The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1905-11-09
Supervisor of Assessments in
His Annual Report Makes Sen
sationaI Statements
TELLS OF ASSAULT THREATS
Takes up the Work of the Board in
Kenosha and Becomes Intensely
Persona1.-Fifth Wheel He
Declares is Important

1here is mild sensation approach
ing when the report Of Supervisor of
Assessments Harrison is presented to
the county board at it's meeting next
week. The report is not as yet public
property but the printed copies of the
report have been sent out and there
is certainly some matter in the little
book which may be considered of
interest.
For some time there has been more
or less squabbling between the Super
visor and the members of the local
board of review and in his report Mr..
Harrison fires some of the hottest
shot ever seen in a printed document.
In prefacing his report Mr.. Harri-
son states that he has secured the
values which he recommends by the
careful comparison of sales values
of property for the years 1902, 1908
and 1904 and that on these values he
has made his assessed value for con-
tested properties this year.
Added to this Mr.. Harrison states
that he has sought the aid of leading
real estate men in Kenosha and in
the towns of the county in order that
he might come as near as possible to
the real value of the property in
question.
In his report Mr.. Harrison states
that it is impossible for him to equal
ize the values of property as this is
work that must come under the
board Of review of the towns and
city. Here is the opening of his
assault on the board Of review:
TN a city the size Of Kenosha you
have people who would be political
bosses, and they are watching the
methods in vogue in the larger cities
to attain their desired ends, even
to trying to run your board of
review, threatening your supervis-
or of assessments for complying with
the law during the past two years.
The presiding officer of the board
of review has stated to said super
visor that he must not recommend any
values to be put upon property that
he does not stand ready to buy at the
price named; and also when witnesses
were brought one year ago to show
what the M. German estate was
worth, he threatened to give your SUI
vervisor lugg IN the jaw"
Here follows long report on the
troubles between the mayor and Mr..
Harrison, in which the supervisor de-
clares that his work has been ham
pered by the mayor and the board,
and that the declaration of Mayor
German in regard to purchasing prop
erty at the price set in the assessment
has made it possible for many pieces
of property to be assessed lower than
the, true value. He cites some fifty
incidents of parcels of property
showing the recommendation and the
assessed value as placed by the board
of review.
In concluding his report, Mr.. Ear-
risOn says:
II desire your honorable body to
take up the matter of having the as
sessments published in some of the
local papers by districts and wards. I
think that this would bring the in
CAPABILITIES that exist so forcibly to the
attention of the taxpayers that it
would force the assessors to do away
with favoritism and careless work.
With vigilance upon the part of the
assessors much property that now es-
capes taxation will be upon the roll.
Continual vigilance is the price of
success in any undertaking and will
reach many tax dodgers who now
escape"
Here is the final shot: s'What do I
think of the tax dodger? think he
is worse than the night prowler or the
bold highwayman, and the person who
sits on an equalization board and fails
to give in what he has that is assess
able and should be on the roll, or
who Intentionally favors any one, is
worse than either of the above"