Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-09-10
Concerning Valuation.
PortIand AdvcrtiScr.)

one OF In" most l"''SiSItl' c,enc ne
tha Democratic opposit; ~ IN N. nr..-
iii stat" ''tnr"ie-.. ma been that the
STATE bhar% of a&zcaors under Rcpub-
licah ADMINISTRATION, has locked up
NhfH"''"'tS' to an extraordinary de-
g,,-a and has thereby robbed the pco-
Re If the State Of Maine and especially
the people from the smaller towns and
rural districts. This is the complaint
they have maie and the argument they
have used in the newspapers and on the
.irmp from one end Of the State to the
other and they are continuing TO make
use of it although it ms been con-
clusVely shown that the State valua-
tinn rf the smaller towns in the state
hn7 do,f+-aScd in the past few years and
!.,S lsat increased at all.
Fat in order that we may under
stand better the true situation in re-
gard to the lnnttcr Of State valuation
1t will b. worth while to 90 back
I;tt!c in State history. During the first
TN years Of the twenty year period
which tho Democrats are holding us az
n horrible example, there was no State
board of asscssors IN existence. The
GLIDING 1880 Was accomplished every
tea years by "A special commission
created by law for that purpose. The
lI.r prnviiinG Tor Il State board Of as
s-sgors was not passed by the LcgiSla-
tur, Of Maine until 1891. Now in 1880
the valuation as returned by the valu-
alton commission for that year was
So 100, ,l6. In 1880 the valuation as
returned by the commission for that
year v''S $"G9. 096 n41. an increase on
$.$.li7.325. The whole increase for the
f""nty Tr"rs from 1880 or as the
Democrats have it from 1882, although
necessarily under the old plan the
figures for 1850 and 1852 are the same.
I" 1902, is given lay Mr.. Davis in his
Speeches as h"ing $1l625O.1S1. Taking
out tn" S13.117235 which denotes the
Increase from 1850 to 1Sa0 ana there IL
left an increase chHrccable to the State
board of assessors Of only sl3, 49,, $50 in
l. years.
H;it the most interesting part Of this
computation comes in when it is dis
covered that this increase of a little
NOR" than fortY-thrce millions in
twelve years is. with one single ex-
c"ption, actually less than the in
crease i'm any ten year period under
tn" valuation commission plan since
$50. From 1870 to 1880 the increase
MS only a little more than eleven
millions, hut from 1850 to 1870 it was
more than sixty millions ANA from 1850
10 1850 il WaS more than SiXty-fOur
millions. In other words tn" increase
for tn" twenty years FROM $50 to 1870
U..S nearly $l3I On". sou or more than
"IrLt millions greater than the increase
Of Wii.h our Democratic friends COM
plain 50 Strcnuouslv and in such hor-
r'.r. aui it must be borne in MIND that
this increase WAS upon a total vtllll-
ti"n in 1850 Of only a little more than
109 millions. That is an increase Of
nearly Ia per cent.
Ana this Is not the whole of the
history that the official figures reveal
Ia Us The increase from $50 to $50
W,S n"@rly thirty-nu" millicrs, an in
c''.'." Of nearly - per cent. in t"n
I"Ir;. The increase. from $50 to 1876
Wis more than forty millions, an in
cr"l+" "f ah"ui - per cent. upon the
total valuation Of 1880. Tie Increase
Tor tho first ton year period in the
states history. from 80 to 1870 WIS
r.r cent. ur"u IL" total valuation of
u"Irly eight riiIi"ns or more than 3S
ia. r." increase Of forty-thrre
millions for the tW"ly" years from
l>.h 10 nv, IL an Increase of only
about II I"r ,"ut. uIun the valuation
at l%" therefore the Increase since
tn" stnt' l;onrd Of Assessors has had
'hnr.;" &c tlr matter of State valua-