Semi-weekly herald., 1908-11-02
Some Pertinent
Questions for Coston

charlton and Logan wrong ana Wltn-
out conscience? Was every commits
sioner and every asS ssor who ~
fers with you in regard to valuation
wrong and without conscience? Was
Mr.. Reister wrong and without con-
science when he moved the past Sep
| tember to cut down your unjust, He
gal and unwarranted assessment $751;
2so?
This for the smelter side and now
for yours. Have you ever paid any
taxes in La Plata county willingly or
| cheerfully or were you forced by Mr..
Hood and Mr.. Goodman to pay what
little taxes you have paid during the
past eleven years? Did they not
threaten to take your abstract com
pany and sell il If you did not pay?
| Did you not try to get the present
board of county commissioners to al
low you to make a map, telling them
| that it would cost the county about
| 5000, and that you would make it at
odd hours?
Have you not since January, 1906,
tried to get through the board of coun
ty commissioners bills amounting to
$2,46O for deputy hire?
Have you not received your rent,
light, heat and janitor hire free of
charge during the past four years for
your abstract company?
Have you not tried to 'bleed" the
county in every way that you could
for your own enrichment?
Il VIII you kindly now state who is
the wolf?
As to conscience would you mind
answering the following Questions and
let the taxpayers judge ds TO who has
the most OF that article.
Did you not guess wrong on The
building on one visit to me sIaelter
and then did you not refuse to hazard
guess on all of the Other buildings
and equipments?
: Have not the smelter officials and
the board Of county commissioner
$ tried time after time to get you 70 GO
over to the smelter, itemize each item
of the plant and see wherein the diff.
theirs came in and have you not al
!, ways refused?
D Who knows the most about the val
I ues. the tax agent, who has figured
S out the cost of every building and
every piece of machinery or you who
appraise the value of this property at
d long range or with field glass;
Are you the only one who is right
t in the whole state of Colorado or
a valuations of this description?
How about your own schedule fol
n the La Plata County Abstracts of Titlc
c company?
Does not the law of Colorado say
a that you must place a cash value or
q your property and have you done II in
/ the case of your abstract company
Did you not place a value of 500
}, on your abstract company for the
t years 1907 and 1908 when turning in
your schedule?
e Will you sell it for $4,000?
d Have you not refused $4,000 or
e over for this abstract company?
), Does your conscience allow you to
r put $500 valuation on this property
Z that is worth over $4,000?
z Don't you know that it is true that
abstract companies in other counties
in the state are assessed from $4,000
0 to $4,000?
Are the other counties all wrong In
placing these high valuations on their
abstract companies while you place
o the absurd figure of $500 on years?
Has your abstract company not a
0 monopoly in this county and how
0 much do you make year from it?
Is your percentage of valuation in
= La Plata county so per cent or over
7 or is 1t not?
S is there another county in the state
d that has a percentage of valuation as
. high as La Plata county and il so
r what county is it?
Did you try to evade this question
d OF values when you told the people
s in your article to figure out their own
t percentage of assessment of values 2
u What was the percentage of value
3 or these three saloons that you did
not assess at all?
$ Do you know as an actual fact how
much the American Smelling and Re.
e fning company paid for the Durango
: smelter and If 80 how much was it -?
Is it not matter of fact that you
do not know what they did pay for
r this smelter and that all of your val
ues are simply guess work?
Is 1t not matter of fact that you
said that you understood" that the
smelter had cost million dollars and
that this was just rumor that you
: were quoting?
Is 1t not matter of fact that you
do not know what the improvements
} at the smelter have cost since acquired d
\ by the present company and that all
of your remarks about million dol.
lars worth of improvements ara also