The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-04-30
Assessments OF Personal Property Some
PaIIY EYhRiOna,

=
Petty EVaSiOus.
A study Of the returns made by The as
SCISSORS OF the various counties 10 the Au'
ditor last year, and printed in the bienni'
al report Of that official, reveals some Bug'
gestiye facts, and comparison Of the fig
ures for the several counties is very Gig
nifcant. There are some surprising dill
tsrences in valuations in different counties
and some inexplicable facts are establish he'd
by The returns-that Is, II the returns are
10 be relied upon as establishing any facts
at all. -..
For instance, II the returns are reliable,
there are in Ohio county 2, OPS watches and
clocks, valued, in the aggregate, at S45,Sl5
Now, Ohio county has, by the census oil
1880, q population Of S7,457, which, a sim
pie calculation will show, Is about eighteen
persons to every watch and clock In the
county. This certainly seems large
average when we remember how generally
our maze citizens are supplied with
watches In these dsyso Of cheap and reliable
time. pieces, and how few houses, even
among the rural population, are without
from one to three CloCks. Surprising, FOL
the purposes Of illustration, that there was
not time.piece in Ohio county outside Of
Wheeling, our population Of 81 900 odd In
the city would give about 10 persons to
every time piece in the county. This Is
certainly q. remarkable statement, and
nothing but the returns Of the assessors
would convince us Of It's truth, in the face
Of appearances TO the contrary. The aver
age value Of the clocks and watches, indls'
criminately, is about 500 80, which doer
not seem, at first sight, SO out Of keeping
with the facts as the other figures. But &
declaration Is made which Is Of q nature
to provoke establishment, and that Is that
while in 1879 there were 2,l35 watches
and clocks in the county, last year the
number had decreased to POPS, q falling Of
OF ITO. Our numerous dealers In watches
and clocks must have large trade from
outside the city and county.
In KanAwha county, with population
OF 80, 400, there are said 10 be 2,202 time.
pieces Of various kinds, which is on an
average one to every fourteen or fifteen
persons, about our average Il We estimate
oil the time.pisces In the county 10 be
within the city limits. Kanswha's clocks
and watches, moreover, are returned az
worth on an average something like 50 50,
from which II would seem that while
more Kanawhans than ohioans are sup.
piled with tims.pieCes, they stand them at
considerably less than half as much
money as ours, on On average. They are
progressive In this matter down there,
however, and had In 1880 1927 more watches
and clocks than in 1879. Probably a por.
lion Of our jewellers trade is from Kama.
wha county. This would not seem in.
credible we're the figures which we are
considering taken In o year 10 which a
session Of the Legislature oCcstred, but
this not having been the case, we must
look elsewhere for 40 explanation.
Berkeley county has 1901 watches and
clocks, about the same average 10 her II, :
$50 population as Kanawha's. The mum.
Der decreased six in the year, and the val.
uaticn fell Of from 1854 10 50, 220-a de.
crease Of t643, or $lO7 and some cents per
watCh,-this Notwithstanding the average
assessment In 1880 was not quite 50. That
is, while the general run oil clocks and
watches we're worth but 50, those which
In some way disappeared from the assessI
on' lists were worthupwafds Of 500 each.
Brooke county tax payers last year were
the possessors Of 1,l05 watches, Of an al.
legged average value Of about 81, the mum.
Der having increased over 1879 by 1853, Of
an average valuation Of not quite { each.
They are not 90 badly fixed up there, one
person in every I've and a half having
some sort oil time.piece.
In the year intervening between the
listing Of personal property for taxation in
1879 and 1880, the number Of iims.pisces
In the State increased from a, 600 10 4s, 2s6,
and the Valus from 1875, lS9 to sSS0,64i.
The average value in 1880 was about s.,
and In 1879 mot quite 81, while The average
return Of the increased number was about
the latter figure. While Ohio county re.