Bisbee daily review., 1907-02-27
production.

The managers of inc Phelps Dodge interests In A4iz0na have asger sis tempted 10 essGe The payment Of lheir tast proportion of the mine taxes ia Arizona. but m several oebnsiohs they have refused ts pay much hsayief ias ihan was required 0f oh er mininR oompaBies in ihs territory owning like property Not only has Inc Phelps Dodge interest bsea liberal in Inc matter Of taxes, as compared with what other companies were pay lnE bat they have been liberal in oth er matters sHeellbg the territory They have always been ready with open pocketbook to assist in buiiGiug of cities. churches. schools and In on. e6urasing every condition which would assipt In maintaining a higher class of citizenship in Arizona. They have built churches. library and gym. nsaium buildings in every camp where they have operated. both in Arizona and Mexico and for their lib- eraiity in these matters they should at least be accorded a fair and just treatment by all who have the welfare of Arizona at heart
 It Is matter of general surprise to the people of Arizona that at this time when g law Is proposed which will make all the producing mines of Arizona pay taxes equally on the pro. ducts of mineral. and increase the as. sessed value of the territory probably one hundred per cent. that such a measure should be opposed by the governor of the territory. Tho peo. pie of the territory desire that the ng.continued harangue over the tax alton of mines be. brought to an end and this can never be done so long as the present law Is allowed to remain in force.
 No governor, or territorial board of equalization, or county assessor can fix value on mining property like a value can be placed on horse, a COW or agricultural land, because of the fact that a mine can have no other value than the value of the ore pro duced from year to year.
 The law now pending before the legislature is patterned after the law which has long been satisfactory to the people of Colorado. Those who are in position to know the value of the ore product of the territory esti- mate that the Doran mine tax bill will bring into the treasury nearly half million dollars, or about the amount which was collected from taxes last year. The passage of this bill would, if these estimates are true, reduce the tax rate about one-half Does anybody ask that more be exacted from the mining property of the territory which is the life of our industrial prosperity?
 If governor Kibbey refuses to ac- cept this reasonable bill then the leg islature should turn a deaf ear to any thing which he proposes in the mat ter of strengthening the hands of This" territorial board of equalization and the matter left as it is. Certainly the mine owners have nothing to fear from the present law. Take the ac tion of the territorial board of equali- zation last year and 1t is not near so burdensome on the mines as the pro posed Doran bill
 The present law leaves the matter of fixing the amount of taxes to be paid by all classes of property in the territory entirely in the hands of the governor, acting through his" terri ,orial board of equalization. Who knows who is to fill the governors position in the future. or that he will be disposed to insist on high or low taxation for the mines?
 We consider the Doran bill by far the most important piece of legisla- ton offered during this session or any other session of an Arizona legisla- ture during the last ten years. The exact rate may not be just what it ought to be, but it brings into action the correct principle of mine taxation,