The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1906-04-10
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Editorial Expressions.

Governor Stokes will have the appoint.
ment Of al the members of the proposed
county equalization boards to be estab-
lished In the State to make sure the en-
forcement Of the law for equal taxation.
The system of the fixing of assessments
by assessors and boards locally elected or
appointed has been tried for years, and it
has proved conspicuous failure.
Under their system the Constitution and
laws of the State are universally violated;
there is gross inequality and injustice in
the assessments; personal property is only
nominally assessed, and municipalities are
deprived of tax income to such an extent
that their finances are constantly crippled
and debt building il the rule. 1t remains
to be seen what improvement will be made
by the new system soon to be introduced.
There ID no violation of home rule In q
law for county equalization boards. The
taxing power resides in the State alone,
and the State can exercise 1t as the Legis-
lature may see At The county is only a
subdivision Of the State for the better
convenience of government. When the
Legislature recognizes the inutility of GER
ain existing methods of assessing and
collecting the taxes for the support of
government it il Its duty as representing
the sovereign power to provide different
and better methods, which the Legislature
proposes to do in this case.
A county board responsible to the Gov
ernor, taking its authority direct from the
Legislature and acting in conjunction
with the State Board of Equalization, will
be less Influenced by local considerations
than locally appointed board. 1t will
have better authority over tax assessors.
The intention of the Legislature is to put
all property valuation on basis of 100
per cent. That policy would be impossi-
BILE of execution under the present taxing
system 1t ean, and we believe will, be
carried out under the system soon to come
In vogue. Governor Stokes will naturally
be very careful In his selection of men,
bers of the new county boards in order to
insure the success of the experiment at
the start.-Nesoark Advertiser.
Governor Stokes 10 perhaps the hardest
working Governor in the United States.
He works both early and late and works
assiduously. snatching opportunities at
intervals to attend meetings of all kinds,
to prepare and make addresses and to
receive numerous visitors. 1t is said of
Governor Stokes that he will labor with
official work until A. NJ. and return to
1t with renewed vigor at P. NJ.
The Legislature approaches its close and
large amount Of legislation will be
dumped upon the Governor In a mass
Last year Governor Stokes had nearly
two hundred bills to examine when the
Legislature adjourned. and every bill was
Closely scrutinized. The Governor had to
lake all summer for the job. There will
be another mass of bills thrown upon his
hands when this Legislature adjourns,
and what he will do with them ia prob
lematical. But he will have a hard sea-
son of work before adjournment in proper
ly disposing of the bills that he will re-
ceive in time for him to examine and APP
prove or veto.-Nstoark Advertiser.
Governor Stokes put his sign manual to
the equal taxation bill on Thursday
which ends for the present that disturb
ing factor In legislation and politics for so
many years. Naturally there are some
people not pleased with the provisions of
the act, for they are Of that class of per-
sons who will never be satisfied with any
condition of life even though ordered by
themselves The taxation act has been so
fully and so freely discussed that the
average intelligent citizen cannot but
realize that it promises to prove of great
benefit to every taxing district in the
State, although certain districts would
have been better pleased had it been re-
stricted 90 as to discriminate in their
favor, which would not presume equal
taxation. The adoption of the tax bill is
a blow to the pretenders who have made
equal taxation their partisan shibboleth SO
long. for 1t robs them of about all that
gave them any prestige as so-called politi
cal reformers, but it will not be astonish
ing If they should continue to abuse it and
declare the measure is not sufficiently
radical. The law is generally believed to
be fair and impartial and the only way to
prove 1t IL to see that individuals as well
as corporations are assessed equally and
ut as near true value as fidelity to duty
will demand. 1t is we'll known that assess
ments in the past have not been just or in
any sense equal, and that millions of per
sonal property in the State has escaped its
just share of taxation to pay government
expenses. Every good citizen, who de-
sires to be honest toward his neighbor and
fellow citizens generally. should endeavor
to aid assessors In their work by making
true value returns of his personally a.
well a. realty. Camden Courier.