The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-30
HIGH INDIGNATION EXPRESSED AT BIG
 WEST END MEETING
1Continued From Page Five)

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 ations throu/ hout the state? We believe not, and until we see some evidence of equalization, the taxpayers of Jefferson county are forced to band themselves to- gether for mutual protection against the rankest kind of discrimination. We are driven to the wall and must fight in self defense
 Unless our board of revenue and our courts and juries protect the property owners of this county in this unjust dis crimination, and let the powers that be know that until they clean house at nome and make other counties bear their just portion of the expense of the state gov ernment, that they will not lend aid to this incessant, continuous and unjust de- mand for more money from this county, it Is certain that development will cease or be crippled. that real real estate values will not grow as they should grow, if at all, and that our efforts to build great and growing city will be thwarted or handicapped, and that rich and poor, capitalist and laborer employer and em- ploye, landlord and tenant will lose heart. remain inactive, and probably in the end all go down together in one common ruin.
 "A very short time ago our county fax commissioner, in an interview with one of the newspapers. declared that the small taxpayers would not be affected by the raises which he intends to make. In to- days Age-Herald there appears another interview in which MT. Allen quite con tradicts himself. He now says that prac- tically every taxpayer will be affected just how many he could not say. but enough to make an aggregate of $25,00 ,0oo in raises.
 Paid for Notices
 Now, it appears from the law that the ntftat, anlr fax rnx, r,,i icci urt1 n der the operation of the fee system, be benefited by the notices which will be sent out to these taxpayers to the effect that the county back tax commissioner has raised their assessments. and for said taxpayers to appear before the board of revenue and show cause why said raise shall not stand. The law provides that for each one of these notices the back tax commissioner shall receive 50 cents.
 Now. as suggested in an article which wrote The Age-Herald a few days ago. I believe that the board of revenue of Jefferson county should refuse to docket Mir. Aliens cases and thereby refuse to send out these notices to all those caught in the drag net Mir. Allen has thrown over the county. They should say to MT. Allen. as the Montgomery county board of revenue said to the back tax commits sioner of that county last year:
 We believe the property in this county is assessed high enough. We know that 1t is assessed much higher than 1t is in any other county in the state. and believing as we do, we do not propose to pile up all this trouble and expense against the hun dreds and thousands of our citizens just to put more money in your pockets and in the state treasury
 What will be the result if the board of revenue dockets MT Aliens cases and sends out these notices? l can tell you. The average man will not have enough at stake to justify employing lawyer to appear in his behalf The average man aoes not know how to handle matters of this kind. It will be an inexperienced and unsophisticated citizen going up against ants are The invitation will be extended by MT. Allen for everyone to come to him, and then and there he will offer compromise which will still place an un- just burden upon the average taxpayer. and make good his fee of 50 cents. plus 16 per cent of whatever taxes realized on account of an agreed increase in valu- ation. Now. the only way this can be avolaed is for the board of revenue tc have the nerve and refuse to docket Mir Aliens cases.
 Still Going Up
 Jefferson countys assessed valuations for 1906 were s57.s10.O04 For 1907 they were .S74. showing an increase of $2o, sol .s7o pretty good for a panic year. For 1908 they were sS9, 7l1.542. showing another in crease of S11.7l1.5i2. For 1909 they were sos. s.Te4. another increase of $4.26S. .222 For 1910 another raise under the compro- mise policy of County Commissioner White of s1S,66l .156. bringing the total up to sl07eso.eso. For the year 1911, when our board of revenue indicated very strongly that we had about reached the limit. ana due also to the short time in which Com missioner Bowman had to get ready with his raises. we were jerked up again in the modest sum of s6139,l5. making a total of SIS. 7s0s3s. How much valuatio~ for 1912 as made by our county assessor