Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-11-29
An Old OFFICER DEAD
John Pattee. Early Auditor Of
State. Dies at the Dakota
Soldiers Home.
Pattee's System of Land Assess.
ments Ridiculous Now Be.
cause Of Low Price.
Sammis Pushing His Claims for
Appointment as United States
Attorney.
Special 10 Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Nov. 29-The news of
the illness Of John Pattee, one Of the
early auditors of the state of Iowa, is
to most persons only q reminder that
1owa's early officials are fast passing
away. Pattee has been at the Soldiers
Home in South Dakota a number of
years, and, by the way, that home, To-
Gated as 1t is, high UP on q range of
mountains and near q spring of warm
water incidentally charged. is one of
the finest as to location in the United
States. Pattee was not first state aud
#itor, as has been stated. The first state
auditor of Iowa was Joseph Fales, of
Des Moines county, and the second
was William Pattee, q relative of John,
while a Polk county man had the Office
between the two Pattees. Both were
from Bremen county. John Pattee
went into office September %, 1856, and
held the Office four years. The earliest
records Of state assessment board
and board OF review or equalization
show that John Pattee was the sole
person to attend the first meeting. The
record Is still in the Office of the state
auditor. The first entry in the record
shows that September Z, 1857, the state
board OF equalization met and John
Pattee alone was present. He not be-
ing quorum adjourned himself to a
later date. When the board met again
Secretary Elijah Sells and Treasurer
Morris met with the state auditor and
they did business. They fixed the state
levy at 2 mills. The next year Cover
nor Lowe met with the board as a
member. The first record Of land
equalization shows that this board di-
vided the counties up into groups or
classes and fixed the value Of the land
according to the class. In the first
class of counties was Des Moines, Du-
buque, Lee and Scott and the land was
assessed at 313 an acre: in the second
scl..ss was Clinton. Henry, jackson.
Muscatine and Van Buern, and the land
was valued at $40 per acre; in the next
class was johnson, Cedar and Linn ut 50
Der of others at So; then Delaware and
others at 81; Pottawattamie ond 9TH
ers at Sc; Tama and others at IS; Mar
shall and others at $3.50; Woodbury.
and others at 81: Audubon and others
at So; and finally Buena Vista and a
number of northwest Iowa counties at
49, In 1851 the method Of assessing
land, as shown by this record which
was begun by Auditor John Pattee, was
radically changed, and valuations were
fixed at from $3.50 an acre to 81 an
acre. each county for itself.
Among other letters received by Gov
ernor-elect Cummins congratulating
him on his election was one from A. u.
Coates, of Perry, the prohibitionist
candidate. Mr.. Coates had stated in
his letter that he thought I'VE had
cause to rejoice in the fact that the
campaign just closed was practically
free from personal abuse which has
characterized some OF the campaigns
of former years." The reply of Mr..
Cummins was as follows:
My Dear Mr.. Coates: Nothing but
an overwhelming accumulation OF cor
ing to answer your very courteous note.
] rejoice with you that the campaign
was entirely impersonal. and hope
that our political contests may always
be as pleasant as the one just closed.
With cordial regards. am yours very
truly, A. B. CUMMINS."
Some of those who are interested In
the Iowa National Guard have crit
cised Adjutant Genearl Byers for per-
hitting tents and cots to be sent to the
Musquakie reservation for the use of
the smallpox patients. They have said
that the soldier boys will not feel COM
Portable using equipment that has been
part Of a smallpox hospital. But the
soldier boys need not worry. The tents
and cots sent were some old stuff
which was about ready to be discarded
and they will never re-enter the SER
vice again.
Congressman Hull will be in Wash
ington at the opening of congress. He
has sufficiently recovered to be able to
Washington 1t is expected that all
tuG IOWA COIlSIcSSItlGu VIII NC Oil aoAAu
early and that caucus will be held at
the etrliest possible date to settle the
troublesome question of the federal ap-
pointments in Iowa the next four years.
1t will be recalled that when this mat
ter was taken up last winter by the
Iowa delegation no agreement could be
reached and they decided upon wait
ing until about the time for the open
ing OF congress- There has been no
change in the situation. There is an
effort in the southern district to secure
a new collector. In the northern dis
trict Congressman Thomas will urge j.
u. Sammis, of the Eleventh district, for
United States attorney. 1t is known
that others of the delegation will try
to have Sammis become a candidate for
collecor instead of attorney. Sammis
has pretty strong backing in his dis
trict elsewhere in the state and his
chances for a place are reported to
have been distinctly improved by the
political changes of the past campaign
in Iowa. Mr.. Sammis will personally
go to Washington to look after his in
terests.
Rev. Charles Reign Scoyille, the sem
sationalist who stirred Des Moines
with long series Of religious meetings