The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-12-17
STATE LABOR STATISTICS
ANNUAL REPORT OF LABOR BUREAU
 FOR lS96.


 FOR 1896.
 Lack of Uniformity in Tax Assessments ConsIdered-Urge Creation of State Board of Misunderstanding Com dition of Cellar Bakeries-Laws in Rola- ton to Labor-Statistics of Manufactures The greater portion of the report of the Connecticut bureau of labor sta tistics for 1896 is devoted to the sub ject of assessments of real estate and personal property in the state for pur- poses of taxation, treating the matter of inequalities as found to exist in clear and lucid manner. More partic- ularly it refers to the faulty methods of making up the assessment lists by boards of assessors in the different towns of the state, making many ref erences to the lack of uniformity pre- yailing in most of the towns. The re- port gives the grand list of the state as at present assessed as being $444,321,- 92700, and adds that had all property been assessed at full value as the law directs, the total grand list would have been $637, ,959, 710O0, and shows in tab ulated form the grand list of each town in the state, the assessors estimate of the per cent. of true value at which property in the several towns is as sessed, and the grand list of each town as it would be if assessed at full val ue, showing by comparison that the proportion of true value at which all property in the entire state is assessed is 696 per cent.
 A table is also printed in the report giving the responses made by the as- sessors of the 16S towns in the state, to questions asked by the bureau, as to the methods in use by them in making up the assessment lists of their respec- tive towns, and in addition the report prints in full the recommendations and suggestions of many of the assessors with reference to how the existing sys- tenn could be remedied. In most cases it is recommended that all property be assessed at full value, and all admit that great inequality exists.
 The report strongly urges the crea- tion of a state board of tax commits sioners, and reprints a proposed law which was before the general assembly of 1877, and calls attention to the law of the state of New York which be- came operative this year. and which the report says is accomplishing the purpose for which 1t was intended.
 Probated Estates
 The report also gives in detail the re- d. h,ro 1tssD DF tbe bureau into the assessments made against the property of deceased per sons whose estates had been in the pro- bate courts for settlement during the year 1895, showing by comparison the value as returned and made oath to by appraisers appointed by the court, and the value of the same property as as- sessed for purposes of taxation on the tax lists of the year previous to the making of the inventory. Of these es- tates 792 were examined and compared, showing, the report says. that the av- craze assessment of appraised value of the whole number was 61 per cent.
 Corporations.
 Taxation of joint stock corporations is also a subject which the report treats upon in a manner calculated to show the inequalities of the assess unents made against them, and for pur- poses of comparison the sworn state- nents of the condition of 291 corpora tons, made by them to the secretary of state, were taken, together with the assessments laid against the same cor porations in the towns in which they were located. This comparison shows that the sworn cash value of the real and personal estate of the whole num- ber examined was $25803, ,356.60, and the amount taxable, plus credits, minus debts, was $29, ,6S5,205.00. The amount assessed against these corporations the report says, was $10, 50S, 327.OO, this heinz 444 per cent. of the actua amount taxable. The report contains the results of the investigation in tabu- lated form, showing the location Of the corporations by counties, and in the text analysis accompanying them ex, nlains the incongruities as shown te exist and also refers to the system prevailing in the state of New York as having g. direct application to the ..needs" of Connecticut along the lines of reform in the system which prevails 5n the state, and which permits of nc means or ODthlHAiS liie e'S""'A o'i""
 of taxable property owned by corpora tions, unless the officers Of the 1ncor porated companies choose to dlsclos' 1t. The report gives in detail the amount of mortgages recorded agalns several of the corporations which were examined, stating in some instances that the amount of assessment was les' than the mortgage incunlbrance.
 Early Methods.
 Early methods of taxation as in us' sn colonial times are touched upon il the report, and comparisons made witt the existing systems, somewhat to tn Encouragement of the latter Laws 0 Connecticut concerning taxation ar printed in the report, together with eX tracts from those of the state of NeV York and Massachusetts, referring