Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-07-13
the farmers in this county for their


positions"
That expresses fairly the situation in
many counties of the state. The as
sessing is virtually by the owners of the
land The men who do the assessing
are neighbors of those who are assessed
and are subject to local influences, and
especially sensitive about the votes OF
men who are being assessed. The re-
suit is that the statutory requirement
of a valuation at actual worth and as
sesSment at one fourth OF the same is
not complied with.
Some effort was made by democrats
in one of the eastern counties of the
state to make political capital out of
the movement on the part of the state
executive council to have the law COM
Piled with in regard to assessments
and resolution was passed in coun-
ty convention condemning the executive
council for increasing assessments. This
was regarded by state officials as the
most absurd thing that has been done
in connection with the assessment mat
ters. All that the council has tried to
do is to insist that the assessments be
in strict accordance with the statute
If the law is to be respected 1t must be
lived up to and must be rfgfdly en-
forced. A few years ago the assess
ment matters got into hopeless tangle
thru neglect and because each county
was going it alone. The same state
of affairs is in sight again. unless the
state equalizing board manifests deter
mination not to allow 1t to happen. II
there is to be any criticism 1t will have
- Iox,, nj OF nf fhnCo
merely do their duty in seeing to 1t that
the law is enforced.
The increase in land valuations as
shown by the completed tables is be-
tween s205.O00.000 and $207.O 900. The
average increase per acre is about So.
or from $36 to $42.03 an acre. The
exact figures can not be given because,
as usual Linn county Is delayed and
will not be able to make a complete
report for some time. The only IN
formation from there is as to the aver
age value per acre of farm lands as
sessed. The three counties last to make
returns were Wright. Marion and
Chickasaw The greatest net increase
in actual value of farm lands in the
assessment of this year as compared
with the returns to auditors on taxa
ton for last year was in Carroll county,
a net Increase of $5,S56,221, or "A per
cent. The records show that in this
county the per cent of actual assess
ment value to sale of the tracts sold
was 90. The greatest per cent OF in
crease in valuation was in ,Osceola, %
per cent. or net increase of S3.9SI,1l2
on a small county, in fact the smallest
county of the state. Adams county
showed an increase in valuation of Sol
per cent and Calhoun Al per cent, but
all others are lower. There. were ac-
tual decreases in total farm yalua-
tions in Des Moines, Dubuque and Wa
pello counties. In regard to the per-
centage of actual values as shown by
transfer records to assessed values the
most remarkable showing is In Winne-
bago where the iser cent WAS il6. orrin
other words the assessments We're ON an
average l6 per cent higher than the
Identical tracts of land sold for last
year. Other counties where the per-
centage of assessments to sales was
great are: Warren 100, Pottawattamie
90, Polk 90, Muscatine SO, Lee 95, Henry
9s, Guthrie 94, Greene 81, Dickinson 81,
Davis 90, Clay 81, Carroll 80, Cal
houn 90, and Appanoose 81. Some of
those where the percentage of assessed
value to sale value runs pretty low
are: Adair 63, Blackhawk 65, Fremont
65, Hancock so, Mitchell 63, Monona 90,
O,Rrien 81. Worth 81 and Wright so.