The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1897-04-30
OTHER PEOPLES NO TONS.
Editor FREE PRESS:

|
In your paper last week there was {
notice OF meeting of the assessors O.
the county, held for the purpose O
agreeing on uniform rates of taxation
OF the different species of property
This, MIR. Editor, is strictly unlawful il
| the assessors agreeing upon rates anC
each year it is the source of nearly al
the dissatisfaction growing out Of Oul
annual assessments.
The state laws leave the assessors NJ
OpGion as to what the value put upOr
property shall be, and when they be
gin to tX percentage rate, such as
One-half, one third, &c, they are not
only violating the law but are breed
ing trouble and dissatisfaction foI
the people in the future.
The laws Of the state governing the
manner in which the assessments
shall be made read as follows:
''All property shall be assessed al
its true and full value of real or per
sOnal property, the assessor shall not
adOpta lower or different standard Of
value because the same is to serve az
a basis of taxation; nor shall he ADOPT
as criterion Of value, the price fol
which the said property would sell al
auction, or at forced sale, or in the
aggregate with all the property in
the town or district: but he
shall value each article or description
of property by itself, and at such sum
or price as he believes the same to be
fairly worth in money"
And again, the law says in relation
to real property:
"He shall actually view, when
practicable, and determine the true
and full value Of each tract or lot OF
real property listed for taxation
and shall enter the full value thereof
including the value of all improve,
mentS and structures thereon opposite
each description Of property.
There is nothing particularly wrong
Mr.. Editor, in the assessors coming
together, but there is a violation OF
the law, as quoted above, in their
agreeing to assess land worth $50 tC
$50 per acre at $40 to SIS per acre aS is
usually done: and in agreeing tC
assess personal property at about one
third or one half of it's value, as is
generally the case. The true and full
value of each species of property is
the standard fixed by law and they
are expressly forbidden to adopt
lower or different standard" OF
course, Mr.. Editor, this works no par
ticular hardship if perfect equality be
adopted on every species OF property,
but this is not done, and cannot be
done under the system of the assess
Ors fixing uniform rates. Take for in
stance money. 1t is always assessed
at it's full value. So with mortgage
notes and other evidences of indebt-
edness, while MAS horse worth
$780, is rated at, say $40,
the same as the horse of Mr.. B. which
would not sell on the market for S25.
Farm land, we will say, is agreed up
on by the assessors at, say Sl2 per acre,
while land in one township may be
worth double or triple what it is in a
township ten miles distant. Yet by
this system of agreeing on uniform
rates, all are assessed at, practically
the same price. The same is true of
city real estate. If the assessor would
do as the law directs personally view
each tract Of realty listed, and deter
mine it's true and full value in money,
there would be little for the boards
of equalization to do, and there would
be better general satisfaction. 1t
was stated in your paper that mort
cages and land contracts in Blue
Earth county are to be listed at one
half face value this year, when the
law expressly says: every credit
for sum certain, payable either in
money, property of any kind, labor or
or services, shall be valued at the full
price of the same so payable" l will
admit, Mr.. Editor, that if land and
ordinary personal property is to be
assessed at one third or one half value
it is little better than robbery to
assess money and securities at any
higher ratio. But why not the assess
or do just as the law says, and not set
up standard of his own when the
law explicitly says that he shall not do
it. Each assessor that does so is
violator of the law of the state, and
the sooner the law is strictly complied
with the sooner the number of kicks
and protests registered each year de-
crease in number.