Bisbee daily review., 1905-06-27

both roads. Hundicils of cars pass over the Southern Pacific daily, | nearly all os which afc ownei by It | Only two trains a dey pass over the ! and New Mexico railroad, and of these only the passenger coaches | are owned by the company. The as sessment of the rolling stock of the Southern Pacific at the price fixed by the board for the entire property would not be unreasonable. When it comes two roads it is not likely that the Ari- zona & New Mexico railroad is doing ten per cent of the business of the S. P and yet there is difference in the assessment of only $1.621 per mic. Let the farmer, who .s compelled to return all of his property at a fair valua- moments, and he will soon realize why the tax rate is so high in Arizona.
 But the crowning outrage of the entire equalization seems to have centered on the Gila Valley. Globe & Northern, which was placed at only SIPS per mile. or s2,376 less per mile than the Arizona & New Mexico. The Gila Valley, Globe & Northern is doing tremendous business. Several freight trains a day pass over the line and yet it is let down for almost one half that of the Arizona & New Mex ico. It is true that the A. & N. M. have a better road bed, but it is short in rolling stock and also in business as compared to the G. V, c. & N. The Maricopa. Phoenix & Salt River is placed at almost $5,O00, and yet it's business, in comparison with that of the S. P. is infinitesimal.
 What this territory needs, and has never yet been able to get. is a fair and equitable assessment of its rail roads. There is absolutely no reason why railroad passing through Ari- zona should be assessed at a much lover rate than it is in either New Mexico or California, but it always has been and doubtless will continue to be under the present system where the valuation of all railroads is fixed by a board of equalization.
 The average tax rate in Arizona is about four per cent, which looks bad to a capitalist. who contemplates in vesting in the territory. As a mat ter of fact the tax is not so unreason- able. because the valuation is usually fixed at about one-quarter the real value of the property. It would be better policy, however, to place a fair valuation on all property, and thus reduce the tax rate.
 The suggestion of the Guardian that the board of equalization be abolish ed should be made campaign issue next year. Let us hear from the peo- pie on this subject The board should either be abolished of every county in the territory should be represented on it.
 Let the railroads be assessed equit- ably and at a fair valuation, and the tax rate will be materially reduced"
 And now the territorial board of equalization proposes, and the state nent to this effect comes from Phoe- nix, to require full and complete duplicate copy of the assessment rolls of the several counties, so that the in dividual assessments of the mining and cattle interests of the territory may be scanned. In the face of the railroad assessment made by the board of equalization it is surprising that it should become so solicitous of the territory's interests as to order the expense of copying the entire as sessment roll in each county, as it is hardly possible that these equalizers would have the nerve to undertake to increase the tax burden on the mining men of the territory who are supply ing the bone, sinew and marrow of our industrial prosperity and allow the railroads to go their way.
 The territorial board of equalization 10 a ldA V anu ShOAAh nav wen abolished long ago If the cattlemen and mining men of the territory know as well how to handle the board as do the railroads the expense of the dupli- cate assessment rolls will bring no re-
 turns.
 It is our opinion that if the territor-
 ial board of equalization will assess
 the railroads as they are directed to
 do and leave the assessment of other
 property to the county assessors and
 the local boards of equalization the
 territory and the counties will be
 equally as well off as they will after
 this aggregation of free-railroad-pass
 fiends have scanned the individual as
 sessments of the mining men and cat
 tlemen of the territory. unless they
 should have an awakening from their evident impotent condition at the time
 to the volume of business done. by the
 they attempted to assess the railroads