The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1903-08-20

the real assessor in each case is the
person who makes the tax returns.
He values his pelsonal property as
low as his conscience will permit, and
there is practically no way in which to
| review his action. If he has sufficient
nerve and a lawyer who understands
the law on the subject. no Board OF
Equalization can, in nine cases out OF
ten. ascertain the real value of his
stock. And real value" has great
fluctuations and is matter of opinion.
| The Board of Equalization can act
only in few cases, and the tax bearer
has twenty chances that his tax list
will not be inquired into to one that
1t will
Farmer enthusiastically then.
Abel Jones, with a stock of $4,000
in clothing, can fix his own assess
ment?
Lawyer Thorndike-Yes, that is the
case. In 1846 madness seized the
legislature to tax everything ad va
loren, according to it's true value in
money. 1t was then the legislature OF
Ohio began the task of Sisyphus, In
the taxation of personal property
moneys and credits. The same wild,
unreasonable sentiment prevailed in
the constitutional convention of 1851,
and appears in our present constitu.
ton.
Alfred Kelley, in the Senate in 1S45
and 1916, was the great apostle of the
taxation of all classes of personal
property. He imagined he could work
out his theory, and to begin with he
made every man his own assessor.
This produced inequality where he ex.
pected equality.
The best men In the community took
advantage of the situation, and gave
notes to their sons and daughters in
large amounts enough to cover their
credits. All sorts of devices to prevent
the return of credits were resorted to,
and Mr.. Kelley's theory was defeated
at the outset. And yet had Mr.. Kel-
ley studied the subject, he would have
found that his theory had been at
tempted to be carried into practice 400
failed. To illustrate, / know a certain
town where there are ten merchants in
the same line of business. Nine of
them understood the way to work the
tax laws, and returned their stocks at
about one-tenth of their value. The
tenth merchant believed the tax laws
as they read, and each year, for ten
years, returned his stock of goods at
full value. The state made no com.
plaint against the nine, and in the tenth
year, the tenth merchant discovered
that he had been returning his stock
at full value, while his nine competi-
tors had returned theirs away below.
He consulted a lawyer about it, and
was advised to return his goods there
after on his competitors plan, which
he did, and there was no complaint
against him, as there had been none
against competitors for the previous
ten years. Of course the honest mer.
chant saw that he had robbed himself
and that the state had taken his
money and not sought to compel his
competitors to live up to the law as
he had done. When the state encour-
ages its citizens to follow a certain
course, it ought to compel the others
who will not to do the same, but It
does not, and in fact it is powerless to
do so.
For fifty-eight years the state has
maintained schools for moral perjury.
1t has sought and is now seeking to
destroy all respect for oaths and for
the sanctions of religion. 1t annually
gives lessons in the disregard of both
divine and human law.
1t pretends 1t will make all its citi-
zens return all their property, money,
credits, etc, at full value, but never
has done so, never can do so, and new
er will do so. It's laws are only a
burden on the conscience of those who
possess conscience, and it obtains full
returns only from that class, from
those who have nothing to conceal,
from widows, orphans and trustees.
Laws which thus operate are dis
grace to the state, and tend % demor-
alize its citizens. 1t is time the citi-
zens of Ohio should cease to be hypo-
critics, should look each other in the
face and tell the truth.