Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-08-15
THE OLD REVENUE
LAW ADEQUATE.

There is no need of special ses
sion of the legislature or of a new law
to empower the authorities to assess
railroads and other corporations. The
old law is adequate. 1t makes am
pie provision for the assessment of
such corporations.
There never has been any need of
new law on this subject. The fus.
ionists have been in power for nearly
ten years and during that time they
have completely controlled the state
board of equalization which under the
law Is required to assess the property
of railroads and kindred corpora.
tions. The board needs no increase
in its powers. If it has failed to
properly assess the corporations it is
the fault of the men who constitute
the board, and not of the law which
confers upon them the power to act
Instead of calling an extra session
of the legislature for the purpose of
enacting law that would confer this
authority to assess corporations upon
other fusionists, Governor Orman and
the other members of the state board
If equalization have but to discharge
their duties under the act creating
that board. They have all the power
they need, all that the Legislature
could confer upon another set of Off
cials. A special session of the leg.
islature would cost something like
900. but a session of the state
board of equalization would cost moth.
ing. Governor Orman and his asso,
pi1tnS Shnnli Ind =, Ia
cision and go ahead and make the as
sessments in the way they ought to be
made. To enact new law would be
to shift the responsibility now resting
upon the state baoard of equalization
to the shoulders of other officials, bur
with no assurance whatever that the
duty of assessing the corporations
would be any better discharged than
in the past.
The proper discharge of public du-
ties lies not in the form of the law
but in the character of the officials up
on whom those duties are imposed.
The fusionists have had control of the
state board of equalization for years.
and if they have not properly dis.
charged their duties, what assurance
- ehNiN thul lht heSlItu dSSeSSIltniS
would be made in any better way by
the fusion county assessors or other
officials to whom the authority might
be entrusted? Are we to suppose
that the fact that few of the assess
ors are Republicans inspires Governor
Orman with the hope that in the aggre-
gate the duty of assessing corpora
tons throughout the state would be
better performed than 1t would be by,
the state board of equalization COM
posed of Governor Orman himself
and other fusion state officials?
The trouble goes back to the fact
demonstrated through years of bad
government and mismanagement of
public affairs, that the fusionists are
incompetent and without any quail
fication for governing state or a
commupnity of any other size. This
has been demonstrated and illustrat-
ed ever since they came into power.
and they seem to be growing worse
and more and more inefficient and in
capable with each succeeding admin q
istration. The laundering attempts
at legislation last winter and spring
were the worst in the history of the
state. To call such a legislature into
special session to enact law for
which there is no use whatever would
put the cap sheaf upon fusion bad
management and wasteful expenditure
of public money-Denver Republic
an.