The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-03

Company A: J. D. Pitts, Pittsville, captain; Miss Ellen Dexter Montgom- cry, sponsor; Miss Pat Wyche. Mont gomery, maid.
 
 not to the executive officers who are con- pelled under their paths of office to en- force the law as 1t is written on the books
 Tt occurs to me that if many of the gentlemen who are now so bitterly pro- testing against the present revenue laws had been as zealous and active in aiding the authorities of tho state to secure the passage of the revenue bill which had been drafted by the governor, auditor and attorney general under the requirements of the constitution they could have es- caped many of the grounds of complaint which they now make. On the contrary, a systematic effort was successfully made by the representatives of special interests to defeat many of the provisions which equalized the burdens of taxation, and the provision of law which had always prevailed requiring all property to be as- sessed at its full market value was strick- en out and clause inserted requiring all assessments to be made at 60 per cent of actual value.
 While 1t is true that the state tax commission during the administration of my predecessor had established 60 per cent as the basis of valuation, 1t was not contended that such actoIi on their part was legal or binding in the courts.
 Doubts Wisdom of System
 While l had grave doubts as to the oonstitutionality or wisdom of the pro- vision fixing assessments at 60 per cent of the actual value, believing that its ef- C.. l. tt.@w. a.,.I enable many of the larger corporations in the state to escape their just burdens, determined to enforce 1t until the su- preme court should pass on it's validity. Accordingly, last year caused a let ter to be addressed to every tax assessor, tax commissioner and probate judge in the state advising them that 1 construed this provision as a legislative mandate to assess all property subject to taxa tlon in Alabama at 60 per cent of it's value, and that it was their duty to en- force this law equally and without dis crimination in every part of the state.
 If the assessment is too high it is a question alone for the legislature 10 de- eide, but neither the governor nor the taxing authorities of the state have any alternative but to enforce the law as it Is written in the revenue code. Nor Is it any answer to the proposed Increase of taxes in Jefferson county to say that the state tax commission should not have singled out Jefferson county in which to its labor of equalizing taxes. The state tax commission had to com mence somewhere. and as Jefferson coun- ty contained one-tenth of the states pop ulation and more than one-tenth of its wealth. as 1t was one of the counties where no increases were made in 1911 and where great inequalities in taxation were supposed to exist, 1t was with no spirit of hostility or discrimination that that county was Selected as q field for the initial labor of the commission.
 Will Correct Iniquities
 "The state tax commission has been or dered to proceed as rapidly as possible to correct inequalities in every other coun- ty. and every tax commissioner has been instructed that the law requires all prop erty in every county to be assessed at GO per cent of it's value. and that all the powers al the command of the governor and the state tax commission will be used to carry out this plain mandate of the law
 "The Birmingham Age-Herald of Satur- day stated that delegation of 150 of the leading citizens of Jefferson county, rep resenting millions of dollars and the talent of Birmingham appeared before the DOdTQ Ol ltNtHut dlN NiSOibdHiS' PioNNRRS' against that body of officials docketing any cases where there was proposed tax incl ease.
 "I presume that it would be difficult to gather 150 men in any other county in Alabama who would represent mill lions of dollars or such vast aggrega- tion of wealth, but the fact that the members of that delegation were so for tuiate as to possess immense property l. 1,afA tl,o 1uxr title them to receive any more consid- eration than is accorded to the humblest citizen of the county. The account in The Age-Herald speaks of the president of the Southern Iron and Steel company of the Empire Coal company and of the officers of various other powerful cor porations as if their high position in the industrial world gave them privileges or influence in the administration of the law not enjoyed by the ordinary citizen
 Calls Attention to Law
 T invite the attention of these gentle men to section 2l49 of the code of 190i, which says that annually before com mencing to perform their duties for the correction of errors in the assessments, each member of the board of revenue, or court of county commissioners, shall take and subscribe an oath that While engaged in the duty of correcting errors in assessments or passing on the assess ment of escaped taxes, they will fix value on all property assessed TOT taxes at its fair cash market value (now Go per cenD, and that they will in no case. where the facts are brought to their knowledge, reduce the value of any prop erty for taxation below the fair market value of the property, or what the prop erty would sell for cash, and that they will make diligent effort and inquiry to ascertain the value of all property to be passed on by them
 Section 2liS requires the court: If the taxpayer appears in person or by at tcrney, or has had five days notice, the court shall raise or reduce the valuation of any property or subject of taxation and fix 1t at the sum which the evidence shows to be the fair market or real value l cIaa .ad1 .Iicla lnf