The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1897-04-10

JOHN HAHN,
ZNEQUIZ1BLE ASSESS
AENZS.
Baton Rouge Advocate.
Discussing certain allegation:
lodged against the method Of assess
ing property in the city of New Or
leans the Times-Democrat of a re-
cent date says:
cit is the rich and well-to-do, OF
course, who are under and
the fact that, through some means
or other, they escape paying their
proper share of taxation, defrauds
the city government of material
portion of the revenue which it
would gather in. 1t is owing TO
this default that the city is unable
to find money enough to support an
adequate police force for the pro-
= lection of person and property, to
keep the schools open for the full
period of the scholastic year, to
maintain charitable institutions, to
pave the streets, and other munich
pal needs of importance to the
city's welfare"
Thus it is shown that the admin
istration of the affairs of the munic-
ipal government is seriously en-
barrassed by the fact that the rich
and influential people in that city
are enabled to evade the payment
of their pro rata towards the main
tenance of the burdens of the gov
eminent, while the small property
holders, whose all is in their home
and their stock-which cannot be
hidden from the scrutiny of the as
sessor-is taxed to the utmost limit.
1t follows also that if the city is
thus defrauded of her just and law
full revenues by this selfish, unequal
and dishonest method of assessment
the State must also suffer from the
same cause, and to this extent
therefore it is a matter in which the
whole State has vital interest.
Heretofore the cry has gone up
from New Orleans to the effect that
property in that city was over-as-
sessed, and the complaint has been
made that the country parishes were
escaping their just proportion of
the burdens of government by
scandalously low rate of assessment.
We have always been quite ready
to admit, and we have admitted
that gross inequalities in assess
ments exist in the country parishes
of the State; we have time and
again made complaint to the effect
that while the large planter and the
man of extensive resources in the
country is generally enabled to
escape with two-thirds, and often
with half, valuation of his
property, the man who only has his
''forty acres and mule" is screwed
up to the utmost limit, his property
being assessed for more than it
would bring in open market. This
fact has often been recognized by
the country assessors themselves,
who have striven up to this time in
vain, to find some method by
which to overcome the obstacles
standing in the way of the just and
equitable assessments in their
respective parishes.
According to the statement which
we reproduce from the Times
Democrat this morning, however,
the inequalities in the New Orleans
assessments must be much more
glaring and at the same time more
burdensome to the people Of the
State than are the assessments in
the country parishes. Save in the
case of limited number in the
sugar parishes, man In the coun-
try is accounted wealthy if he owns
property to the real value of $780,
900. Here and there may be found
a man who may have property in
excess of this sum, but the great
bulk Of the country people consider
themselves to be comfortably
fixed" if they are able to boast Of
valued at $1,000. In this
city, according to the Times-Demo-
Gratis admission, it has not been an
occurrence for a bust
ness man to have $40, 900 or $40,