Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1898-07-19
STATE BOARD o. REVIEW.
Work Of Adjusting the Value Of
Property in the Counties Of
Iowa Under Way.
RATE OF TAX LEVY ALSO TO Be FIXED.
Testing of Machinery for Creameries
Produces Good Results-Doard of
Control Busy-Ltght Artillery Bat
teries Mustered In-Cost of War to
the State.
Especial Correspondence

Especial Correspondence.
Des Moines, Ia, July 1.-THE state
executive council begins to-day to sit
as a state board of review to adjust
valuation of property in the several
counties of the state. Under the new
revenue law passed as part of the
code of 1897 the state board of review
is given power and is required to ad-
just CT equalize, which is the usual
term. all kinds of property, real as well
as personal Under the old law the
state board of equalization could only
raise or lower county on its valua-
ton Of real estate; personal property
could not be affected. The new law,
section 1879 of the code, is as fol-
lows:
1T Uhe state board of review) shall adj
just the valuation of property of the sew
eral counties, adding to or deducting from
the valuation of each kind or class of prop
erty such percentage for each case IS will
bring the same to its taxable value as fixed
in this chapter"
The board is required to finish it's
review or adjustment on or before the
first Mondayin August, and the auditor
of state is thereupon to submit to each
county auditor statement of the per-
centage to be added to or deducted
from the valuation of each kind or
class of property in his county and
certify the rate of state tax fixed by
the board as required by law. The
county auditor is then required to
\. 81, In, 70
county to correspond with the valua-
ton fixed by the state board. All this
means an enormous amount of work
both on the part of the board of re-
view and the county auditors. Wher-
ever a county is changed in yaluatio
many thousand changes in the assessed
valuation of personal property will
have to lie made. Each mans assess
ment will have to be gone through with
and the items affected hunted out and
brought to the adjusted valuation. As
the work must be finished by the state
board inside of three weeks it is plain
that the board will be kept busy If
many changes are to be made.
Power of Board Disputed.
There is considerable dispute as to
the power of the board to raise the
assessment of personal property, es-
pecially in regard to moneys and
credits, since this class of property has
fixed value and like all other per-
sonal property is assessed at 25 per
cent. of its real value. Any attempt
by the state board to raise the assess
ment of moneys and credits in any
county will undoubtedly be resisted.
The State Tax Levy.
The state board must also fix the
rate of state tax levy at this time.
The legislature appropriated a fixed
sum for state purposes during the pres
ent biennial period and it is made the
duty of the state board of review,
after ascertaining the total assessed
valuation in the state, to make a com
putation and fix the rate of tax neces-
sary to produce the sum appropriated
by the legislature. 1t is expected that
the state tax levy will be something
over three mills this year on account
of the floating debt which must be
paid, or nearly paid, during the pres
ent biennial period,
Valuation Falls On.
All but four or five counties in the
state have reported their assessed val.
uation to the auditor of state and the
chief accountant says that the falling
off in valuation of personal property
will be about S7,000000. This is re.
duction of between eight and nine pei
| cent. from last year and it will affect
| the rate of state taxation as well as
| local taxation.
Creamery Machinery.
L. S. Gates, state dairy commission
er, says that the new law requiring
| creameries to have their machinery
| tested TO insure its accuracy has pro
| duced an excellent result. Manufac
turers of creamery machinery fol-
testing milk to ascertain its percent
age of cream are required to send q
sample of each machinesto the state
agricultural college at Ames to be
tested. When the expert at the college
has tested the machine and found it te
| be reliable, he issues certificate tt
| that effect TO the state dairy commits
| sioner and he supplies the tested bot
| ties and pipettes which fit that ma
chine. He is not authorized to recog
| nize any machine that has not beer
tested and certified to as being correct
by the head of the agricultural de
| partment of the college, Prof. C. T
| Curtis.
Rights Under the Law.
Any creamery patron who is dissat
isfied with the testing of his milk a
any creamery has right to make
complaint and demand an investiga
tion as to the reliability of the test
and the creamery is liable to severe
punishment for failure to use proper
! machinery. On the other hand any
i person selling adulterated milk or di
.uted milk to creamery is liable to
the same punishment as if he soldit tt
private consumer, and that is S10t
fine. Dairy Commissioner Gates i.
i preparing to send out a large edition
of the dairy law SO that all the people
interested may be informed as to theil
rights under the law.
Showing Good Results.
The state board of control has put
i its new system into fair condition o.
practical operation during the pas
week and its good results are already
beginning to show. The reductions II
salaries have been generally accepted
by the superintendent of the various
institutions and they have gone to
work to weed out the employees which
are least useful to them and are re
!. n rrn n ri n o. he cir forces to get the mos