The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-11-16
THE NEXT STATE VALUATION.
Short Reply 10 "Deerins'' in Saturdays
Press.

Mr. EDIToR:-I agree with 'Deering'' that
it is time to discuss this subject, and because
think SO take the earliest occasion to cor
rect most of the differences and many of his
statements. First, great stress is laid upon the
fact that the U S. Census shows Maine to be
over u hundred millions richer than her own
valuation. submit that this has not the re-
hottest relation to the present discussion, for
If we were to take the established valuation
and multiply it by two, or three, or fifty. the
proportion of each towns tax would still be
the same, and no injustice done. In other
words, the aggregate of the States property
is of little consequence; while each municipal
ity's share of the tax is everything The last
valuation was higher than that of 1860; because
prices were higher. The valuation of 1880
must ba lower than 1870, for prices are lower.
But if the burden be justly distributed-that is
all. presume, however, the values set upon
property at these several times have been sub
stantially just
The writer goes on to declare that
"Our whole system of taxation for state pur.
poses has in the past been based upon the local
action of the assessors of the towns and Cities
This is, we think, an entirely wrong basis.
The local valuations vary and there is no such
thing as equalizing them, and for the purposes
of state tax they are entirely useless. Our
system has bsen to require the assessors of the
different towns for the year in which the state
valuation Is mads) to make returns to the Sc
rotary of State of copy of their valuation for
that year, and about the first of October the
valuation commission, who have been Apo Mt
ed by the previous Legislature, meet at Au-
gusta and during the short time that inreryenes
previous to the first of snuary, the towns re-
turned are tabalated and footed up, and that is
called the state valuation on which the tax for
tbs succeeding ten years is based. So that as a
matter of fact each town makes its own state
tax.
So far from this being true in fact, 1t was never
even conceived in any body's mind-tbat 1 am
aware of-beforc. The town books are used BY
the valuation committees to show the amount
of property in each town; while the various
values that different Assessors put upon that
property 60 for nothing. He must be credu.
| lous reader who supposes "the town makes
its own state tax" when the very books them
selves generally show and declare the basis of
valuation on their fac5-some 80, some IS, some
| 100 per cent. There is no secret that each
| town, for its own purposes, has basis of its
| own, and further, there never was claim that
| the State should adopt any one Of them, nor,
| to my knowledge, a HUT that it had ever done
so, till this writer in the PRESS raised the ques.
| ton.
The town books for the whole last ten years
| are required to be produced. From these
| tables of the various property are made, &C
| cordIng to classification adopted From the
tons of shipping down to The number of sheep,
each article in each class in each town is count
| I'd. After a complete tabnlation of properly is
| thus made standard of value is adopted; and
| upon this fair and only conceivable basis, each
| towns valuation is LAID. OF course there are
other elements to be considered,a as for instance,
| the known higher state of cultivation of some
| farming lands above others, the finer heads of
peat cattle fcertain localities, Sc These ar
| questions of human judgment and no arbi-
trary and invariable rule can be applied; but
| as to the main facts, the work OF making
state tax is one of specific classification and
count, that must be done by patient hard
work, and debated az every step, and hearings,
as in court, given at every stage of the pre-
| ceedings.
And this leads me to suggest that, instead of
three men with rowing commission to cover
| the whole year, being better than seven that
| shall sit down for three months to work, the
smaller number couldn't do it at all although
| it would bs a nice thing-for the three meu.
| So much have written as a hurried protest
| against any discussion of this important ques.
| ton that does not have for its basis a substan-
| tial appreciation Of what has been done hereto
| fore.