Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1909-01-14
The Retiring County Commissioners.


Frank III. McCarty of Elkland Twp,
Boyd p. Bennet of Shrewsbury
and Michael Mcdonald of Cherry
completed their term of three years
service and turned the work of their
office over to their successors. In
surrendering their trust, they and
the County of Sullivan are to be
congratulated for the able and effici-
ent manner in which they have per-
formed their difficult and trying
duties and for the splendid results
they have accomplished for the tax
payers and the County. The retiring
board will go down in the history of
the county as the board that had the
courage tC take stand on the ques-
ton of proper assessment of the great
corporate interests and wealth of the
county and in the face of the most
persistent efforts on the part of the
owners of the natural wealth of the
county, the timber and the coal, to
win great victory for the county
To do this they had to encounter
not only the open hostility of the
corporations but also opposition
from sources that should have glad
! ly welcomed their efforts and stood
squareIy with them and for them in
what they were trying to accom-
plish
When the retiring board of County
Commissioners took their seats three
years ago, they found county in
debtedness of nearly $50, 900. In ad-
dition to this they found that $4,000
of money belonging to the various
Townships had been paid into the
County funds. They found large
part of the County indebtedness
bearing interest at the high rate of
six per cent. They found hemlock
timber lands assessed at $19.1S per
acre and hardwood at $500 per acre.
But they found what was still worse
thousands of acres of choice hem
lock and hardwood wrongly classi-
fed in the ''barren' list at $l.00 per
acre. They found the valuable coal
lands of the County assessed at the
Ridiculous figure of $500 per acre
and that many acres of proved coal
land had been improperly placed on
the barren list. Surely here was
condition of affairs that needed
attention and they entered upon
their duties with the single purpose
of fidelity to their oaths of Office.
AS result of their labors the debt
has been largely decreased, they
having paid during the past year
alone $1,000 on the County indebt-
ness. The $4,000 belonging to the
Townships has also all been piad.
The loans bearing six per cent. in
terest have all been called in and
funded ut four per cent. Thous-
ands of acres have been taken from
the "barren" list upon the assessment
books and placed upon the timber
ist and the assessment upon hemlOck
lands raised from $3.50 to $40. 90
per acre and upon hardwood, from
$500 to $500 per acre. The large
plants of the great tanning trust To-
Gated in the county, which they
found assessed at an average rate of
about so, 900 each, they have raised
to an average of about $4,000 each.
The assessment books show thaticoal
acreage has been largely increased
and the assessment raised from
paltry $500 per acre to $lO1.00
per acre.
AS a result of the effort of these
gentlemen, an increase of over
half a million dollars is shown upon
the assessment books, on corporate
property alone, which for many
years has escaped its fair share of
the burden of taxation. AS result
of their efforts, $4,000 of increased
revenue will come to Sullivan
County during the three years for
which these assessments hold good
besides the thousands in addition
that will go to the townships
that have timber land, coal land aud
tanneries.
Surely these gentlemen should re-
tire from Office feeling proud of their
record and the County and the tax
PAYERS should appreciate the hon