The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1894-12-15
The Times Democrat on Reducing
The Assessments.


Tn an article which we reproduce
below, taken from the Times-Demo-
crat of Thursday, December 9th,
two days only after the Planters
meeting. that able paper discusses a
feature of the reducement of assess
ments, which had not escaped our
mind, but, owing to the length OF
our already too long article, had to
be postponed to some other issue.
Our elder and much better inform
ed brother apprehended the situation
at once, and though the only data
he had of the Planters meeting were
the meagre reports of it as furnish
ed by the Associated Press, he saw
at once the Objectionable features of
the Planters proposition to reduce
the assessments, and that instead of
relieving the situation, 1t would
make it great deal worse. But We
had better let him express himself
in the words of that short, but clear
and pointed article, under the cap
tion of
s'REDUCING ASSESSMENTS
The planters in East Carroll are
suffering, like those of the other cot
ton parishes, from the low prices
now being received for their pro-
ducts, particularly cotton. The
situation is not an agreeable one to
them, any more than to those of
other portions of the South, and
they are looking around for chance
to rescue themselves from the present
depression and to improve the condi-
ton Of affairs in their section. They
have arranged, for instance, a new
scale of wages, based upon the pres
ent price of cotton, and they will
make an appeal to the police jury for
a general reduction Of assessments,
on the ground that the value of
property has shrunk with the decrease
in the price of cotton, and that their
plantations would not sell now for
what they are assessed.
We are afraid that this last way
out of the trouble will not be found
a very good one, but that it will
prove when fully tried to lead US
into worse confusion. While fully
recognizing the fact that the times
are hard, we do not think it wise to
reduce assessments wholesale, par
ticularly In the parishes where the
assessments generally have been
much below the truth.
If the people of East Carroll could
secure through their police jury a
reduction in their assessments, and,
consequently, in the amount they
have to pay the State in taxes, and
the assessments in all the other par
ishes were kept at their present
figures, so as to provide the State
with revenue enough for It's support,
then the East Carrollians would
secure very material relief; but they
can scarcely expect TO be specially
favored. The people of Tensas,
Claiborne, Bossler, East Feliciana
and all the other cotton producing
parishes are receiving no more for
their cotton than those of East Car
roll, and if the reduction were be-
gun there, they also would have a
right to claim similar reduction.
And the sugar parishes could also
present demand for lower assess
ment; indeed, the shrinkage in the
value of sugar has been even greater
than that of cotton, returning just
half what it did at this time last
year. The sugar parishes would,
therefore, have their assessments cut
down, and so on throughout the
State. If the proposition of East
Carroll we're granted /. would mean
a general reduction on the valuation
of the State to $3.50, 900, 900, or per-
haps $500, 900, 900, necessitating an
increase in the tax rate in order to
provide sufficient revenue 10 support
the government. This plan would
defeat itself ID the end. 1t would
not reduce the amount of taxes to be
paid, but actually make the rate
higher on a. lower valuation.
We do not believe that the agri-
cultural depression in Louisiana is to
be solved by making the system of
under-assessments and unequal as
sessments worse than it is at pres
ent.