Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-04-25

I
ment by the proper materials. While il
may appear for time to contributue 10
health, il is really unfavorable TO the per
manent enjoyment of it
Important TO Mercha is and HEanu.
facturers.
Now that the voice of the assessor
is heard in the land, we publish the
following, which we believe will be
of great utility to merchants and
manufacturers, in making up Their
tax statements for 1874:
The property to be included in the
statement of merchants stock IN
cludes much more than is generally
comprehended in the term "merchan-
disc" The eleventh section defines
the person who shall be held to be
the merchant, and what property is
to be listed as merchants stock,
and prescribes the rule for estimat-
ing the value thereof. Under this
head is included the stock of all per-
sons who purchase or sell goods, gro
ceries, provisions, lumber, grain,
pork, -four, drugs, ETC., and of all
persons who deal in wheat, corn, etc.
1t is not material whether the owner
of the merchandise resides in this
State or out of the State. If the
business is carried on in this State by
person who resides in another
State, his property or merchandise
in this State is subject to taxation.
Cnttle-drovers and dealers have
sometimes been listed as merchants,
for the average value of the stock
owned by them during the year.
This is not correct. Each animal
owned by him the day preceding
the second Monday of April must
be included in the list; or if any
have been sold, the proceeds, wheth-
er in money or credits, OF other prop
erty, must be listed
Under the term manufacturers
are included all persons who manu-
facture articles of wool, cotton, hemp,
leather, iron, copper, lead, wood,
stone, ETC., and owners of forges,
foundries, fouring-mills, oil-mills,
paper-mills, saw-mills, soap and can
die factories, merchant tailors, shoe
makers, blacksmiths, coopers, hat
tiers, cabinet makers ETC., etc.
The property to be returned in the
statement of manufacturers stock
includes all property and raw mate
rial purchased, received or held for
the purpose of adding to the value
thereof, by these and similar branch
es of business or to he used or con-
sumed in manufacturing, or in any
process of refining, rectifying or
manufacturing.
The average value of the property
and raw material thus purchased or
received for the purpose of being
used, in whole or in part, in any pro-
cess or operation of manufacturing,
combining, rectifying or refining,
during the past year, must be re-
turned as manufacturers stock.
The manufacturer must, also, at
the same time, list as a separate and
distinct item, at their fair cash val
ue(not average value), all manufac-
tured articles which have been on
hand one year or more, and the val
ue of all tools and implements owned
or used by such manufacturer, and
of all engines and machinery used,
or designed to be used, in his bust
ness. except such as have been ap-
praised as part of some tract or
parcel of real estate.
Great mistakes are frequently
committed in adopting a false mode
of arriving at the value of the prop
erty to be returned as merchants and
manufacturers stock. Some persons
have supposed that by adding to-
gether the whole amount of mer-
chants purchases during the year,
and dividing the sum by twelve, they
would find the proper amount to
return to the assessor for taxation.
This is very grave error. The true
mode of complying with the law is to
take the amount in value on hand, as
near as may be, in each month of the
next preceding year in which such
merchant or manufacturer has been
engaged in business, adding together
such amounts, and dividing the ag-
gregate amount thereof by the num-
Der of months that such person has
been engaged in business during the
preceding year. Thus, if he has
been in business during the whole of
the preceding year, he must put
down the amount on hand in each
month Ito be estimated as near as
may be) making twelve sums, which
he will addup and divide the amount
by twelve, which will give the aver
age amount on hand during the year.