The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-02-28
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4 Governor Dawson in vetofng House
bill No. 2s4. filed the following objec
tons with the Secretary of State:
4 disapproye of House bill No. 1854,
now entitled aAn act to provide that
after the year 1908 all tracts of land
and town lots shall be assessed for
taxation according to the valuation
(os the full. absolute, unihcumbersd
ownership thereof in fee simple title.
aud that after saids year there shall
be no valuation assessment of taxa.
[tion of chattels real except as here.
lin authorized" I.
This act was delivered to me on
the 2oth instant, aud the session Of
the legislature by which 1t was pass.
ed expired by limitation and ad.
journed sine die on the 22nd; there.
fore have ordered that this act and
my objections thereto be fled In the
Office Of the Secretary of state as
provided IN the constitution.
This act seems TO have been drafted
with reference to coal leases only, and
probably with reference to a particu-
lar class OF such leases Howit<would
prohabl. affect oil and gas leases we
we shall hereafter see.
] Our objection to this act is that it
is an independent provision and is not
articutated to the other provisions of
law concerning the assessment OF
property in chapter 20 of the code. The
passage of independent acts on such
subjects covered by the code ought
to be avoided for several reasons:
Among which reasons is that 1t is Of.
ten difficult to see how far an fndepend
ent act affects, changes, mobiles or
repeats the. principal law. This prac-
tice was followed in this State from
1872 to 1881, and our statutes got into
such tangle and contradictory shape
that 1t was difficult, in many cases,
to know what the law was. This act
ought especially to have been made q
part of chapter 30 of the code.
| Would this act change the satnd.
ard Of valuation for taxation. which
is the true and actual value? This
act speaks OF :the value of the full,
absolute, untncumberd ownership In
fee simple title" II this act can be
made part of chapter 20 of the code
there would be no question about
the standard of value. perhaps.
It has been complained that the
present law works an Injustice be.
tween the person who owns his own
coal and mines 1t and the person
who leases the coal and mines it.
but this is not the fanlt. OF the law,
and the fault must be put upon, the
execution of It; and this fault Is
partly due to the fact that the exc.
cntion of the law was made doubt.
full. to some extent at least, by suits
which wer brought to test the valid
ttty of the act of the legislature OF
1905 assessing leaseholds. It was
late in the assessment year before
these suits were decided by Jadge
John w Mason and the Supreme
Court Of Appeals. in both of which
decisions the law was upheld. But
It has not been claimed, believe,
that the feasehofds have been assess
ed at more than their market value;
while there is discrimination in the
execution OF the law, as aforesaid,
and which discrimination am very
anxious to see cured. ! do not believe
IL Is true that leaseholds have been
assssed at more than their value, the
discrimination seems to be that 9TH
err coal producing property has been
assessed at less than its value.
1t is admitted that it is difficult
10 ascertain the true and actual value
of the p.operty named in. this act. This
is true Of many other species of prop.
erty; but because 1t is difficult to as
certain the value this is no reason for
not trying to ascertain 1t.
This act would put some property
on the land books as personal prop.
terty and precisely the same kind of
property, in other cases. would go
on the books as real estate; some of
the property would pass. On the