Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-08-28

| board of equalization report reveals
the gross inequality prevailing in
assessment, after the three boards
are done with their work of curing
defects. Take the 1908 report, for
You would expect to find these as
sessed at about the same figure In
each county. In McHenry county,
they are assessed at $347 each. In
! Mclean county at $S3 or about one
| fourth as much. In ROlette they are
worth 500 apiece; in Trail, Sal.
In Williams there are only ten auto
mobiles, and they are worth $ll7
each.
The report shows that there is not
dollar in Dunn, Kidder, Mercer
and Morton counties.
| Watches. There is not watch
! according to the report in Bowman,
Cavalier, Griggs, Mercer and Oliver
, counties.
! In the county auditors Office OF
Ward county, city of Minot, find the
assessment rolls for 1909. Minot
banks have hundreds of thousands
! of dollars deposit, yet the assessor
/ found but $4,000 in the city. Notes
and mortgages in the city amount to
| $3.50. Mohall, Bowbells and Ken
| mare have no money, no watches, no
bicycles, no notes and mortgages.
Reforms.
! Reforms come slowly. The work
; is first educational. Somebody must
keep up a tax propaganda. AS law
yers you can take a vital part In
this educational phase Of the work
by becoming active members in the
International Tax Association, Col"
umbus, Ohio, and of the North Da-
| kota State Tax Association. Both
these organizations study state and
local taxation.
Legislative reform, that is, altering
our system piecemeal by the state
| legislature is a practice that may
work either good or evil. 1t may be
| like our attempted tariff revision
in the wrong direction. But the re-
cent tariff revision made clear one
point, the need of a permanent tar
! if commission, to study the question
| and recommend legislation. So also
| our legislation hitherto in the tax
question. 1t has made clear the
! need of a permanent tax commission
, mean such as have Minnesota, Wis
consin, Michigan, Indiana and about
fifteen other states. These states
have made the most progress to-
| wards a just tax system. In these
states do we find signs Of progress
such as Separation Of Sources OF
/ State and Local Revenue, fairly
| satisfactory Inheritance Tax, work
able franchise tax, etc. But l regret
| to add, even in these states the run
damental trouble remains, that u.s.
under-assessment These states
have tried out the general property
tax. They have decided that they
| cannot work it under present mach1n'
cry. They must either get rid of the
. local assessor, or try some new form
of tax, such as the income tax OF
some other tax. But the decision
now seems unanimous with these
states that the local assessor must
be got rid of. Thi may seem like q
blow to our local democratic instl'
! tutions. But it is not. Personally
7 am converted to the view that the
local assessor must 60. A county
assessor owuld be better. His term
should be longer, his pay better, and
his tenure of Office depend solely or
the efficiency which he manifested II
performing his work.
| The other day I discovered spot
| of good country roads near Larl'
I more, the first and only one l have
seen in North Dakota. asked the
township supervisor about his high
way overseer. "Oh," he said, I'VE
got rid of him long ago. We d1dn,
want to bother with him., And by
centralizing this road work in the
hands of the three supervisors of the
township an immediate improvement
| resulted. A still further centraliza'
ton of highway work under county
| and state officers would doubtless
| help still more.
We are not suffering from toe
much democracy, but we are suffer.
ing from too much inefficient local
government masQuerading as demoe'
racy.
We must get rid Of our local as
SCISSOR. -
! That is the first step I would pro-
I pose to you for your consideration
| and discussion.
The next step, or perhaps it should
be called the first and fundamental
step. is to amend our state constitu'
ton.
In 1851, Ohio adopted constitu-
ton. It says, Art. XII. Sec. 2. Laws
| shall be passed, taxing by uni
form rule, all property according to
It's true value in money" g. 4,
In 1889 North Dakota adopted a
constitution, It says, Art. XII. Sec
176, claws shall be passed, taxing
by uniform rule, all property accord
ing to its true value in money"
Ohio passed this constitution on to
Illinois, to Minnesota, and finally TO
North Dakota. But what was Ohio
| in 1851? She had no railroads then,
no great public service corporations,
no complex forms Of intangible prop
erty. What at her conditions %
years ago does not fit North Dakota
tndav Ohio hos tried four times to