Birmingham age-herald., 1894-12-08
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR PROP
 ERrY IS WORTH?


 Win you kindly give me little information through the columns of yonr paper regarding a bill recently introduced in the General As- sembly providing for board Of assessors ln each county to assess the taxesP
 1. II this board of assessors is to assess property according to it's commercial value, want to know how three men in Randolph county can know any more about the value of my land or stock than I, when perhaps neither of the three ever saw my property, or shall 1he board traverse over the county and eX- anime the property and then fix the value? And if this Is to be done (and cannot see how they are to know the valuo Of property they have never seen and know nothing oD, think it would be cheaper for the tax payers if the Legislature were to increase the tax from where it now stands until sufficient revenue is had.
 2. If all stock and lands are to be valued at the same price, what is to be done with those who have cheap property? For instance, if have horse worth S3UU and my neighbor hes a horse that he could not sell for more than $5o, shall my neighbor pay tax on $500 of property when he has only $50? Or say both horses are worth S350, shall pay for $l75 of property and my nelghbor $175 worth2
 Under the first plan there is certainly great room for misrepresentation and under the second there is Il misrepresentation.
 Please explain tho matter through tho col- umns of the AGE HERALD and obllge yours truly, J R. HAMMoND.
 Truett. Ala, Dec 3, 1894.
 The Ohio assessment law, which the Alabama legislators are using as a guide, provides for the appointment of precinct assessors in the county and ward assessors in the city. These are appointed by the county board of assessment. The law reads: "The assessment of real estate, to be {. .ftl l. oil I,,, said county board of assessment and equali- zation, and for that purpose it may ap- point in such years such number of as- sistantsand at such compensation as the state board of assessment and equalization may approve. Another section says: "The said county board shall appoint the ward assessors. .'' It seems to be the in- tent of the Ohio law that the precinct assessors shall report to the county board |, and that to the State board. The appoint ment of precinct assessors by the county board takes their election out of politics, and they are more apt to be just. Neither the State board nor the county board come in contact with the tax payer. It is their duty to even up and cut down and get property on an equitable basis.
 Mir. Hammond also asks: "If all stock ana lanQS are to De valued aL tn6 same price, what is to be done with those who have cheap property?' Governor Oates ex- plains this in bis message to the Legisla- ture: "Ihere is a great and unjust dis criminaton in taxable values, as assessed which calls loudly for correction by some process of equalization. The cash value oi the property is the true criterion. All lands should be classified as to valuation and assessed accordingly. There should be at least five or more grades, and none less than S1 an acre. l recommend a State Commission, appointed by the Governor, with the power to classify real estate and regulate assessments and supervise the same throughout the State, and also a county board of assessment"
 These boards would not only pass upon the value of real estate and equalize it, but would also equalze the value of live stock If bull yearling is assessed at S10 in Blount county, the same sort of bull yearling would be assessed at the same price in Bullock county. This just and equitable mode of assessing live stock would please the railroads, for when they run over yearling they could take peep at the tax list before they paid damages.