The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1886-01-02

iaA"AO III 1909 UuI lduus must Oe
again assessed. We now have
roll containing all the corrections
of four years; those whose lands
were assessed to their neighbors
have been properly changed, and
many lands not assessed at all, by
the assessor, have been added by
the sheriff, as time would develop
the fact that they were not on the
roll. In fact we have the result of
four years labor of those interest.
ed to perfect the land assessment
of the county.
The Land Roll of Kinds county,
including the city of Jackson, con.
tains 343 pages, or about 6,SO0 as.
sessments-fully twice as much as
any other county in the State, aud
eight or ten times as much as the
majority of the counties.
The size Of the Roll, the number
OF assessments, the amount paid
and the limited time allotted to do
this work repdered it absolutely
impossible for any man to make a
proper assessment of the county /;
for as you know, the assessor of
Hiuds is granted by the law the
same length of time to make his
assessment as the assessor of
Jones county.
After the Roll has been com.
pleted and filed for correction and
equalization by the Board of Su.
peryisors in August, at which time
the Board is required to remain in
session six days, claim that to
properly correct and equalize the
land aud personal roll containing
in the aggregate CPS pages, would
consume forty instead of six days.
As the case now stands, We often
have Mr.. A., with a farm of 100
acres, paying tax of s27.00, and
MIR. b., his adjoining neighbor,
with the same amount of land pay.
ing $40. These are facts-not
mere matters of spesulation)
The question is asked of the col.
lector so often that the thing has
become stale. "Why is it my tax.
es are double that of my neigh.
bors, on the same amount of prop.
erty ~
Many forfeitures to the State
0 cur, and parties have lost their
lands because they were improp'
erly assessed.
The Board, in attempting to
equalize, are forced, for want OF
time, to do great injustice to some
by improperly raising values, and
at the same time doing injustice tC
the State by overlooking many
that should be raised.
| Now, sir, hold that the mar
whose business it is, and has beer
for years, TO devote bis whole
time to this matter of taxes and
assessments owes it to the coun
ty to give whatever experience he
may have, and make such sugges
tions as that experience hal
brought to light. therefore sug
gest the following plan TO cur Sen
ator aud Members of the Leeisla
ture.
Ii they are unable to have a gen
eral law passed for the Who'll,
State, let them have a special law
enacted for our county, requiring
A the assessor to keep an Office ii
with that of the Other
county offices where he or his dep
uty may he found at all times
Thus make it obligatory upon ev
cry person before he or she bt
permitted to file any deed to laut
for record with the Chancery
Clerk, 10 first 60 to the assessor
with said deed, making it the duty
of the assessor to change the as
sessment or ownership, accordiu;
to the deed upon a record 10 b'
by him kept, from which recort
he shall make a corrected roll in
stead of assessing rs Eow, an,
that until the endorsement of tn,
. assessor has been so written upOl
the back of the deed, it cannot b,
placed on record with the Chan
Gerry Clerk. Thus you see we la.
the foundation for a complete alb
stract of titles in the county, foi
T on the record so kept by the as
SCISSOR could be had, not only th,
/, land numbers, but the names 0
the seller, and purchaser, date 0
: purchase, and price paid, whicl
would be of great value to th,
Board of Supervisors in arriving
at correct values in every neigh
: borhood.
/ Some of our best lawyers CLAIM
that one.third the deeds to land il
the county are incorrect. o
course the plan / suggest woul,
, remedy this evil at the outset, be
fora any damaua ranld hp dono