The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1912-01-16

payers of his own county, or some Of
his friends and intimates, therefore
added as part of section 1927, that
the assessment of each county, on OF
before the first day of July of each
year, and his deputies as we'll, should
take and subscribe an oath in the
county assessment book itself, that the
property of the county subject to tax
alton, has been listed and assessed
on the assessment book, equally and
uniformly, according to the best of
my judgment, information and belief,
at it's full cash value"
To one not informed upon the here
tofore prevailing methods of assessing
the property in the various counties
of Idaho, it would seem incredible that
these plain provisions of our statutes
have for many years past. been con-
tinuously and Systematically violated; ;
that the county assessors have uni
formly and Intentionally violated the
law, and the other county officers in
trusted in part with the assessment
and collection of the revenues have
been privy to and condoned such viola
tions; and that every assessor and
every deputy assessor has each veal
subscribed to false affidavits. Such
however, has been the case, and our
people have become so accustomed to
these violations of law that may have
taken them as a matter of course, and
looked upon our revenue laws as mat
ters to be honored in their breach and
not in their observance.
Almost as matter of course with
each county assessor violating his
sworn official duties in the matter
Of assessments, and sustained therein
by the other officers of his county,
some of the assessors apparently de-
string to relieve the people of their
from paying their just proper
ton of the state taxes, reduced the
average assessment rate and so cor
lessened the total of the
assessment rolls of their counties
Such course not only resulted in great
inequalities in the amounts paid by
he several counties for state pur
poses, but naturally caused other
assessors to make like reduc-
ions, and as the result the entire as
'essment roll of the state in 1910
showed less than thirty per cent of the
actual value of the taxable property.
Worse than all, however, was the op-
offered under this unlawful, !
lnwise and vicious system to discrim-
nate in favor of certain taxpayers in
many of the counties, and certain
lasses of property in others, SO that |
here was no uniformity of ASSESS
nent upon property in any county in
he state, and in some counties prop |
rty of the same class was assessed at |
arying rates and from five to fifty |
er cent of it's real value, and thus en-
bling the chosen few or the favored |
lass to practically evade taxation and
orcing their tax burden to be borne
y others This is an evil impossible
0 correct in it's entirety under the old
ystem, but it would be impossible to
3ng retain under an assessment at full
alue.
These evils, while not entirely un
nown to our people, were of a mag
itude hardly suspected by any, as but
sw of our citizens have been in the
abit of examining the assessment
oils except as to their own property.
knew something of the matter when
entered upon my present office, al
lough not aware of the extent of the
vii. I endeavored to impress upon
ou while in regular session the neces-
ty of a change in our taxation sys-
IN and earnestly endeavored to have
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