The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-11-01
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

The first OF the three proposed
amendments to the state constitution
TO be voted on Tuesday concerns every
miner and mine owner in the state 1t
proposes TO take away from county
assessors the valuation of mining prop
erty and give the sole power to make
such assessments into the hands of the
state board of equalization. The
amendment should be voted down with
such emphasis that the question will
not be raised again soon
During the session of the constitu-
tfonal convention which framed the
states charter law this subject was
discussed most thoroughly and
threshed out so completely that it was
supposed to be settled for long term
of years Just why it happened TO
come up In the last legislature and APP
pear now in the shape of a proposed
amendment is not plain. but there
hind it Certainly there is no popular
demand for a change in the system of
assessing mining property. and so far
as can be ascertained from the mine
owners generally they do not want
change.
Whatever the scheme behind this
amendment. ii should be defeated. The
state board of equalization is entrusted
with the assessment of railroads be-
cause their property is distributed
throughout various counties of the
state and it seems desirable to have
one board fix the valuations for all the
counties. But the great mines are not
similar To railroad properties in any
way. Their holdings are usually, in
one county: their taxes go to maintain
the schools and provide protection for
the families dependent upon the mines
for support There is an identity OF
interest which insures fair assessment
of the property by the local authorities
and disposition on the part OF the
mine owners to contribute literally to-
ward the needs of the community. The
present system has worked admiral bly,
ever since the state was admitted to
the Union. and it is unnecessary IS
well a : inexpedient to disturb existing
conditions when only a few ask it.
Apart from the fact that the county
assessment works TO the Subsection
Of the public and the own~rs Of prop
ertv. there is another feature about the
amendment worth noting If the as
sessment of all the mines were given
oyer to a state board ii would be YER,
easy for that body or the state admin
istration appointing the board TO use
ifs assessing power as political en-
cine Of enormous power Colorado has
had some experience with the smeiters
and mines as political agencies; and
the mine owners have had their share
of trouble from political combinations
T-tab does not want TO borrow any of
Colorado's system in this line and the
s;rnIest way to avoid it is TO keep poll
tics out of the mining business and the
mining business out of politics as COM
pletely as possible
When YOU vote on the amendments
turn the pointer to No" on amend
ment number. one.
Amendment number two asks this
question: shall the constitution of the
state be amended TO permit the fixing
Of the rate of taxation for state pur-
poses and apportioning the same?" As
it stands now, the rate of taxation is
limited so that il shall never exceed
mills. When the total valuation is
5000 O0O. 600 il shall not exceed mills.
and when it reaches sSoo,OOo.eoO the
limit is mills. The apportionment is
also fixed within certain limits If the