The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1908-01-16
About The Taxes

The big bowls about increased taxa
ton and inequitable assessments
come from Brown and Bookings
counties; to be more specific they
come from the Aberdeen News and
Bookings Press.
The report OF the state auditor Just
out from the press OF the State Pub
fishing Company for the first time
makes the actual facts OF the assess
ment and equalization available. The
Aberdeen and Bookings papers each
charge that the advance in the assess
ment OF railroads has not been equal
to the assessment OF farm lands.
In Brown county the state board left
the valuation Of farm lands precisely
as assessed by the county assessor
and equalized by the county board
and that assessment showed an in
crease OF "a per cent. The state board
increased the railroad assessment in
Brown county AZ precent. Certainly
the advance in railroads kept up with
the advance in farms there.
In Brookings county the state board
did not interfere with the assessment
OF farm 'ands as equalized by the
county board. As so assessed and
equalized by the county board the
farm lands in Bookings county were
advanced II per cent. The railroads
in Bookings county as assessed by
the state board were advanced q per-
cent. Certainly there is no cause for
complaint there.
1t is complained that the assess
ment OF the Northwestern and Rock
Island roads in Elkton are unequal
since the value OF the local property OF
the Northwestern in that village is
assessed at 81 ,Sl9 and the Rock Island
at $l5,Sl9
Now the fact is that the assessment
OF these terminal properties is made
upon the sworn return OF the COM
panies themselves and the Rock
Island returned more than twice as
much property in Elkton as did the
Northwestern road.
| AS to the clamor about the in
creased rate it is OF course higher this
year because OF the deficiency levy OF
one mill and the Irvine plant levy OF
one and quarter mills. The people
OF South Dakota are intelligent. They
have been in the habit OF paying
deficiency levy OF two mills every
other year since statehood. They
expect to pay it this year and will do
it cheeriully. Even with the deficiency
they get off so far as state taxes are
concerned much better than their
neighbors do in any OF the surround
ing states. 1t is an insult to the in.
telligence and the patriotism OF the
farmers of South Dakota to assume
that they will turn their backs upon
the reforms in which they are so
vitality interested because this happens
to be the year in which deficiency
levy falls due. Four years ago the
democrats attempted to make a cam
paign in this state upon the same
platform OF Misrepresentation that the
stalwarts are now stalking their whole
campaign upon. The people replied
to them then with fifty thousand
republican majority. They will make
similar answer to the stalwarts next
June.
So far as we have observed, except
that the taxes OF the current year are
increased over last year by the def
cheney OF one mill and the Irvine
levy OF one and quarter mill, we
have not seen a line emenating from
stalwart sources relating to the assess
ment which was not based upon
studious and usually ingenious mis-
representation. Pierre Dakotan.