Graham guardian., 1905-07-28
CHE Guardian.
% They DO III


n yspaper reflects the sentiment
(, be people it represents; but il
this a facts 1t may be on most
matters, but to our personal knowl
edge it is not fact concerning the
unwarranted reduction Of the taxes
of the big copper companies
There are seven newspapers pub
lished IN Graham county and yet
when this reduction was made
the GUARDIAN was the only news
paper in the county to condemn
the action of the board, only two
others mentioning itat all, the Era
attempting to justify the boards
action and the Bulletin mentioning
il as matter Of news.
If the newspapers OF Graham
county wish to reflect the sentl-
ment of the people on one of the
most important matters of public
interest that has transpired in re-
cent years, all they need do is to
talk with most any tax payer not
connected with either of the COM
panies, concerning the business OF
the reduction by the board. Pub.
lie sentiment from one end Of the
county to the other condemns it.
In criticising the assessor for
assessing the companies at figure
a little nearer in proportion to
that of taxes paid by other people,
the Copper Era says;
"The announcement was made
in the Era some weeks ago of
wholesale raises of the mining
companies by Assessor Birdno,
which has since been the theme of
much comment throughout the
county. The assessor was strong
ly backed by many people down
the valley, while the concensus of
opinion in this section has been
that the board of supervisors
should not sustain the raises as
made by the assessor"
We are very much surprised that
the editor of the Era should make
such a statement as the latter part
of The above. The assessor was
not only strongly backed by many
people down the valley but by
ninety-nine per cent of the people
of the entire county, outside of
Clifton and Morenci, and by
seventy-five per cent of the people
of these two camps. The editor of
the Era knows the sentiment of
the people up there is against the
reduction and that great majority
of the TAX payers would gladly see
the companies pay proper tax.
Continuing the Era says:
"Thc board of supervisors evil
IDENTIFY took the position that it
would be unjust to assess the com
panies of Graham-county higher in
proportion to the returns of other
big companies Of the territory. |
The United Verde company of
Jerome, which owns and operates |
the biggest and richest copper
mine in the world, returned its
entire property at 100000, hence
it would be manifestly unfair to
assess companies in this section,
with property Of less value, at two
aad three times that amount"
We are afraid the Era has done
just as the board did, spoke with
ont investigation. They may have
relied on some ones statement as
to the comparative worth and as.
sessed value of the Graham county
companies and the United Verde
and used it as an excuse for this
action, but the fact of the matter
is that the United Verde's pro-
duction Of copper for the past year
s exactly the same as that of the
Arizona Copper company.
The Era is no doNbt correct
when it says that the United Verde
returned its property at s800,000, |
out il has not been assessed at that.
according to our exchanges, 1T
las been assessed s4,000,00O higher
han it was last wear. Now we
oppose the United Verde will
Ight for reduction on the ground
hat the Graham county board re-
uced our mining companies. But
ven if what the Era says was
rue, that would be no excuse for
owering the assessment Of the
here, especially when
ho board knew that the assess
lent, even for this year, was too
DIV, compared with other prop
rty in the county. If the officers