Xear!!
FACTS AND FIGURE S
FOR THE PEOPLE.
DEs MONIES, Aug. %, SO

DEs MONIES, Aug. %, SO.
Mr.. EDIToR:
| See that certain Demo
cratic papers are publishing my letters to
the County Clerks, in which | reporl
to them the action of the State Board of
Equalization upon the assessment of
lS51--with this | have no fault to find
except that they publish the few in which
the tax was raised, and none of the many
10 which the tax has been reduced But
| do protest against their infamous mis-
representations and Gnprovoked abuse.
They seem to be very solicitous about the
rights Of the people, and are laboring to
convince them that they are to be ruined
by taxation, unless they will turn over
their business to the honest ccoa0mg iov-
ing Democracy, who have demonstrated
SO closely during the last year their abil-
ity to take care Of the national Treasury,
and of the school fund Of this State.
The last general Assembly passed a law
authorising the County Boards of Equal
iza.ioa to egual!ze the assessment of
real property for the year 1857 and re-
port it to the Auditor as the assessment
Of 1888. The same law requires the
State Board to cqualize the assessment of
the several counties. This they have
done, and the following table will show
that the taxes in the aggregate are about
% per centum below what they were
last year--and in many eases it will be
seen that the tax does not amount to one
half what it did last year In few ca
ses, only nine in all, the tax is higher
than it was last year, and this is as it
should be. l take for example Lucas
county. Lucas county reported 367 $50
acres Of land, valued ia the aggregate at
ST49,4i6 30.lO0 which is a little less
than tteo dollars and four cents per acre.
Again, kossuth county, a new comfy
with sparse population, and but very
little improved, reports the assessment at
an ayerabe Of SIC doiiars and forty cents
per acre. What in justice was the State
Board compelled to DO? Certainly in
crease the one and reduce the other; and
they did 50, and SO would any honest
men. kossuth was reduced 90 per cent.
The County Board Of Equalization for
Lucas county reduced the assessment So
l-3 per centum and the State Board ad-
ded thereto per centum making the ay-
erage price Of land $3.50 which it is
richly worth, Lucas being one of the
finest bodies Of land in the State. The
report from Clark county, being next
west of Luca, shows the assessment of
that county to hare been been made at an
average of $50 per acre. If the as
sessment is made equal in all the coun-
tics it matters but little what the value is
so long as there is given sum to be
raised The Board sought to make
them equal 1t was not necessary to fix
high valuation in order to produce a
large revenue, 50 long as the board have
the power to change the rate of the
levy. The law fixing the rate at three
mills on the dollar, % valuation was pas
sed 10 1851 and the Census Board of
equalization are authorized to fix any less
rate. For this year the rate was fixed at
one and one half mills per dollar The
rate last year was two mills on the dollar.
To make the matter little clearer, we
will suppose that no equalization had
been made in Clark and Lucas counties.
A man owning 100 acres In Lucas would
have to pay State tax amounting to 10
cents and one having the same number
in Clark county would pay 81, although
Clark is the newer county. A large
number Of counties have not yet repor-
ted the assessment Of personal property
for 1858 and the report Of last year has
been adopted in the computation of this
table When the true figures arc obtain
cd the amount will be still less as some
counties that have reported show fall
ling Oft from last years reports of over
40 per centum But we viii let the ia
bic speak for itself---it is taken from the