Arizona republican., 1907-03-02


 easily obtained. The opinion of men who own. buy. sell and trade in horses is taken everywhere as evidence of the value of horses; in the courts where these facts are finally tried such opin- ions are taken as conclusive and defi- nite evidence.
 The opinions Of men who own buy and sell ranches are everywhere taken as evidence of the value of ranches.
 The opinions of men who raise buy. and sell cattle are taken as evidence of the value of cattle.
 The opinions of merchants are talk en as to the value of stocks of goods.
 And 1 am completely confident that opinions of honest capable men whose business it is to operate and deal in mines can fix a value on the mines in Arizona at a sum in detail or in the ag- gregate "at which these mines would be taken in payment of a just debt due from a solvent debtor"
 I think l may say further. not with the hope of not being contradicted. but with complete confidence that it cannot be successfully contradicted, that a value can be fixed on the mines of Arizona at a sum which the shrewdest. most conservative. most capable men in the United States would buy them as an investment. The mines must be worth at least that much. beyond any cavil. And that sum l will further ven- ture to say-and 1t is capable of easy demonstration-is not less than ten times as much as the valuation of them would be under the provisions of Coun- cil Bill No. 45. And assuming that property valued for taxation in this territory at not over 33 Is per cent of its value. then the valuation of mines for taxation would be proved as con- clusively as any fact can be proved by human evidence to be three times the valuation that would be placed upon them by Council Bill No. 45.
 And this question is easily tested 1t need not rest on my assertion an in- stant-do precisely with the mines as you do with any other property. Let them be assessed by the same author ities under the same rules as other property is assessed. and If an excess sive valuation is made let the owner oi the cattle, of the sheep, of the ranch, of the stock of merchandise, of the humble home or of the mine. if they or any of them feel aggrieved, go into court and there try out the question. In case of irreconcilable dispute the courts are always the final arbiters, and they are always equipped with in finitely better means of ascertaining values or any other fact than is even the legislature. The mine owner must trust to the courts for the protection of his rights against all encroachmenl he can and he does call upon them to defend and preserve his rights-why not submit this question between the public and himself likewise to the courts. as our present law now does, and which Council Bill No. 45 pre- vents?
 I do not wish to be misunderstood. Council Bill No. 45 probably does per init an appeal to the courts but ties the hands of the court as to the question of the value of mines. limiting 1t to ascertaining one-fifth per cent of gross bullion product while as to every other class of property. the courts are to assess the full cash value of the prop erty in question.
 If the court should decide of given mine that its value is that of one-Lfth of its bullion product for the year, then it will SO adjudge; but if it should find and fl will not find at all without satisfactory evidence-that that value is onlv one-tenth of its bullion product for the year. in justice to the mine owner it ought and if permitted. VIII SD decide: and if it should be showr that the value is one-half or two- third: or the whole of or more than its Dul' lion product for the year no one car for q moment say that it ought not SC decide.
 Council Bill No. 45 limits the Court however. to finding the mine to D' worth for the purposes of taxation only one-fifth of its bullion product tol the year: or in other words as express ! ed by some of the representatives of th' producing mines. the value of the mine ! is simply its net annual profit. Ou | law is, as to all other property. tha ! the court shall fix the value at the iul cash value. which as you know in mos instances is many times the net annu' al profits. I am not one of those wh' will consent to the proposition Una Arizona's mines have no value. or tha their value cannot reasonably be as certained. We advertise daily 10 th' world that our mines are enormousl! valuable. Are they of purely specula tive value? Is t true that Arizona mines are a fraud. delusion and snare? Is 1t true of our great produc' ! ing mines that there is no fair prospec of their lasting beyond the current year?
 ! Is it true that mining-I am no speaking of prospecting-in Arizona Il purely a gamble. with chances so shgh ! that we dare not go beyond one-fifth their annual bullion product as the ut most estimate of their value? Shall WI advertise the fact that our mines arr so short lived that to go beyond sin gle year in estimating their value n unjust, unfair and unwarranted by tn facts?
 1 Ii has been said that Arizona Is no fitted for statehood because Of ne want of resources. And specific allu
 sion has been made to the ephemera ! character of our resources. the imper manence and instability of our mines Shall We admit this by the enactmen of a statute like that of Council Bill NC 452 It is no answer that Council Bll ! No. 45 is a mere re-enactment of law | of other states In the first place, l is not like the laws of any other state . t,ax-. aay that the his