The Randall County news. (Canyon City, Tex.) 1908-1926, 1908-12-25
FULL RENDITION LAW.
County Judge Henson Expresses Opinion as to
Operation Of Statutes Passed By
Last Legislature.

ture of this state. This discus
sion has not been caused on ac-
count of the terms of the laws
for the reason that if they were
carried out to the letter and
spirit they would tend to settle,
for time at least, a great deal
of the inequality now existing
in the rendition of the property
in the state for taxation.
County Judge A. N. Henson
has given the matter very thor
ough thought and investigation
and is as nearly capable of Civ
ing just opinion upon this mat
ter as any man in the Panhandle
In a recent edition OF the Dallas
News appeared an article writ
ten by Judge Henson which we
copy below:
Canyon City, Tex, Dec. g.
Full rendition has been tried and
found wanting. Randall county
has rung the bell, as James II.
Stacey would say, to her sorrow.
The law is perhaps all right, the
principle correct, but like too
many other good laws, it failed
for lack of execution. Renditions
under it are far more unequal
than before. So it failed in the
very purpose for which it was
enacted. 1t matters not whether
the failure to enforce it results
from a weakness in the law it.
self or from a lack of courage on
the part of our state executives
to enforce it, the effect is the
same; it has proven a farce,
fraud, a menace, source of OPP
preston, rather than relief. In
stead of equalizing the burdens
of taxation, it has rendered them
more unequal; it has placed the
burden of state upon those coun-
ties whose commissioners had
been taught to regard the sanct-
ity of an oath and to believe in
the majesty of the law; it has
encouraged perjury and created
contempt for law.
Just before Gov. Campbell de-
livered his address in Amarillo
on the oath of June last, the
writer handed him the following
questions, with a respectful re-
quest that he treat them in his
speech:
Hon. T. NJ. Campbell, Gov
ernor of Texas: Dear Sir-We,
the Commissioners Court of
Randall county, respectfully sub
'.;;2it the following and request
,o,, 2se, explain your position
. -oono." public address,
thereon in YOU tn. -.
viz; We commend you in your
efforts to have the platform de-
mands, especially those relating
to taxation, enacted into law.
We indorse and approve thep rim
ciple of full rendition, and have
endeavOred to comply with it in
letter and spirit in the equaliza-
ton of the tax renditions of Ran
dali county. Now will the exec
utive department of the state, of
which you are the head, be as
earnest and determined that this
law shall be executed as you
were that it should become law
of this state, and will the earnest,
conscietious and careful Commits
sioners' Courts and the counties
which they represent, be pro
tected? Will other counties be
required to pay their proportion
ate part of the taxes to the State?
ITO be more explicit, Randall
county has assessed average I'M
improved uplands at a distance
from town at IS per acre and
from that up to $50 nearer town.
Should an adjoining county, with
lands equally as valuable, send
in their rolls with lands assessed
at 81 or 50 per acre, will such
rolls be accepted by the Comp
troller, or will they be returned