Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-04-30
CINCHING SMALL FARMERS.
The Assessment for 1888 as High
as Last Year.

The Assessment Tor 1858 as HAGh
as Last Year.
EDITORS HERALD: Several times
lately you have called the attention Of
taxpayers to the necessity of handing
in the lists Of their property to the AS
SCISSOR but how about the assessment
this year? The papers have much to
say pro and con in regard to the tariff.
While, of course, it is proper for the
Government to adjust the tariff on a
Democratic basis, it is not to be COM
pared, in immediate interest to US, to
the local government taxes. These
are the things that affect more par
ticularly the small farmers. Well, the
Assessor has been around, and as near
as can find out, he has lowered the
assessment on personal properly, but
the lands and Improvements will be
assessed the same as they were last
year by G. G. Mason, and not as the
State Board revised them. If such is
the case, nine-tenths of the small far
mers will pay higher taxes this year
than last, supposing, of course, that
the levy will be $1.50 On the hundred
dollars this year.
Take the section of country from
Compton, south of Downey and Nor
walk, on to and including Westmin-
ster and Garden Grove, and most of
the land that is cultivated is owned
by men who own from twenty to forty
acres, and have very little personal
propriety. 1t generally runs like this /:
two horses, plough, wagon, two cows,
chickens, poor furniture, say $500
| worth; but his land, forty acres
$40 or $50 an acre, and Improvements,
he will have from two to four thousand
| dollars to assess, and if Mason has as
sessed the land and improvements the
same as he did last year, and the tax
rate is the same. we small farmers
can't help paying higher taxes than
last. On this lowering of personal
property who will reap the benefit ?
Why, lumbermen. (314 cents per foot,
rough lumber), poor men they don't
charge anything for lumber nova
days; rolling stock on railroads; men
who have great stocks of Inerchand-
Use; great ranches on which are
thousands of cattle, horses and sheep,
these are the ones who will pat him
on the back and say, "Well done,
thou good and faithful Assessor.
| won't say servant, because from his
actions he considers we are his serv-
| ants.
Therefore, we contend that the
assessment this year is in the interest
of capital, and we don't look for any
change until he is out of office. In
his case it is the old story, "put a
beggar on horseback" etc.
Speaking about the tax levy last
year reminds me of the talk going on
in the country. With the Republi-
cans, almost nine out of ten will say,
We repudiate Mason and his mode of
assessing last year; but how did it
come that the Democratic Board of
Supervisors put the levy up to $3.50
when the assessment was nearly dou-
bled. We say it was necessary, and will
be able to show it before the election
but if we cannot, then, indeed, we
will not have gained one point on the
Republican party, while we could
have swept the last Republican out
of Office ia the next two years had
the Supervisors kept the tax rate
down, although 1 say back again that
never heard of any protest from the
minority of the board against the
$l.50 levy. And again, the 80 per
cent. levied for county purposes is
used at home, while the go per cent.
is for the benefit of others.
GEO. FRAMPToN.
Artesia, April 25, 1888.