Monroe City Democrat. (Monroe City, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1912-09-26

one Republican. In the discharge of
it's duties it has written a record of
which it can justly feel proud In
eQualizing the assessments among the
various counties in the state as to
personal property and real estate and
in assessing the properties of the pub.
lie service corporations, it has endeav-
ored to and has done as near as pos
sible equal justice to all
The real estate in the country is
valued and equalized on a parity with
that of the city. If the property in
county is lower in the country than in
the city in the same county, the State
Board of Equalization, under the law.
is powerless to remedy that condition.
as ii has no authority to eQualize the
values of different pieces of real
estate located in the same county. but
only to equalize the valuation in one
county, as a unit, with that OF the
other counties in the state, the city of
st. Louis being taken as a county.
The local condition in the county or
city can only be reached and rene.
died by the local assessor and the
local board.
The State Board of Equalization.
under the law, assesses the public
service corporations in the state. and
during the last four years we have
increased the assessment on such
property $22,015,G43 over the assess
ment as fixed by the Republicans in
the last year they controlled the
board, to-wit, 1908, notwithstanding
they assessed for the first time during
the years they controlled the board
839 miles of new road, whereas we
have had but 229 miles of new road.
The assessment Of the properties in
this state on June l, 1911, for the
taxes of 1912, was as follows: Real
estate, $1,1S2, 2,90o,552; personal prop
erty, $36S,972,522; railroad, telegraph,
telephone, ETC., $185,49S,514 making
the grand total of all properties ST.
736,371,5SS.
The total receipts into the state
treasury to the credit of the various
funds during the year 1911, and with
which to meet the demands on the
various funds and the expenses and
liabilities of the state government,
were $7,59s,067.5O. Of this amount
nearly $5,0O0,000 went to the state
revenue fund. The revenues are am
pie and sufficient to meet all the de-
mands Of the state and raise it's
eleemosynary, penal and educational
institutions to the VERY highest
dence why the taxes of the people of
this state should not be doubled and
trebled merely to satisfy an appetite
for a spectacular and eXtravagant ad-
ministration
In 1909 the Governor offered a sub
stitute resolution, the purport of
which was to treble the taxes on all
real estate, etc. by assuming that the
property was assessed at one-third its
value, and by requiring the property
to be equalized at its full cash value.
The duties of the State Board in
equalizing properties are fixed by the
Constitution, and that provision is
self-enfOrcing.
This substitute resolution was de-
feated by the votes of Gordon, Roach
and myself, thus preventing the taxes
from being trebled. In other words,
if the state tax on certain piece of
real estate was $50, had the resolu-
ton been adopted it would have been
$3.50, a net yearly increase of S10O
The adoption of the resolution would
not have brought to the books for as
sessment or taxation a single added
dollar or reached a single tax-dodger
1t will not do to say the rate was to
be changed, as the board has nothing
to do with and cannot change the tax
rate. The state rate is fixed by stat
ute and can be changed only by an
act of the legislature. 1t needs no
argument to convince anyone that the
trebling of the assessed value would
treble the tax. No amount of sophis.
try can escape this conclusion.
Secretary of State.
Honorable Cornelius Roach, the
present Secretary of State, is ever
active in discharging the business of
his office and in the matter of making
money for the people has become
a real mint. He has set new stand
ard and scale of excellence unequaled
in the history of the department. We
must commend his energy and eff
cheney.
The treasury will never be empty
as long as Hon. John P. Gordon is
Auditor of the state. Not a claim or
,rnuobar nracanfad &c ondifad caya op5
except 1t has first had his personal at.
tention, and thousands and thousands
of dollars have been saved by his