American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1911-05-20
ASSESSOR TAKES OFF BRAKEs

has taken off the brakes. Sagebrush
land, wholly u~nimproved. which has
. water right costing SIS, but which
Is not paid for. fs assessed at $50
per acre. Land that is cleared and
plowed. with inexpensive Improve
ments. in the way Of buildings, Ia
assessed at $65 per acre. All Of
these lands are under the Carey act.
purchased on the ten year payment
plan, and the fourth payment has
been made upon but comparatively
little Of 1t. Very few Of these lands
have up to the present returned any
profit owing to their incomplete de-
velOpment. 80 that when valuations
such IS the assessor has placed on
lands, compels the farmer not only
TO pay taxes on dead capital. but on
what he owes. It Is not his prop
erty. but his debts upon which he
il compelled to pay. Mortgages es-
cape taxation. Bank deposits and
credits escape taxation. but the beau
tiful cash value plan as worked out
by Hawley catches the men who are
doing q great work In developing the
state not only for the dead capital
invested, the labor which has been
expended In unremunerative develop
ment, but upon what they owe as
wei. Beautiful system, and great
head that worked It out.
Land valuations on this tract
have been increased eight and two
thirds fold. Will stocks OF merchan-
disc be Increased In like ratio? viii
railroads be assessed at from $780,
600 to $15O,000? II not. the bur-
dens of increased taxation will fall
upon the farmers, a great part Of
whom are engaged In developing
their places and deserve to be en-
couraged and assisted rather than
burdened. Governor Hawley may
see his way clear to avoid unjustly
taxing the people whom he p~r0fessed
to love 80 much only q short time
since. but only one avenue seems to
be open. And that is the dangerous
experiment of constituting every
board Of county commissioners a
supreme court and a legislative body
In order that they may annul such
laws al do not harmonic with this
beautiful cash valuation scheme and
make others that do. This IL a beau
tiful scheme, and places the people
at the mercy OF the whims of the
board of commissioners OF the re-
spective counties. but II laws are to
be ignored others must be put In
force to take their place.
Governor Hawley Is not a bushes
man. His mind has never been set
to the solution Of business problems.
He Is not fitted by training to form,
late a Just taxation scheme, and II
he were So fitted the law does not
empower him to assume legislative
functions. His only power to adjust
taxation Is as a member of the state
board of equalization. which has a
limited power to either raise or low
er the valuations fixed for the differ
n classes OF property. Between
the people and the state board are
the county boards Of equalization.
with broader authority than Is pos
sessed by the state board. To the
county boards OF equalization the
people must look for protection. II
the commissioners of any county
knew what the commissioners Of all
other counties will do. and IL they
knew the valuations fixed by the as
SCISSORS OF each county. they could
proceed with some understanding.
But as they are not and cannot be
In possession of this knowledge
their deliberations are little better
than guess work. Every official Is
cropping In the dark, blindfolded and
helpless. and light will only come
after the county and state boards OF
equalization have completed their
work, and it will then be too late to
make use of 1t.
A more glaring injustice was new
or inflicted upon the people of any
than that which Is being
inflicted upon the people of the Ca
rey tract In Bingham county. They
expended thousands upon thou
OF dollars upon development
work that has never paid a dollar,
and in addition to being assessed up
On this dead capital are also asses
sessed upon what they still W upon
their property. 1t is to be hoped
the commissioners of Bingham
have a little backbone and a
lot more sense than some officers
n higher stations.