Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-06-28
deems his rights, without any invasion q
the rights of others.
OF TAXATION AGAIN.
Saws the Lntkr-Ocenn !.

Says the Inter- Ocean:
There is no justice in exempting the million
aires luxuries from taxation ana imposing an
extra burden on the poor mans necessaries of
life, as is done allover the couatry.
This is truism. But hcw shall society
proceed to make personal property disclose
itself, for it is in personally that the luxu-
ries secrete themselves As our contem-
porary well says:
Planes are dumb when the Assessor is about,
and horses take good care not to kick and
thrash around at that critical time. At least
| the assessment rolls would indicate as much.
No Assessor was eyeT known, so far as we can
recall, to see any difference between an old
master and brand new chrome. There are
pr1T ate houses in Chicago containing art works
alene OF more value, if sold for spot cash, than
| all the household stuff OF some entire wards,
populous ones, too, but the Assessors cannot, at
least do not, get at them. Imagine the average
5eputy Assessor putting valuation upon
Meissoniere or q Cabsnel. He may have as
fznuch artistic taste as the owners, but he never
1 thinks of exercising his Judgment that way.
What our contemporary declares to be
true of Chicago is true of every place;
land cannot hide, personal property does.
1t follows that there is inequality of taxa
ton which results in undue imposition of
burdens for support of government being
placed upon the poor mans personal prop
erty as well as his land. For, as we the
other day pointed out, the household, with
but modest furnishings for its home, is
assessed to near its actual value, while the
rule is not applied to the richly furnished
dwelling. Indeed, if valuations disclosed
by the assessment rolls, as written against
the personal property of the rich, were in
exact proportion to value written against
the personally Of the man of moderate cir
cumstances, the latter's tax would be but a
few cents, for the valuation would be only
nominal
To state the question in another form !:
If A B in a cottage with few engravines
on the wall, an ingram carpet on the
floor, modest piano, plain cottage furni-
ture and simple house fittings, is assessed
upon these movables $780, his neighbor In
the mansion, with velvet tapestry, grand
piano, tesselated floor, carved furniture,
French plate mirrors, silver and gold ia
BILE service, Persian tapestry hangings, old
masters on the walls, rare jewels in the
dressing cases, Sevres ware in the closet,
and fine China upon the table, ought to be
listed upon such personally in proportion
to the contrasted value of the cottager's
goods. But, as matter of fact. we know
this.is not done, and that the 10000 house
fittings go down for two or three thousand,
while the Northumberland fittings of
the cottage are listed for fully half their
actual value
Yet this is but one phase of the Unequal
tiles of taxation, for there is another and
larger class OF the tangible property of
men that is made intangible to the As
SCISSOR, and which, by adroit movement,
also escapes taxation. For the escape of
this class there is less blameworthiness at
taching to the Assessors, for they cannot
well follow securities, diamonds, deposits,
stocks of goods, and money on hand beyond
the owners declaration
Of this class the Inter Ocean asserts there
is large escape in every community in
Illinois, and the charge will apply also to
the communities of California