The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1889-08-03

ASSESSMENTS.

= . e. !
In it's issue of the 18th Of July, while
he police jury was sitting as q board
'f.equalIzers OF assessments, the TEL.
saRApH called attention In these words
o tho prevailing tendency to fully as
less the poor and underassess the rich
The Board of Equaljzers have been
busy with the assessments this week
and it IL, perhaps, too early to report
the result and too late to warn the
Board against the too prevalent dispo-
sItion 10 decrease assessments In the
rural parishes of Louisiana. We will
not comment upon the action of our
Board until It Is more fully before US,
but we are constrained to say that the
general tenor of the assessments In this
State are unfair and unjust. The ten
dency Is to assess poor mans
little property at its full value
and to place q mere nominal value
ON the rich mans domain. Cor
porations of all kinds pay but
1.-THE of the taxes which they should
justly pay. Large property holders
have an undue influence In assessment
proceedings. Who will dare to deny
this? BY persuasion, brow-beating,
threats, or mere corrupt methods, they
have learned how to get their rolls re-.
duced to q minimum, while the far
mer. or laborer, or tenant, who, PEI
i,aps, owns but one piece Of property,
has to pay taxes on its full value.
This practice is damnable. II places
the burdens OF government on the
poor. who are least able to bear It..
Where are the pens Of our eloquent
contemporaries Where Is the At
.torney General in the presence of this
great wrong? We call his attention
and the Governors attention to the
fact that throughout the State most
elaring, unjust and corrupt inequali-
ties are being made In the assessment
of property. What is the remedy ana
whose business Is II to Apply that
remedy? Shall we supinaly let this
evil grow until the poorer classes are
com PEELED to resort to violent means
to equalize the burdens OF govern
ment?
To use trile but forciblo expression
this appeal to the board for simple
Justice 10 the poor was like ''pourine
wateS on a ducks back" Corporate
wealth had been assessed at ridiculousIS
low figures and 1t was by the hardes
efforts that they were raised at all
The law points out the method OF as
sessinq these institutions but the Law
was entirely ignored and the assess
lments arc still only nominal. Cor
porations are the creatures OF tb'
government, always foremost to claim
it's encouragement and protection bu
always tho last to contribute fairly &
the support and maintenance OF tn
government, the burdens of which
are, therefore, thrown upon tn
poorer classes, those least abb
to bear It. This Is crying sham
and should not be II there ID enough
Justice In tho land 10 correct tn
wrong. These unjust Inequalities ar
brought about by one of the many un
due Influences alluded to in the para
graph above quoted and the Bnlleti
of Wednesday was eminently corres
and proper in its censures Of the OIL
Gals who SO far forgot their duty I
the public as to serve private interest
in their capacity Of public servant
They owe 1t to the public to correct til
wrong inflicted so far as they can
resign their positions. They came
serve God aud mammon at the sam
time. Tho two cases cited by the Blu
letin. the Ouachita National Bank an
the Monroe Compress and Warohou:
J Company, were represented upon tt
: board of equalizers by Messrs. Uria
NIillsaps and d. A. Breard, .Ji
the former president of the police Ju'
aud a large stakeholder in both inst
buttons. the latter tho member of tn
, BODY for the third ward, also stool
: holder in both and president OF ii
} Ouachita National Bank. The la
8 made it his duty, under penalty of fiji
b and imprisonment, to furnish the q
0 SCISSOR with the names of the shareht
:. ders of the bank 10 whom the stot
J, should be assessed, but instead OF cor
0 plying with the law he used his ofiiei
i position to defeat the law in Its effc
o TO arrive at an equitable assessment
Q of the property, and now, inste'