Arizona republican., 1907-01-23

and at each meeting there was frank discussion of the prob
lens of assessments became convinced then, as mad
believed before that the failure Of county officers to assess
property basis of equality due largely to precedent 10
prevailing customs they had found hem to lack oil proper
thought other rather than to the dishonesty Oh
the officers themselves In fact would mpute no dishonesty
in the premises easily conceivable however, that county
assessor, county supervisor VINO owes ms eieeI ~
received from mining company OF 70 any ote nnue
tal single interest may find easy to believe that suggestions
from that mining company that other interest relative TO It's
assessment should have too favorable consideration
Following these conferences there the most eedlta6e
assessment property achieved in the Territory Al lis
meeting in August last the Territorial Board of Equalization
found that the rolls returned from the several
counties aggregated SO million dollars against As million IN
19O5 The Territorial Board found however after careful
consideration that the assessed valuations of mines were s SO
far below the level of other property that the inequality could
not be overlooked therefore ordered increases amounting
to fold in COchse county, two fold CHA county, by one
half in Mohaye county, by one-tmrd IN 1aVapal county,
and double the returned in Yuma county The
assessments returned by Graham county and by other mining
counties were left undsturbcd
| Again however we find some of the great mining
panes of Cochs ella counties refusing to pay the taxes
computed the raised valuations ordered by the Territorial
Board they attempting to by the process OF the
the collection of these taxes 1t slgnhcant ha IN
none these do these companies claim that their yau
ons relatively higher than the valuations OF horses CATTLE
sheep houses lots ranches sewing machines or OF any oher
property than possibly mines And the fact Is that their
valuations unjuty lower than the valuations OF other
classes.
Owing to the failure county mines at
their proper relative vaueowing to their custom of assessing
all mines practically ake-the of small and unpro
ducye forced pay than their share of mine
taxes There be doubt of that.
am pleased remind you that the prophecies of evil
that flow from the efforts of the Territorial Board OF
Equalization to the mines arer valuations have not
been fuled-not one of them Capital has not been driven
from the Territory On the contrary never before IN our
history capital eagerly seeking mines The industry has
been throtted the contrary the present boom IN the
mining business is without parallel in Arizona Nor has the
"small mine owner" been ruined
The mining industry should be encouraged in every leg
way. 1t should have particular care. The great
wealth produced by the mines should create neither envy nor
bao hand ha
thing that should not be taxed ask that wealth and property
all FORMS whether owned by the mining company the lowy
shoemaker shall be treated exactly alike The tax and
the collector must not discriminate II our laws are to be
respected if government by the people not to be made
farce the anarchist not be encouraged by example Of the
rich corporation evadng the law all men, high and low must
be treated with equal justice and all alike must be compelled
to obey the impartial administration of the law shall never
accept the doctrine that the payment of taxes should be treated
gratefully by the Territory donation.
The corporal individual who thinks it or he making
concession the Territory by paying its or his fair proportion
the of has wholly mistaken notion of its
his relation to the government under which he transac
business To pay proper taxes is duty And either so far
forges itself himself to evade the discharge of this duty
it he violates the law either in letter spirit and should
be treated a law breaker.
1t is seriously urged by that mine should be
taxed unless it is paying profit to the Multitudes of
other lines of business may fail to make profit others
barely exist and the profits of others SMALL but they
taxed with regularity and nobody complains that the rule is
unfair 1t is novel doctrine therefore that improbable
mine should escape taxation altogether But should be freely
conceded that mines unprductve state should be assessed
pecve value for the that the value of mine
remain purely speculative and undetermined until its
tents can be measured with certainty.
As already suggested amendments of the existing
law would enable and the local boards of
equalization and the Territorial Board of Equalization prop
ery equaze the of the mines by methods which
could not be fairly criticised If required to make two ca
cations of Misunderstanding them producing and "non
producing assessors if at all intelligent and attentive
to their duty, would not value producing mine
equality with producing mne has been practically the rule
And when reviewing the county assessments the Territorial
Board could order decrease increase of the valuations in
either class without affecting the other If the law shall be
amended in this particular and the local boards compelled
the order of the Territorial Board the present law should prove
very satisfactory in its operation As it now, county
be deprived of the benefit of increased ordered by
the Territorial Board through the failure of the supervisors
collect county taxes the basis of such increases
i Apart from the present law probably effective method
of taxing would be to fix value by the market value
of the extracted theeOm the value of the extracted
each year be taken the valuation of the that year
mine producing nothing would consequently be assessed
substantially nothing beyond the improvements upon it. While
some difficulties would arise in working such system of
taxation it would be practicable confident frame law
that would meet the requirements To ascertain the market
value of the extracted from would entail eonsid
cradle degree of supervision by the Territory guard against
false statements of production, but not much supervision
would be necessary in the of tax bullion Hence
any objections to the nqusoria" features of such law
would apply with greater force to law providing for the
ILL