The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1906-01-26
WILLING TO CORRECT ERRORS
If 1t Can Be Demonstrated Any Have
Been Made In Assessing Railroads
Public Will Be Given Hearing In
February.


| press q desire to correct their error,
! IL it can be demonstrated to them
| that they have made an error Ihey
do not admit that they are wrong, and
| they claim that they used their best
Judgment in boosting the general as
sessment Of the state $300,OOO,0OO,
which resulted in reducing the rate oil
taxation on the assessed valuation OF
railroad property.
Not Too Late.
The three members of the board,
| Robert M. Shields, William H. Hoyt
and James II. Thompson, have sent
a letter to Attorney-G General Bird, IN
which they defend the Galbraith law,
comforting power of equalization on
them, and say that it not too late TO
make corrections. They ask Mr.. Bird
to meet them and give them the bene-
fit of any information he may have
The letter is as follows:
Hon. John E. Bird,
Attorney General,
Lansing, Michigan.
Dear Strive notice in the daily
press of the state that the result
reached by the State Board of Asses
sors in fixing the values OF the rail
road properties of the state and IN
determining the rate Of taxation for
the same was in your opinion more Ia
vorable to the railroads than can be
justified by the facts.
Not lnfaIlible.
We also notice an interview given
to the public press by your deputy. Mr..
Harry e. Chase, which presumably
has your Involvement, stating that GER
tain railroad properties were under
valued. 1t is evident from the inter
view that your department is in pos
session of important facts relative to
the valuation Of railroads of the state
not known to the State Board of AS
SCISSORS. However, there IS still ample
opportunity to make the showing. We
do not claim any such degree of in
fallibility as is asserted in certain
quarters, and we used our honest
judgment in arriving at our published
conclusions. If it can be shown that
errors Of judgment have been made,
there is still ample opportunity to cor
rect all errors. The State Board of
Assessors will be in session in the
city of Lansing until Feb Is, 1906, as
a board of review and we believe that
in fairness to us and to the state you
should come before the board and give
u the, facts upon which your publish
ed opinions have been based. We shall
be moro than pleased to fix a time
satisfactory to yourself for a public
hearing at which all parties interested
may be present and the whole matter
OF values and rate thoroughly exam
iped.
Gov. Warner desires a hearing, and
no doubt, a time convenient to both
can be arranged.
Duty Of Citizens.
The statement has been made that
the condition o. affairs which allows
the State Board of Assessors to fix
one rate for the general properties Of
the state and another for the railroad
properties is intolerable. The State
Board of Assessors, as you know, does
not presume to fix the rate for the
general properties, as that is done by
the local authorities. In arriving at
the rate for the taxation of railroads,
the board is given authority by the
Galbraith law, to ascertain and de-
termine" the cash value OF all the
property of the state. If the rate It
| too low, the board has placed the cash
value of the state at to high figure,
| and every supervisor or assessing Off
Ger and every other citizen 81 the
state, who has the interest of the state
at heart and wishes to be fair to the
commission itself, is in duty bound to
| appear and give evidence which may
| be in his possession tending to show
| that the board is in error.
We shall be glad to hear from you
| at your earliest convenience.
Robert II. Shields,
President.
William III. Hoyt,
| James II. Thompson,
Board of State Tax Commissioners
| and State Board of Assessors.
Governor Pleased.
THAT looks pretty good" said Gov.
Warner over the telephone at his
home in Pennington. 81 feel satisfied
that everything will come out all right
pnd that the railroad assessments, be-
fore they are determined absolutely
for the year, will stand as they should
stand. Between now and the time
that the assessors sit as n board of
review, shall gather all the informa-
/ ton can to lay before them"
Attorney-Gen. Bird, who was reach
Cd at his home in Adrian, said that
he had not received the letter yet,
that it had been mailed to his Office
in Lansing. Mr. Bird has not out.
lined any method of procedure SO fai
10 aid the tax commissioners in cor.
rccting the railroad assessments, but
VIII cooperate with them and give
them the heieat Of any facts or in
formation that ne may gather.