The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-12-19

Office of "health officer" which latter
succession. as In similar cases, can be
accomplished by simply changing the
title of the present official.
Five assessors are to be elected to
take the place of the three now provld-
ed for, but these three will be contin.
,ied in Office Until their terms expire.
Two additional assessors can be elect
ed when the new councils reorganize.
The Office of collector of DELINQUENT
taxes is the only other to be filled.
That offers no difficulties whatever.
Councils select him and the present
ward collectors are done away with.
The mayor, controller, treasurer. solic-
itor continue in office.
AS to the matter of taxes, 1t is con-
tended that the same influences which
hold the assessors from increasing the
valuations will be at hand in "A second
class city, and even though they should
give a real instead of fictitious value"
to property, the levy would have to
come down sufficiently to counterbal-
ance the increase in valuation. The
people. 1t is argued, would make such
howl against a raise in taxes on real
estate that no set of officials would
dare for q moment to attempt 1t.
CAN BE wINKED AT.
Then again. it Is held that the sec
ond-class city laws are no more strin-
gent in directing an actual valuation
of property than are third-class city
laws, and that this provision of the law
can be winked at under a second-class
charter as readily and securely az II Is
now. The classification of property Will.
1t Is admitted. cause some disturbance
at first, hut as It Is discretionary with
the assessors to list all properties in
two classes as at present-city and
farm--the chances are they Will adopt
this as a means of leaving property
classified just as it is at present.
The law says there shall be three
classes. but as "all built up districts"
may be included in the first class. the
assessors can. without stretching the
law to the breaking point. include the
whole city in that class. excepting. of
course. the farm lands. This is, prac-
tically. the present system of classifi-
cation.
TO provide for what little additional
expense a second-class government will
revenue the city will stand in need of
whatever class it may be in. the cor
poratiors holding valuable franchises
should be taxed. it is argued, at good
round sum. Under a second-class char
ter Il city's powers of taxing corpora
tions is largely extended.
Finally these pro-transit people
argue. Scranton is already a city of
the second class and no amount of leg
Station can constitutionally put it back
into the third class. The law of 1895.
relating to classification, says that
whenever it shall appear by any such
census that a city is entitled to an
advance in classification it shall be the
duty of the governor to certify the same
to councils. etc. If city whose popu-
lation entities it to an advance should
have to wait for the advancement till
the governor should see fit to make the
prescribed certitication. it would be
equivalent to delegating to him the
power of legislation, it is held and such
IL delegation of power Is illegal and
never contemplated by the act When
the certificate comes, so it is claimed.
it will be to the effect that Scranton
has been entitled to a second-class
charter since the day the census de-
partment announced it's population.