The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1913-08-13
EMPLOY SPECIAL COUNSEL
TO REPRESENT LATAH
ATTORNEY OVERSMITH WILL APPEAR BEFORE
STATE EQUALIZATION BOARD AT BOISE.
FIGHT ON TAX ASSESSMENTS
Expect to Combat Contention of PotIatcI1 and Othe
Timber Companies That Assessments
Are too High.

As further means of combating
the contentious of the POtlatch Lum-
ber company and other lumber cOrp0r-
ations Of Latah county before the state
board Of equalization at Boise the
latter part of this week the county
commissioners have employed A.. H.
Oversmith as a special attorney to rep
resent them at the state capital In the
fight that is brewing over the increase
in the assessed valuations of timber
land owned i'm this county by the lum-
ber companies.
This announcement was made this
morning by Homer E. Estes, clerk of
the county board. Mr.. Oversmith was
in town yesterday and spent consid
cradle time in conference with the
/ commissioners at a special meeting
called for the purpose of compiling the
data that has been collected during
the past two weeks on the holdings
of the Potlatch Lumber company and
other big lumber concerns. He will
go to Boise this evening with Mr..
Estes and Mr.. Wilson, representatives
of the board of county commissioners.
Prepare for Battle.
Since it was learned by the com
missioners that the Potlatch company
would appear before the state board
of equalization to protest against
the raise in their assessed valuation
the county board has lost no time in
preparing for the battle. 1t has been
latch Lumber company.
Heretofore the property of the Pot
latch company has always been as
sessed at a fiat rate, no view being
taken of its real value as based on an
official cruise. This year, so the COM
missioners allege, a fiat rate below the
normal figure was again assessed
while all other classes of property
in the county underwent a material
raise in assessment. 1t is to equalize
this assessment that the county board
is now making its fight
Lumber, declare the commissioners,
throughout the entire county is not as
sessed at its real value. These points
will be strongly emphasized at Boise
this week when the commissioners and
the representatives of the Potlatch
Lumber company appear before the
state board of equalization to settle
their differences.
Concerning Tax Rolls.
The question of submitting the as
sessment rolls of Latah county to the
state board of equalization at the cap
ital the latter part of this week still
remains in dispute, legal advice on
the authority of the tax commission
to demand the rolls being conflicting
and the opinion of the county board
itself being divided.
Homer Estes, clerk of the county
board, has written to Axel P. Ram
stedt, chairman of the state tax COM
sion, entering a protest against the
orders of that commission and a re-
turn message by wire is being await
ed 1t is thought that perhaps the
tax commission will modify their or
der for the submission of the rolls and
be content with further abstract con-
tanning whatever additional data is de-
sired The wire is expected hourly.
Law Not Clear.
The matter of shipping the tax rolls
to Boise in compliance with the orders
of the state tax commission was taken
up with County Attorney Niscbet a few
days ago and he advised that there
was no specific authority for such an
order granted by the statutes although
such authority might be implied from
the section giving the tax commission
power to make "other rules and reg
llations which it might deem neces
sary." Attorney General Peterson was
wired regarding the matter but his an
hat to avoid trouble the rolls be ta-
Ken to Boise as requested by the tax
The matter will be considered fur
her at another meeting of the county
this afternoon.