The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1903-03-07
LET THE LIGHT SHINE
ON ALL PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

TINE1 spoke of Senate Bill No. q, in
troduced by Senator Prudential, as
one that ought to be defeated, because
it favored tax lodging.
The Lincoln County Record in its
issue of February 81, accuses the SEN
TINEL of falsely quoting the proposed
amendment. The SENTINEL then said:
1.-The bill changes the law compelling
the Assessors to print an assessment
roll enumerating taxable property, and
leaves the law as it was prior to the
Act of 1901" 1t now prints the entire
Act, leaving its readers to Judge
whether it makes the change above
mentioned or not.
Ar Act amending san Act supplemental to an
Act entitled an Act to amend an Act en-
titled an Act to provide revenue for the
support of the government of the State OF
Nevada, and to repeal certain acts relating
thereto, approved March 90, 1891, and to
repeal section %, section 25, section % and
section 30 of said Act, approved February
%, 1897 approved March 10, 1901.
The people of the State of Nevada, represent
ed in Senate and Assembly, do enact as
follows:
SECTION l. Said Act is hereby amended so
as to read as follows:
SECTION l. 1t shall be the duty of the AS
SCISSOR in each of the respective counties of the
State on or before the second Monday of Sep
TENDER in each year to prepare a printed list
of all the taxpayers in the county, which list
shall represent the total value of real estate
and personal property, and improvements,
with the total value in figures aforesaid to
each taxpayer. A copy of said list shall be
by said Assessor delivered in person or mailed
to each and every taxpayer in the county;
provided, that the cost for printing the afCre-
said list shall not exceed twenty cents for
each name for as many copies as there are
names on the list. The several Boards of
County Commissioner in the State are au-
thorized and empowered to allow the bill con-
tracted by the Assessor under this section,
and the several county Auditors are author
lied to draw their warrants in payment for
the same.
SECTION 2. 1t shall be unlawful for the
County Assessor to prepare any printed list
of taxpayers, for distribution, other than pro.
yided for in this Act.
SECTION 3. All Acts and parts of Acts in
conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.
The Record goes on to call Sam
Davis, the present State Controller, a
most artistic liar, which may or may
not be true. It intimates that if he
ever tells the truth it is by accident.
Now, that is a question of veracity be-
tween Sam Davis and the amiable Re-
cord-man, on which the SENTINEL does
not care to pass judgment. 1t may be
that when each calls the other a liar
both tell the exact truth.
But that has nothing to do with the
question of tax lodging which the
SENTINEL claims the passage of Senate
bill No. 81 would favor. If each as
SCISSOR had to publish an itemized list
of all the taxable property in his county
at its full commercial value, the own
er of such property couldn't well avoid
paying taxes on its assessed value, nor
could he return to the assessor 1000 as
a total number of his sheep, and a few
days later publish in his local paper
that he had sold 5000 as has frequently
been done. And so of real estate.
In 1901, while the State Board of AS
SCISSORS was is session at Carson as a
State Board of Equalization, the Car
son News, after examining assessment
rolls, made some interesting statements
showing that the assessors had neglect
ed their duties, and had not assessed
property at more than one-ffth or one
fourth of its value, the remainder es-
Gaping taxation. Among other things
it said:
"The Board will find interesting conditions
confronting them. For example, if it should
secure possession of the s.. p. railroads yearly
statement, it will be seen that more cattle
were shipped from Nevada last year than
have been in it according to the assessment
ROLL since Nevada has been a State. In other
words, the rolls show less cattle belonging to
owners in the State than were shipped out and
sold in the markets. Under these figures it
is safe to say that at least one.half of the
cattle in Nevada were not assessed. The as
SCISSORS have neglected their duty to this ex-
tent, and it probably means several millions
of dollars in taxable property.
Again, by this same record, they will find
that three or four sheep owners sold more
sheep than were taxed in all the fourteen
counties. Therefore the assessors have plain
ly been negligent in their duties to the tune
of perhaps some more millions of dollars
worth of sheep.
This record should show that one man who
is assessed for So, 900 all told, sold in one
direction over $50, 900 worth of one product
from his place last year. He probably should