The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-12-03
GOV. BROWN TO THE PEOPLE.
He Speaks of an Assessment Law,
and Proposes Conference.

To the People Of Maryland:
s'No general valuation of real and personal
property in this State for the purposes of
State, county and municipal taxation has
been made since 1876.
''In the long period of time which has since
interviewed it is known to all of you that the
market or cash value of all real estate within
our territorial limits has greatly changed.
In many localities, in many counties, the
cash value of real estate has materially de-
clined In certain localities of other counties
it has increased The changes in values in
the direction of decrease and increase are as
notable in the cities and towns Of the State
as elsewhere and are plainly observable in
the city of Baltimore.
The corrections made from time to time
of the valuations of assessable real estate have
not been sufficient to check the progress oil
the evil, and certainly have not remedied 1t.
The result is that the actual burden Of taxa
ton upon real estate Is very unequally dis
tributed among our people. need not say
to you that the valuations Of personal prop.
erty made in this State in 1876 and corrected
from time to time since that date by county
commissioners and the Appeal Tax Court Of
Baltimore City do not in their aggregate ap'
proximate even to the real value of such
holdings in this State, and that very large
proportion of this description of property
escapes taxation altogether.
at is perfectly true that no system OF taxa
ton can be devised which will altogether
remedy this evil, for our people properly re-
sent and resist the general application OF m
quisitorial methods to whole population IN
order to enforce the disclosure by a few per-
sons of their real wealth. But we ought TO
be able to devise system of taxation which
will ascertain approximately the amount OF
personal property owned by each individual
residing in the State and liable to taxation
without exciting hostility to our method OF
doing it. The subject was generally dis.
cussed in this State in the summer and
autumn Of 1891, and all parties were agreed
as to the necessity of a new act for the re-
assessment of property in this State.
you are aware that a bill for this purpose
was passed by the House of Delegates, al
most unanimously, at the session OF Janu
ary. 1892 after considerable debate. 1t was
not acceptable to the Senate. That body
brought forward and adopted II very diff
ferent and far more stringent bill. When
this Senate bill was presented to the House
it was, for some reason, not fully discussed
nor debated. The exigency of other bust
ness and the unwilingness of the House to
adjourn without passing an assessment bill
probably inclined that body to defer to the
Judgment of the Senate, and it therefore
passed the Senate bill.
at seems at once apparent that the bill
thus passed, whatever may have been its
actual merits, was not satisfactory to the
people of this State. This was made appar-
cut to me by the protests of men of all
opinions and of widely different interests,
The methods of the bill were bitterly com
planned Of 1t was evident to me that 1t
would, if approved, create a feeling Of wide
spread discomfort and prejudice uniayorable
to the growth of the State and to the in
crease Of its prosperity. Unfortunately the
rejection of the third constitutional amend
meut at the elections held in the autumn of
1891 made the constitutionality of the act
limiting the assessabe values of certain de-
scriptioms of personal properties, which was
intended 10 be supplementary to the pro-
posed assessment bill, extremely doubtful.
Under these circumstances ! deemed 1t to be
my duty to withhold my approval from the
proposed assessment bill and from the aux
iliarv bill referred to and to await your
further action in the matter.
My veto of the particular measures prob
ably imposes upon me the duty of making
some particular recommendation to the next
General Assembly upon the subject OF Il new
assessment law, which it is unquestionably,
for the reasons | have given and tor many
Others the duty of the next General Assem-
bly, to enact | am unwilling to undertake
this task without feeling that am, when
doing it, in touch with the deliberate and
well.founded opinions of all classes of the
people of this State. No method occurs to
me better adapted to afford this assurance
than the convocation by me of a limited
number of thoroughly representative men
from each county of the State and from the
city of Baltimore TO consider in open discus
sion, in the winter of this year, at some con-
venient place in Baltimore city, the proper
details Of such measure. Delegates from
the leading agricultural, commercial, manu-
featuring and other industrial organizations
ought to form a part OF such advisory body.
"In consultation with such delegates and
with the ample time now before us | ought
to be able to direct the framing Of "a bill suf-
ficient for the purpose, but open to the full
est consideration by you, before the meeting
of the General Assembly in 1894. Such II bill,
when modified BY the General Assembly to
correspond with the will of the people
plainly expressed and with its own judg-
ment, ought to yield satisfactory results.
The expense of convocation of such ad
yisers would be very limited, and would,
am sure. be cheerfully borne by the volun-
t;.ry subscriptions of those interested in the
enactment of new and salutary general as
sessment law. | need not say that though
the counsel of such body would not con-
troll me in the performance of any consttu-
tonal duty it would greatly aid me. have
but one desire in the administration of the
duties of my Office, want to add to the pros.
perity of the people of the whole State, and
| am sure that you will not misunderstood
me when say to you that to enable me to do
this you must agree to take such action as
will put YOU in touch with me for the pur
poses of informal consultation when | con
slider matter as important to all of you as a
new assessment law assuredly is.
Frank BRowN, Governor.