Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1912-07-29


Tax Dodgers, and the incidental loot
ing OF the small taxpayers. the Her
aid is actuated by single motive,
that may be expressed in the trite
expression. "a square deal for all
For many years its editor has been
aware that large property holders
were playing the game of politics in
Chehalis county. and that they were
not in the game for any sentimental
party reasons. He knew they were
evading large portion of their just
taxes-as did everybody else who
gave the subject thought-and that
what they evaded was added to the
already heavy burden of the owners
of small holdings. With this knowl-
edge this paper has labored in every
political campaign during the past
fourteen years to have the timber
lands of the county cruised, in order
that basis for an equitable assess
ment might be secured
That the effort was so long unsuc-
cessful Is due very largely to the po.
litical manipulations of the company
owning one-fifth of the total area of
the county, md ,slich tho cruise of
this year shows was escaping taxes
on a principality. while the man with
a small farm or little home was over
burdened to support the state and
county government OF course, this
company could not have so long sue
ceeded in this lodging if it had been
alone in the business. hence it ac-
quired a following of a few of smi-
lar business" disposition, who We're
escaping pennies and nickles while
the chief offender was lodging thous-
ands of dollars. This following was
really buncoed in the end. as the ad-
ditional tax on their property in sight
was abnormally increased by the
amount escaped on the unknown guam.
tity-the timber
Tax Commissioner Talks.
The reader is not obliged to take
the word of the Herald for the
wretched administration of the tax.
ing powers of Chehalis county. for it
is to be found certified upon the rec.
ords of the state tax commission
Those records show that in the seven.
teen timbered counties of the state,
the assessed value OF unimproved
lands in 1910, averaged $964 an acre,
but the average for Chehalis county
was only SO so an acre, and the board
wondered why the lands of this coun-
ty were not as valuable as those of
Thurston. Skamania, Skagit, Jeffer-
son or Island counties The opinion
of Tax Commissioner T. d. Rockwell
on this subject is interesting. In q
letter written last February, he said:
As to Chehaiis County.
hnh ho1i IN, TO tod hoo
undertaken to exempt large part of
its property without the aid of the
law contemplated. In the equaliza-
tion of the property of this state, the
State Board Of Tax Commissioners
went to every county in the State
and took testimony with regard to
the value of property actually sold
We did not take testimony from ex-
perts, but only from grantor or gran
tee or the agent conducting the sale
and this testimony, of course, was
under OATH When all the testimony
had been gathered. the proper county
officials was called upon to certify to
the Board the assessed value of the
different pieces of property inquired
about, and in this way the ratio of as.
sessed to actual value was obtained.
This testimony in Chehalis coun.
ty for the year 1911. showed ratio
of assessed to actual value Of 20.17
Much criticism Of this Board was in
dulged in and some very harsh things
were said, but We think we can DEM
onstate to any fair-minded person
that the Board acted honestly, fairly
and Justly and made correct YER
;ot
of the then assessor, Mr.. Carter, to
the effect that he had not tried to
assess the mills at more than ten per
cent. of their value and that the prop
erty generally Of the county was as
sessed at less than twenty per cent.
of its value. This testimony was cor
roborated by DR.. Watkins, who was al
that time chairman of the board of
equalization of Chehalis County. We
also have the testimony on file, which
S open to public inspection, of a
great number of the best citizens OF
Chehalis County all going to the
same effect. These valuations were
not changed to any appreciable ex-
tent for 1910 from 1908, when Mr.
Carter and DR.. Watkins made these
statements, and we have the certi-
ficate of Mr.. F. Z. Jones that for 1910
the property of Chehals County was
assessed at 1877 per cent. Mr.. Jones
figures are in our Office and can be
seen by anyone interested. Members
of this Board, in conversation with
citizens of Chehals County, have been
able to verify this finding from state
ment made very recently
County Loses $4,000.