The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-03-06
APPRAISAL OF Personal.
PROPERTY.

The annual town meeting over, and
lax of seventy-five cents on the dollar hay
ing been voted, very important duty re-
mains to be discharged in the interest both
of the town and the individual taxpayer
We refer to the taking of the grand list.
AS respect the valuation of real estate,
with the exception of railroad property, it
is already DONE But, even, If it was a
part of the work of the present year, it
would only require fair knowledge of the
value of property and the exercise of Ia
sound judgment to ensure satisfactory
result for the town as a whole, and do
equal and exact justice to individual
Taxpayers and property owners. When,
however, the valuation of personal proper
ty is entered upon it is another matter. Its
proper appraisal is matter of great deli
cacy, and requires not only sound judg-
ment but large acquaintance with human
nature, knowledge of the business of the
town and practical determination to dis
charge these intricate and delicate duties
without fear or favor of any man. We
all know from observation and experience
that men are not cheerful taxpayers, that,
however at other times they may desire to
be regarded, when the listers come around,
taking his own word for it, every man is
on the very verge of poverty. When the
grand list is scanned, the wonder is, not
that the support of the poor costs SO much,
but that the overseer of the poor is able to
"relieve the suffering poor" with so little
expense to the town. The fact that there
ore so few failures and such an appearance
of prosperity among our business men be-
comes matter of comment and surprise
when individual lists are scrutnized. We
admire the shrewdness and financial abl-
ity of these business men that they can
stand up under such load of debt as they
report, and can still attend to their ordi-
nary avocations with smiling faces, and
never pass note or account when due.
We often wonder how these men could
possibly obtain credit of wholesale dealers
II their affairs were actually in as bad {
NOhuitlou 10 luultdttu ny tuSoC lcluIHS u
the listers. 1t is but few years sine,
that these returns disclosed the fact-a fac
1t the men most interested were to be be
lieved-that there was hardly man il
greater amount than the value of all hi
personal property, including debts .du
to him and stock in trade. The sam
would be found to be the case in nearl
every other town in Vermont. Indeed, W
never heard of but one man who desired t
make a'good appearance on Rutland's gran
list, and he paid tax on some ten thor
sand dollars worth of personal propert
when he actually was worth not sing
cent.
This fault is not, by any means, contine
to Rutland or Vermont. 1t is common
every state IN the Union. 1t is practict
in every village, town and city in the ian
The trouble is that men persuade thef
selves that there Is nothing wrong in eva
ing the payment of taxes. He who CT
and does invent the most plausible sal
for the conscience is regarded as Il
shrewder man or the better financial ma
ager, rather than as one who had consciou
ly done wrong. There Is case in poi
before the courts of New Jersey, where
well-known and wealthy" citizen is on tri
for perjury for swearing the returns
that state are made out under oath-that
only had a small balance of some five hu
dred dollars in bank, and that the bank W
his creditor to the amount OF thirty-h'
thousand dollars. 1t appeared in ties
mopy that he had twenty-five thousa
dollars more in bank than the amou
stated and that the Indebtedness was CT
ated by demand note, on which no mon