The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-08-07
NO TAX EQUALIZATION.
~ Contented Itself With Making
Necessary Changes in Corpora
EN tion Assessments. =.
SWs and Courier.

e. ews%and Courier.
8 @ Columbia, Aug. 2.-Said men,
sg Der of the state board of equalization
Has he was going down the steps of the
ssacourt house, after the adjournment Of
SS@sthe state board: "Well, let's go and
lSdraw our money for the work we have
Sssnot done.' Other members WHO were
SSwithin hearing distance, approved the
y Repression Of this member.
81 Within the block Chairman Hill, of
y the state board of equalization, said
q he did not know what the newspapers
Il would have to say about the matter
81 and the action of the board, but that
q it did not meet with his approval at
q all. He thought the board should
1 have done something more than it did,
pand at least made some effort to equal
lze real estate values
Another active member Of the COM
mittee, and who was particularly
Jealous in getting cotton mills ASSESS
ments up, said: "I think this is my
last meeting with the state board Of
equalization. / can not do any good,
as the board does not seem inclined
to do anything."
Several days ago a wag wrote this
memorandum about what the board
would do by way of prediction
Soak the corporations, leave real es-
tate alone, draw their pay and adj
journ."
The fact of the matter is that the
state board has done what it did four
years ago-nothing! When it comes
to assessing real estate it loses heart.
Whatever effort was made in the di-
rection of equalizing property was
done through the influence Of Comp
troller Jones and the county boards.
The curious part about the whole
thing is that most of the members
of the state board state honestly and
candidly that they had undertaken to
keep their assessments on real estate
as low us possible because they be-
. hevcd that the other counties were
going to do the same thing.
I Yesterday afternoon an effort WAS
made to find out from the various
counties what they had really done in
the matter Of assessments. The state
ments continued until Greenville
! county was reached alphabetically,
when Mr.. Cleveland stated that the
real estate values in that county were
Il not GO per cent; that they did not
d try to get their property up TOGO per
j cent, and that the effort really was
4 to get it as low as possible. This
4 seemed to break up the whole plan,
because it was evident that the board
would not have independence enough
4 to raise the Greenvillc assessment, be-
cause that would involve the raising
\ of other assessments on real estate.
This morning when the board met
Il Mr.. Derham undertook to have all in
creases limited to Is per cent. over
last years assessments.
Mr.. Adair, of Laurens, moved that
4 all abstracts on real estate be accept
ed exactly as they had been sent in
4 by the county officers.
This meant that the board was to
DO absolutely nothing to equalize real
estate, and that it's work was to, quit
when it got through, with the corpo-
rations assessments.
Mr.. Derham, of Horny, and Mr..
Price, of Colleton, insisted that their
counties were too high, and to satisfy
all parties Mr.. Hendricks offered an
amendment that the increase in Horny
would not exceed so per cent, and the
increase in Colleton should not exceed
25 per cent. This amendment was
agreed to, and after considerable
wrangling and protest the board
adopted Mr.. Adair's resolution, ac-
cepting of the returns exactly as they
have been sent in by the county au-
ditors and leaving the assessments as
they were fixed by the county boards,
with the exception made for Horny
and Colleton counties through the in
huences of Mr.. Derham and Dr.. Price.