The San Francisco call., 1896-07-24
They Toss the Ball of Response
bility to the District
Attorneys Office.
sNooK FOLLOWED MoREHoUsE.
Mr.. Morehouse Ordered Nothing, but
Simply Gave the Benefit of
His Advice.
OAKLAND OFFICE SAN FsANcIsco CALL,
9O8 Broadway, July 3.


There is CONSERVATION in the county
building. The ball of responsibility is
being tossed from the District Attorneys
Office to the Supervisors quarters and
thence to the members of the State
Board of Equalization from San Leandro.
To-day the Supervisors issued their
justification" They ordered the County
Clerk to compile tabulated statement of
the assessment roll that would show
exactly what they did, what Mr.. More
house ordered them to do, what District
Attorney Shook advised them to do, and
what Mr.. Black Ryan's arguments per-
suaded them TO do.
The assessment roll was cut 81, SOC, 900,
and somehow or other the Southern Pa
cifc Company experienced the benefit OF
half of the entire cut, and now the friends
of the Assessor are attempting to ind out
who did it.
Mr.. Morehouse discIaims the RESPONSE
bility of it. When before the Supervisors,
he informed Mr.. Dalton he was not there
to interpret law, but to inform the board
how the State Board accounted for the
100 miles of track in this county that the
Assessor claims is totally ignored by the
State Board. Mr.. Morehouse did not order
the Supervisors to reduce the assessment,
but he, in conjunction with E. Black
Ryan, so worked upon their sympathy for
the big corporation that they reduced
property assessed at 1914, 700 to $50.
The justification of their action, pub
lished by the Supervisors this afternoon,
is a very interesting document. The
reduction on the Seventh-street local and
Berkeley lines and long wharf site from
nearly million to nothing, is Justified"
by the remark: Reduced on advice OF
District Attorney because assessed by
State Board of Equalization" AS Mr..
Shook was fishing in another county when
Mr.. Morehouse explained TO Mr.. Dalton
and the Supervisors how he accounted foI
the last road, and as there was no report
made of the proceedings, Mr.. Dalton can
not understand how Mr.. Shook could so
readily render an opinion.
The reduction of the water company g
franchise from $230,0O0 to $12,500 is
Justified" by the remark: Reduction
made on advice of District Attorney that
franchises were not assessable in Alameds
County,"
The sum of $419, $50 which was assessed
to the national banks and their officials il
marked exempt" and the following
justification is printed: ''Items giver
as exempt reduced to nominal figure
owing TO advice OF District Attorney thai
same were not subject to assessment"
For a benediction the statement says
''Total of assessments affected by lega
questions and reduced or stricken from
the roll on advice of the District Attorney
$685., 1885,"
The District Attorney will not shoulder
the responsibility. He says that there
was no other course open to him. The
chairman of the State Board said that the
missing road was assessed somehow, but
although no one understood the method
Mr.. Shook says he could not legally au
thorize double assessment. Just why be
should advise against the assessment o
the banks after the Attorney General had
advised MIR. Dalton to assess them is not
mentioned. Under the circumstances the
Assessor says that Mr.. Shook should have
let the assessment stand and allowed the
banks TO carry their fight to the Supreme
Court.
And while each of the three elements is
trying to hide behind the other two
Supervisor Pelouz, who voted against
the Solid -Four throughout is indulging in
a hearty laugh with Assessor Dalton over
his brethren's discontinue.