Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1909-09-17

Alex b own chairman Of the state board of equalization
in conversation with San Joaquin people, is reported
have stated, for the purpose of reconcng them to the
boest given the roll of that county by the
equazers that the county would gain rather than lose by
the rase-neaning of that the aggregate lift of
ment rolls throughout the state and the reduced state levy
based thereon would than compensate far San
Joaquin concerned for the lower roll and the
higher state levy that would have been inevitable had the
board of equalization taken action In enlargng upon
the subject he said he believed in high and
low tax rate rather than low assessment and high tax
In of the counties of California the was
close up the danger point The idea conveyed that
certain amount had be raised support Che local govern
and it made real difference to the property holder
whether he paid $2 500 assessed valuation 81
per 500 5000 valuation while the last named PROPOSE
ton looked much the inviting the intending settler
This process of reasoning sound enough theory but
not borne by actual practice 1t suits the exgences of
the state government just More money needed to
lubricae the machinery Two ways open to get it.
One clap heavier which would fall upon
every taxpayer The other boost the in
certain lowised countless which would place the burden
upon the property holders in the uplied counties The
latter considered the preferable Now the advice
handed that all county would bring up their
property closer approximation to actual cash value
lower rate for both and county purposes would be
the result and the tenderoot immigrant would be scared
the prospect of the excessive demands for governmental
expenses However plausible the plan may appear the
unniated Mr. Brown ought know that in practice has
proven very disappointing 1t has been tried in Amador
county than once and each time the people have been
called upon pay increased taxes Our present county
SCISSOR made general arbitrary increase of assessed vaua
TONS being prompted thereto in least by the
expectation that corresponding reduction would be made in
the tax But the decreased materazed and
the lad contribute the public treasury
larger than before. The truth is local government
expenses like those of the Institution, have been
casng by leaps and bounds much faster gait than the
actual increase of property values The county managers
anxious for party avoid the dispeasure attach
ing raising the levy But padded roll
drop of few cents in the state rate furnishes the oppo
tuny swell the treasury without increasing the rate per
800 And such opportunities rarely allowed by
default In Amador county in years gone by have
aged get along fully we'll do lower tax
with roll fully twenty-five per less
than present. No doubt Amador county excep
ton in this respect Similar experience has been with
all along the line Every arbitrary boost of assessment
valuations establishes basis for getting money
for local purposes without mourning the odum of swelling
the 1t is probably this feature of the situation that
m the ire of the people in the southern part of the
where the boosts have been chiefly made They
know the sophstry of the argument that big property roll
means proportionate lowering Of the tax