Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-12-22
equalization of the Grand List.

Nh Dear Mr.. Edit0r Il notice in
the Free Press Dc Times of the 10th inst,
a long article from Mr.. Whittemore of
Milton on the subject of the State Eqali.
zatien of the Grand List, in which he
makes sundry incorrect statements-as
think--and in which he also attempts to
give color to some Of the acts of that com.
mittee that the facts will not sustain him
in. The Free Press 6 Times has, for the
past three weeks or since the adjourn
ment of the Legislature, contained many
articles on the same subject and of the
same character have no desire to enter
into controversy either with the Fret
Press d Times, Mr.. Whittemore or any
other party on this subject or any other,
but l feel compelled as member Of the
State Eqalizing Committee to notice
| briefly some of the statements made by
Mr.. Whittemore. He says there have been
various questions propounded through
your columns (FFee Press &c Tines di-
rectly to the State Equalizing Committee
as to the manner and upon what prin-
ciples the majority of that committee ar
rived at the present equalization; we in
the minority have longed for reply" etc.
l saw in your paper several days since an
article from "Candor,' in which, as it ap.
peared TO me, full information was given
to all such inquiries. In that article it
was stated that the committee were guild
ed by such information as they were able
to obtain from any and all reliable sources
that went TO establish the fact as to the
appraisals in the several counties-that
each county was heard fully In all the
evidence they chose to produce before the
committee. think this was the only way
the committee were to find the facts and
to DISCHARGE their duty. They could get
no valuable information by tracing the
doings of another committee five years
ago. Had they made an Investigation as
to the appraisal and equalization in 1865,
they might possibly have found that some
counties had since then been paying
largely more than their proportion of the
State expenses, while others were doing
much less Neither was it for that COM
mittee TO base their decision solely upon
any particular part of the appraised prop.
erty, either farm or acre property or viii
| lage lots, but to ascertain how and at
what per cent of the actual value the
whole real estate had been returned to
the Legislature. In presenting this kind
of investigation as to Chittenden county
| as the olanor comes from that county
the committee found it utterly impossible
to arrive al any other conclusion than
that the appraisal, as fixed up by the
county committee, stood at not exceeding
forty-four cents on dollar of its value.
| also noticed an article in the Record
| & Farmer Of the 9th inst, very full and
! fair answer to all such inquiries. 1t there
fore seems to me that Mr. Whittemore, if
he will read these articles, will find that
his intimation that the majority could not
answer comes with very poor grace at this
time Mr. Whitfem next occupies
over column in an ingenious effort to
make it appear that Chittenden County
had stood before the committee at very
high appraisal aud that her lands were
very poor, piuv pisin~, etc. It would
have been much lees trouble to him to
have stated that some of the towns of
Chittenden County were appraised at
their real value by the listers, and that
some were appraised at one-third to one
half their value, and that the county
committee of members OF the Legislature
euualizaa the towns and deducted Sc
cents on a dollar of the real estate apprais-
al of the entire county, and that when it
reached the State equalizing committee
it could not possibly have stood at over
A cents on dollar, and also that it was
necessary to add 80 per cent. TO that sum
to bring it up to the 60 cent standard.
He could have said that much truthfully
and not taken much more than dozen
lines to have expressed it in.
The committee could do nothing more
or less than to increase some counties and
reduce some, as the evidence of their ap-
praisals appeared He says from the be-
ginning there was manifested an i'll feel
ing against Chittenden County by many
members" When and where Mr.. Whit
temore saw any such indications on the
part Of the committee or any member of
it is more than / know I certainly saw
none and cannot believe that any such
feeling was entertained by any member
of the committee. He says again that
sit was stated by one of the majority
| upon the door OF The House that Cbitten-
den County was averaged by mere arith"
metical operation" In this Mr.. White.
more is in error.
Ia reply to--perhsps the gentleman
from Milton it was stated by one OF the
majority that in his opinion the report of
the committee az to Chittenden County
could be sustained by mathematical cal
culation. He did not say that the COM
mittee arrived at their conclusion through
such a calculation.
The resolution OF Judge fafks, one Oh
the committee, which was finally made
the basis of the majority report, was duly
considered by the members of the com.
mittee, and to my knowledge many, if
not all who voted for it, or signed the re-
port, consulted the memorandum they had
taken during the investigation. before the
vote was taken. There was. in my
opinion, no unnecessary haste. 1t is well
known to Mr.. Whittemors / presume, at
least it is to most of the committee, that
the State Treasurer was exceedingly
anxious that the committee should estab-
lish the grand list at the earliest possible
moment In order that he might know that
his estimates were safe or that he might