The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-01-16
ghe ad1ihi Daily gaole aaesday aei1e january

1
\ Rnce.
4 That the law is but imperfectly enforced, /,
4 conceded by all Law is but reflection o
public sentiment. and the enforcement OF Law
! will depend upon the action Of the people Elk
1 perience has fully demonstrated that the en-
| torcement OF any law. in opposition to the pro
nounced sentiment Of the community, canno
be long successfully accomplished. Whenever
! the people in any community demand the en-
forcement of law their voice win be heard.
Without the support Of public sentiment. tn.
effort OF the officers TO enforce the law will mo-
/ be crowned with success. All laws oughi
/ to be enforced for the open violation
Of any law is demoralizing to the
public conscience. II breeds disregard fol
law, which is dangerous to any community
/ In this country the law is supreme. 1t is the
governing power: and disregard Of the law is
! disregard of the government itself. A con.
tnuation Of the open violation Of any law car
only result in evil TO the state. The duty OF
svery officer is plain; the legislature declares
what the law shall be: it is the duty Of the ex-
ecutive to obey and enforce it.
Assessment and Taxation.
There is an almost universal expression OF
dissatisfaction with our present mode Of as
( sessing property for taxation That it is un-
equal and consequently unjust. no one familiar
with it would for moment deny. 1t is prob
provide for in our laws Our theory Of
taxation is that property shall pay the tax,
and the only safe rule to follow is 70
assess all property at its actual cash value
without regard TO its character or the use to
which it is applied. To a certain extent, how
ever, the revenue derived from property ought
to be taken as basis upon which to compute
its value. Ii every piece of property in the
state we're assessed at its actual cash value
ment of taxes. But the same would be true If
sIl the property in the state were sessed
ct 10, 20 or so per cent. of its real
value. The inequality arises, not from
The fact that the property Of the state
is assessed toe low, but because it is
assessed uncqually. When one piece OF prop
srty is assessed at 10 per cent. of what it is
really worth and another piece is assessed at
It's full value, and other property is not as
1essed at all. great injustice is done to some OF
the taxpayers: and yet that condition of things
actually exists in our state to-day. Millions
Of dollars worth of property escapes taxation
entirely as result Of ignorance, fneif1ciency or
gillful dishonesty on the part of assessors,
other property is assessed at from 10 per cent
TO 100 per cent. of its actual value according to
the Judgment or within Of the assessor.
There would be less danger of this inequality
II an honest attempt were made by all assess
ors to place the true value on all property; but
before that could be safely done the laws in
regard to limitations on levies should be
changed. To make the assessment four or five
times what IL is at present, allowing the limit
alton on the levy to remain where it is, might
prove practical confscation Of property in some
school districts, or counties even. After pa
tent and careful examination OF the law, am
unable to see where it fails to provide for an
honest, impartial assessment. The fault seems
TO be rather in the administration Of the law
than in the law itself. II the proper
officers complied strictly with every pro-
vision OF the laws relating to assess
ment ana taxation there would be little
cause for complaint More severe penalties
might be attached for violations of the law, but
that remedy would hardly accomplish the de-
sired results, for when an assessor makes his
return, with property assessed at from 10 to %
per cent. of its real value and swears that he
has to the best OF his judgment given the true
value, he knows, and everybody Else knows.
you prove that he has not used his best iudg-
ment in deciding values?
What, then, is the remedy? In the first
place, it is impossible TO get an equal, just val
uation of property under our present system.
When you divide up this assessment of prop
crty among a large number of men, you increase
IN the same proportion the dif1culties of get
step in the right direction if there were but one
assessor in each county, and he should be APP
pointed for term Of four years by the judge Of
the district court in which that county is 10
Gated, the appointment to be approved by the
county commissioners, who should also decide
the number of deputies that he should have,
and should also approve his selections
BY having the appointment OF the as
SCISSOR made by the judge and for period
F,.rv he fc 6xred from fasa
to favor parties for their political
influence, and he would be far more independ-
ent in his attempts to discover property that
is withheld from assessment. Now we have
about sixteen hundred assessors. largely men
with little practical experience, selected more
because they have little else to do and are
good fellows each trying to keep his assess
ment down so that his township may pay less
than its honest share of the taxes. These men
are elected for one year, and are dependent for
their reelection upon the men whose property
they are valuinE. The county commissioners
should be required not only to eoualize as at
present, but it should be their sworn duty
to raise the assessment of any piece OF prop
erty that they found placed below its actual
value; and in case county assessors are to do
the work, the time of assessment should date
from January /. thus giving two months more
the for the assessment But there is little
hope of improvement until more faithful adj
of the law can be had. 1t makes
less difference what the law is than how it is
administered. There ought also to be some
right OF appeal from assessments that are
grossly and outrageously unjust Now the as
SCISSOR fixes the valuation the commissioners
refuse to change it, and the taxpayer is obliged
TO submit to what he knows is legalized rob-
berry. am we'll aware that the right TO appeal
would have to be restricted, but the very fact
hat the right to appeal existed would make
he county commissioners more willing to do
Justice
Collection Laws.
The legislature Of 1923 enacted law to regu-
ate the sale and redemption Of real estate I'M
Ter execution. etc. 1t was doubtless the pur-
pose and desire of the trainers of this act to
furnish relief to those who had mortgaged their
homes and were unfortunately unable to meet
heir obligations; but the law seems to hsve
lad directly the opposite effect from what was
Intended. Believing that the theory upon
which the Law is based is a pernicious one,
iesire to call your attention 10 its practical
workings.
Capital is prorerbially timid; it goes only
where tits protected; it scents danger as quick
' and as lzeenly as a wild animal. and as
seeks safety. Capital cannot be
iriven by legislative enactments TO make in
-eStments where ii is not safe. and any attempt
# that kind drives it quickly from the state.
rhiS result is as sure to follow as water is 70
un down hill.
The past two years have witnessed rapid
withdrawal OF capital from the state, and the
mount would have been much larger il itcould
AVE been collected. It is estimated that
IS, 900 900 have been withdrawn the past two
ears by parties in the east who had loans Sc |
ured by real estate, and who have lost conf
ence in Kansas investments; while nearly all |
4 4
,anlSs which have been accustomed to make |
oans here, positively refuse 70 take any new /
until the laws are changed
take it for granted that there will be no diff |
erence OF opinion as 70 the advisability OF Sc
uring investments OF foreign capital. The /
ronderful development OF our grand young /
in the history OF the world !