The record-union., 1896-07-21
SACRAMENTO RECORD UNION TUESDAY. 21

IL
horses on the ranch-156 head which he
assessed at 500 head. 313 head at $50
each, 6S at $3.50 each, 8 head of trotters
at $500 each, 10 head of running horses
at 5000 each, AS thoroughbred brood
mares at 500 each, 50 thoroughbred
yearlings at $100 each, 3S2 brood mares
at 500 each-in all !, ,l47 head, aggre-
eating $1O4,S5
Besides this he had discovered forty
head of graded brood mares, which he
Jumped and assessed at 81 900. He fur
ther stated that JOG thoroughbred year
llngs had been shipped East, of which
no account had been made.
The Assessor read the law providing
that under an arbitrary assessment the
property might be assessed at ten times
it's actual value and that no Board of
Equalization had right to alter it, He,
however, had not imposed any penalty
very little at least-he could not judge
as to the actual cash value of the prop
erty-and believed that none of the stock
would be offered for sale at the values
he had placed on them.
He had last year, taken the figures of
the agent of the ranch and assessed only
800 head of horses, while he was salts
fled that as many as 1000 horses were
on the ranch at the time. He had as
sessed thirty-one head of stations at
$500 each, which was very low figure.
If the Board of Supervisors struck off
his assessment he declared that next
year he should assess the property for
last year, and take the present cause
into court and win it. If he failed to win
the case he would pay the costs of the
case from his own pocket. If the citi-
zens of Sacramento or the small farmers
should evade their taxes as did the
Rancho del Paso. they would be in Jail
or lose their property.
Supervisor Curtis thought no arbi-
trary assessment should have been made
until the owner or agent had been sub
panaed
The Assessor said the board might
take any action it pleased in the matter,
but any action it might take would not
interfere with the assessment, for he
had made it arbitrarily and would de-
fend it in the courts. The board had
10 legal right to interfere with an arbi-
ttary assessment.
The question being as to whether the
assessment was arbitrary or not, the
heard declared that 1t was not, Dreman
and Jenkins dissenting.
Supervisor Todd asked Mr. Eerkey
how he managed to count the horses on
the ranch, and the latter said he sent
man there and kept him there until
he counted them all in one, two, three
hours.
Mr.. Todd said it was a hard matter
to count a herd Of horses, and Berkey
said the agent knew that very we'll and
kept the herds on the run from one
paddock to another. There was, he
said, a penalty for grand and petit lar
ceny, and a penalty for just such things
as these men had done, and if they had
their just deserts they would be in the
States Prison. But it made no differ
ence what action the board took, as
not one item should be stricken from his
list unless the courts 50 ordered.
Supervisor Curtis then came forward
with a motion to reduce the assess
ment on the personal property of the
Rancho del Paso from S201. 600 to $780,,
600, which motion prevailed, brennan
and Jenkins voting no.
Assessor Berkey thereupon gave no
tice that he should begin action in the
courts this morning, restraining the
board from making the reduction, and
stated that he should if necessary,
carry the matter to courts of the last
resort.
MILLS NATIONAL BANK.
In the matter of the assessment of
the D. o. Mills National Bank asking
that the assessment be reduced from
81 400, 600 to 1921 900, on motion Of
Chairman Morrison it was declared to
be the sense of the board, acting under
the advice of the District Attorney, that
the board had no right to interfere with
the assessment, as it was made arbitra-
rily by the Assessor
A friendly feeling seemed to revail
for the bank officials, and the following
resolution offered by Chairman Nor
son, was adopted:
Resolved, That 1t is the sense of the
board that while the law does not per-
init US to accept the proposition Of the
National Bank of D. 0. Mills to pay
an assessment of 100000, owing to the
advice of the District Attorney, it is the
sense of the board that the offer made
by said bank to pay an assessment on
personal property Of 100000 is a rea-
sCnable one"
After some argument it was agreed,
on motion of Chairman Morrison, to re-
duce the assessment on the Folsom
Water Power Company's dam and ditch
from 100000 to 100000.
ELECTRIC COMPANY.
Then the petition Of the Sacramento
Electric Light and Power Company was
taken up. From an assessment on their
Co.
duction from $3.50, $50 to S102, 200
Supervisor Jenkins moved that the
franchise of the road be reduced from
100000 to $4,000, which motion
brought Assessor Berkey up with an OBJ
lection. He claimed that the Sacramen-
to Electric Power and Light Company
was the best-paying business in the
county, and deserved to pay it's quota
of the county's taxes. He declared if
the proposed reduction on the franchise
We're made there would be no franchise
to tax next year. He would not spend
has time with the matter at all if it were
ali to come to nothing. He had intend
ed to assess the franchise at $500, 900,
but had listened to the appeals of the
company and voluntarily cut it down 20
100000
Supervisor Jenkins referred to the
fact that the witnesses examined under
oath regarding the franchise had claim
ed that it should not be heavily as
sessed, and the motion to make the re-
duction was carried
SEVERE ACCIDENT.
Samuel Sweeney's Leg Broken by a
90