The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-09-30

has it been possible to obtain the COM
munity opinion during the time of
making the assessment. In this way
all chance for favoritism, either con-
scious or unconscious, is done away
with. Before the assessment is half
done, the tax payers of the community
awake to the fact that they are get
ting a square deal"
The Somers system is not only
unique in it's systematic and scientific
methods of calculating individual lot
values from values of units which ap-
ply equally to all lots subject to the
same influences, but also in that it is
the only system or method of assess
ing by which owners, tenants and
other representatives are permitted, or
are able, to assist in the actual as
sessment. The ease with which com
munity opinion of land value may be
obtained is one of the most valuable
features Of the Somers system. Every
investigator of the system recognizes
this, and acknowledges that under no
other known method is it possible to
obtain the ideas of value held by the
body of the people. The reasons why
other methods fail and the Somers
ticular, may be stated as follows:
Ffrst-The Somers system provides
for a unit of quantity, SO that opinions
of value may be easily compared.
Second-The Somers system unit of
quality makes it easy for the people
who live and do their business upon
the land to be valued, to compare the
value Of one street with another, one
part of a street with another part Of |
the same street, one side of a. street !
with the other side, and so on; thus !
using the knowledge of general con- !
ditions that has heretofore gone to |
waste.
Tn every community commodities |
and services are valued and sold by a !
unit of quantity. Every one knows |
that a quoted price on coal means so
much per ton of coal and that that /
ton weighs 2240 pounds; that the .
standard unit Of quantity as applied /
to potatoes is the bushei; to beef,
poultry and live stock, the pound; to
cloth, the yard; to lumber, the board
foot; and to excavating, the cubic
yard.
In each case the price or value of
the goods or services refers to the
price or value of a unit of quantity,
and that price or value may be easily
compared with other prices or values
for the same unit If the units of
quantity varied for the same COM
modify, and if some dealers gave a ton
Of coal weighing 1900 pounds, and
some a ton weighing 2240 pounds, con-
fusion would result and business would
De retarded.
If units of quantity are found neces-
sary in dealing with such matters, how
much more important is their use in
he valuation of the land upon which
ire levied the taxes for the public
revenues.
The Importance of publicity in all
public work is recognized on all sides.
TO use publicity in making an assess
nent of land for taxation was never
attained until the Somers system was
Introduced. although it had been at
empted by assessors many times.
When a community gets into the
habit of making its comparisons Of
raIues as Of a given quantity OF land,
md when that same community OBJ
aims a general idea of the effect of
expressions of value of a given
luantity of land. when applied to other
izes and shapes-as has happened in
very city where the Somers system
las been used-there will be an ease
# expression OF value and a certainty
f the effect of that expression which |
an be obtained in no other way.