The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1878-02-28
ASSESSING AND COLLECTING THE TAX,

ssEssInG AND COLLECTING THE TAX
A Iigid and fair assessment aud .
sasonable effort 10 collect Is The remedy
N all the financial evils which allllel
he state, counties or mnnlelpalf
les, The state debt ID bat mere bag
lelle compared with hor resources "
an and ought 10 be wiped out IN one
eason, and would be II the tax lists
.ould only be made 70 represent q fair
ior cent, Of tho Increase Ia values IN
he state for lhe last five on seven years
The only shrlnkaae which has occurred
IN Texas has been IN the value ol rail-
road bends, and that lisa mere nolhlog
The country has gone on with never
tagging energy and has mounted Step
by step toward wealth and prosperity.
lIer own people have Increased lhelr
farms, have added 10 their value by
Improvement, Her cities have bulll
long lanes Of costly and valuable bulld'
ings, aud are renting them At layora-
bio figures, and tho money IL always
paid The last seven years marks
fabulous increase In taxable values
New people mo coming in continually,
averaging perhaps one hundred ana
Gny thousand u year for the last seven
they bring money and add In every
way 10 the taxable values OF the state,
but 80 far IN We can SEQ no adequate
Increase Ia reported
We asked propcrty'holder the other
day hia lowest eash price on stores
house on Main street Nine thousand
Eve hundred dollars" said he, "And not
anxious TO sell NJ that" referring TO
tho tax lists We find no turns II IN, and
II Ia accepted by the assessor, at the
pitiful figure of twenlyNcight hundred
dollars. Besides this, he Ia renting u AT
figure which indicates profit ON the
tax valuation Of thiriy'two per cent per
annum, This Ia II great evil, but II
stops not here in ils balciul ELECTS, II
Ia taken M base for perhaps hundred
other assessments Some one swcars
falsely when tho return IL made, and he
should bo held 10 u strict accountability
for IT, II u fair assessment could bo
had for five years in Texas, tho rate OF
taxation after that would be reduced no
that its burden would not he felt, This
would liz u tremendous burden from
the shoulders Of the poor and the sum
gained by the appreciation in value OF
the piper of the state would be- vast
one, People at u distance would read
our reports, and flock hero with their
money and property, to swell our total
valuation TO fabulous sum.
The instance we have cited is not n
solitary one every town has hundreds
of them, and every county has It's thou
sands The evil of such dishonest eva'
sion ia widespread, Men who are hon,
est in every other respect apparently,
do not scruple to perpe,rotc such u
fraud ~ this upon the public, The
alarming feature IN the situation is that
while every one knows it, no ono feels
like moving in the matter, Every
county in Texas can show perhaps 4
dozen instances where five years since
II farmer had but fifty acres of groun
in cultivation, and he has now tive
hundred and fifty. Consult the tax
lists and you find him paying tax on
the five hundred acres Mt the identical
figure of five years since, while the actN
ual increase IN both the value and in.
come OF and from the land is fully one
hundred per cent, if not more. TIL,
property holder is dishonest, and the
assessor is either incompetent or dis
honest. In this germ lies concealed
the key to unlock the mystery of al
our financial woes, so far as the state il
concerned,
We need some very intelligent, com
prehenslve, rs well AS stringent legisla
ton on this subject. The time viii
soon approach when the people will b,
called upon to choose new legislator,
from among themselves. Would it no
be we'll to force aspirants to take posi-
ton on tins and kindred subjects2 Tn,
people, owning twenty-five hum
dred dollars worth OF property, or
less, as rule, pay higher rate of ia,
than one owning fifty thousand. vii
we not demand from those who aspir,
to repre- ent us in the legislature,
pledge, at least to make an effort to cor
rect this crying abuseY Let all proper,
tyholders be brought up square to tn,
rule, and let there DO no distinction
made in favor Of the rich, and agains
the moderately comfortable people
Let a dollar be called dollar on tn,
tax lists, as well rs in trade, and fore,
it to pay its just tribute into the treas
ury OF the state
q SENATOR JONES expects to coin more
money out of his machine for manufac
turing artificial ice than from all the