The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-03-21

Gleitz. Cass; \. b. Parham. Lagrange:
assessor of Shelby county; Jacob Ludwig
Spencer; +. T.. Walters. Sullivan: O.. n.
Potter, Switzerland; Alpheus G. Compton,
Wayne.
Notes and Mortgages-David s. Nees,
Clinton; Henry Duncan. Decatur; w. II.
kuper, Dubois: a. J. O'Donald, Greene;
James ID. Pratt, Hendricks; Green b.. Gilt
ner. Jefferson.
Puterbaugh. Elkhart; w. T. Murray
Fayette; William f. Geltz. st. Joseph; as
SCISSOR OF Jackson county; assessor OF
Crawford county; Philip b. Grubb.
August Gieitz. Cass; Charles w. Jones
Carroll; assessor of Montgomery county
John r. Copeland. Morgan; William l..
Distilieries. Saloons and Liquors-Ed E.
Lawrence, Vigo; William II. Mead. Dear
born; w. II. Ratliff. Floyd: G.. w. Nc
kinley; Newton Reeves; William Egge-
Pipelines-W. r. Coomler, Grant; Ben
1amin Nagle. Hamilton; w. X. Sanders,
Jay; j. G. Terrell. Howard; Albert God
love, White; Theodore Garty, Whitley, and
John c. Wingate. tax commissioner,
Engines and Machinery-Thad NJ. Moore.
Madison; W. a. Daily, Blackford; Henry
Z. Dreler, Vanderburg, George ". Paul
John French, Wells.
Farm Products and Their Values-Elias
Charles T.. Hampton, Benton; j. NJ. Fish.
Fulton; +. Z. Clark, Johnson; assessor OF
Martin county.
THE AFTERNOON SESSION.
The afternoon session began at 2 o'clock.
Attorney General Taylor made the prin-
cipal address on the subject of 1.-The New
Laws" Mr.. Taylor explained the laws re-
lating TO taxation passed by the recent
Legislature as follows: The law providing
compensation and payment of expenses of
county assessors attending the conference
convention of the State Tax Board each
year; the law providing that terms of all
county officers in the State shall begin on
the LIST Of January succeeding the present
incumbents; a similar law for township
trustees and township assessors: a similar
law for state officers; the law authorizing
incorporation of and providing for the tax
alton OF steamship and navigation COM
panies i'm Indiana; the law directing all
street-railway companies to be assessed for
taxation by the State Board OF Tax Com
missioners; the law requiring railroad COM
panies TO file with county auditors sched-
ules only of their personal property, IN
stead or all their property, as under the
old law; the law requiring fast freight
companies to be listed for taxation by the
state board, the law requiring gas and oil
pipe lines extending through two or more
counties to be listed for taxation by the
state board. and the law known as the
Thompson act, introduced by Senator
Charles n. Thompson. of this city. Mr..
Taylor's remarks on this law are OF es-
pecial interest in view of the repeated as
Saults made on the act. On this point he
spoke as follows:
There has been a struggle i'm Indiana for
some years between the taxing officers
and the corporations, especially banks ana
building associations, as to the method OF
examining their books in order TO deter
mine the taxable property of taxpayers In
the townships. This bill the Thompson
act has been criticised a good deal, and
has been defended as stoutly, and | shall
neither c~riticise nor defend the bill, as L
had nothing TO do with either making or
passing Ii, but state to you what IL is. This
bill is only a law now for the purpose of
affording a means of inspecting books. IL
has nothing whatever to do with examin-
ing taxpayers.
FILING OF AFFIDAVITS.
''This bill provides that if any township
assessor or county assessor has good reason
to believe that any person within his juris-
diction has omitted to return for taxation
any taxable property that should have been
returned, then the township or county as
SCISSOR shall file an affidavit in the Circuit
Court of the county or before the judge in
vacation If the court is not in session, stat
ing that the taxpayer, he believes, has UNI
lawfully omitted certain specified property
from taxation. and the designated person,
firm or corporation who has possession of
any records, books or papers that will help
or tend to prove that fact has such books
in his possession. He shall file the affidavit
with the court or before the judge In vaca-
ton, and thereupOn a writ shall issue, run
ming 10 this bank, trust company. person,
corporation or individual, to permit this
township assessor or this county assessor
to inspect such book. record or paper, and
the court or Judge has the right to enforce
these orders by contempt proceedings, as
he does all other orders. This power exists
in the county Board of Review and in the
State Board of Review ant In each member
thereof. The county pays all expenses UNI
Ices tho ctatapoapf shall no found 70 ba fr11a
I'm which case the cost shall be taxed
against the taXpayer who has been delin-
quent in stating his assessments. Now, let
me repeat, this law does not affect the
right of all taxing officers to ask a tax
payer any questions he may desire. 1t
does not limit the right TO pursue the tax
payer, TO put upon the duplicate omitted
taxes, 10 search out III any way that he
could have done heretofore any taxable
property due from any taxpayer. The right
of all officers TO put upon the duplicate
omitted property exists now exactly as it
existed heretofore. The additional right
Is here given, If you want to inspect books
of somebody else beside the taxpayer. that
you can now do il by filing the affidavit
before the court either in vacation or in
term time. There was a decision by the
Supreme Court in this Morgan county case
about which L talked to you a year ago, in
which the court held that the taxing Of
ficer had the right to go into a bank.
building association or corporation at will
and examine their books. or call the banker
before them and have them examine them.
This right has been refused by the bankers
and business men generally, and the result
was that this law was enacted, which now
plainly, clearly fixes the right OF taxing Of
ficerS TO have a court determine and fix
his right TO examine books or papers. The
reason that / so refer to this is that now
we have in Indiana a well-defined statute
that gives to taxing officers and fixes their
rights by statute
The attorney general was besieged with
scores of questions concerning the laws
the satisfaction of the interrogators. Con-
siderable amusement was created when
Mr.. Freeman. of Porter county, asked If the
county assessors were to be paid 50 a day
compensation during their attendance al
the convention and also So for expenses, in
addition to mileage. and was smilingly in
formed by the attorney general that tho
bill. before ii became a law. so provided,
but the extra three-dollar item was stricken
out. 1T is a case of before and after TAX
ing" said the attorney general. you saw
the bill before the three-dollar item was
stricken out, and | have been reading 1t &c
you as ii was enacted into a law"
y. II. KOERNER'S Ill
a. IL. Koerner talked briefly and i'm an
entertaining and humorous style about "Se-
questered Property Mr.. Koerner said
that about the only kinds of property that
can now be hidden from the taxing Of
fiers are money out at interest not backed
by a mortgage. bonds and stock in foreign
corporations. cash i'm hand or on deposit
with trust companies. The speaker de.
Clared il his belief that auditors and as.
SCISSORS would make friends, even of those
that conceal property. If they would seek