Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1907-09-19
In last weeks issue Of the Gazette
find a reference to me as follows:

Gas before stated we are unable To say
and unable TO learn and can only infer
what influence brought about the results.
Judge Ingham is the acting counsel for
the commissioners and we are told that
+. p. Ingham figured in the settlement
tor Baron Connell. If this be true the
situation WAS this. Baron Connell upon
one side assisted by Ellery, and Sullivan
county upon the other side assisted 10y
Judge Ingham We learn that commits
sioner Mcdonald did not favor the set
Element"
AS this affects public interests ! deem
it proper to notice it.
AS County Solicitor it became my
duty to render to the County Com
missioners such legal assistance as
they required of me, and in refer
ence to the legal aspects Of the recent
triennial assessment, I have been
occasionally CONSULTED. / can say
with truth that from the beginning
to the end of this difficult task,
have observed in the Commissioners
nothing but a steady effort to do
their duty to the County and to the
taxpayers.
When they examined the assess
ments as returned by the assessors
they observed that the valuations
all over the county were substantial
ly the same as they had been estab
lished by their predecessors in Office
The last board of commissioners had
raised the valuation on real estate,
as returned by the assessors, to the
extent of ten per cent, and that rails
ed valuation was retained, but the
observed that valua-
tions on timber lands, and coal lands
and tanneries were not fixed at
their prOportionate value.
AS it required much investigation,
and the testimony of those who had
of all of these properties,
to enable the commissioners to form
"A just estimate of their value, they
deemed it proper to employ Frank
w. Meylert Esq, to give special at
tention to this part of the business.
Mr.. Meylert's knowledge of the
Sullivan coal fields especially fitted
him for this employment.
Sitting as board of Revision the
heard the testimony
of witnesses on all of the interests
and on this testimony
raised the valuation on such of the
said lands as seemed to them to be
assessed too low. This action of the
commissioners was, as the law re-
quires, ecpoyte; the property owners
were not heard. Immediately after
the assessments had been raised,
days were appointed for appeals in
every township, and at the county
seat.
The owners of the timber land and
We're heard at Laporte.
Witnesses were sworn and examined
on both sides, and the lands were
considered tract by tract, and classi
fed as follows: lst hemlock timber
land; 2nd hardwood timber land;
3rd barren land. After full inves-
tigation the valuation was amicably
adjusted AS follows: the valuation on
the hemlOck timber land was raised
from Is to 40 dollars per acre, the
hardwood timber land from = to .
dollars per acre, and the barren land
left as heretofore at one dollas per
acre. The acreage was also exam
ined and addedto when required,
and some tracts heretofore omitted
added to the list. The valuation of
the tanneries was raised from S9S000
to $4,000.
From such information as the
Commissioners could gather, while
sitting as a board of revision, they
raised the valuation of the Cherry
and Colley coal lands from SIS to
$3.50 per acre.
On the day fixed for the appeal
Mr.. Connell, Mr.. Jackson and Others
interested in the coal lands, appeared
with f. j. Mullen, S. II. McCormick
and A. Walsh as their attorneys
The situation was discussed at come
length, but the attorneys represent
ing the coal interests did not Offel
any evidence nor make any propo
sitiOn for settlement. They stated
tersely that they would go to Il high
er Court. They afterwards entered
an appeal to the Court of Common