The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1913-08-26

.
ing character was provided for the so.
journing officials. To such extent was
this species of bribery and corruption
carried that II became a public scan
dal
THE result as II appears on the tax
duplicate is easily detected to f1ve
been profitable to those whose prop
erty was being assessed under such
auspices. especially when compared
with present assessments For exam
pie, the principal railroad in Holmes
county, the Cleveland, Akron & Gin
cinnati, was assessed in your county
under the elective assessing system at
$3i7,3SO. The assessment Of this com
pany in 1913 in Holmes county is
$1,788,940, or nearly six times what It
was under the elective plan. The
Cleveland, Wooster & Muskingum was
formerly assessed at $13,751. II is
now assessed at $76,1S0-six times
greater than under the elective sys-
TEN. The Pittsburg. Ft. Wayne G.
Chicago, the Toledo, Columbus & Ohio
River, and the Wheeling G. Lake Erie
maintain substantially the same aver
sge.
Your farm lands under the old sys-
tenn were assessed at between so and
so per cent of their value. The homes
Of your laboring people and of your
middle class citizens generally were
assessed at from so to 20 per cent,
and some of them as high as 80 per
cent Of their value. Why should the
farmer and the home owner pay on an
assessment Of from so to 20 per cent
while the railroads paid on an as
sessment of from Is to 25 per cent?
"The creation of the state tax COM
mission was the first step in securing
an equitable distribution of the tax
burdens. The Warnes law, dealing
with personal property of individuals,
is the second and even more neces-
sary step. Yet It is confronted with
the same objection that was met when
the state tax commission was pro-
posed. It is said that the state Is TAX
ing away from the property holders
the right to select their own assessors.
The results achieved by the tax COM
mission in the assessment Of public
utilities is an earnest of the design of
the state with reference to the assess
ment Of personal property. The in.
creased value OF public utilities is
largely intangible, and it is the in-
tangible personal property that Is
sought to be uncovered by the Warnes
laU IL hoe haap prnuad onpaluofval,-
that this form of property can not be
brought TO light by assessors whose
tenure of Office depends upon the
favor Of those whose property they
assess. Just as every dollar of intapgi-
BILE value of the Cleveland, Akron &
Cincinnati railway which was put on
the duplicate of your county decreas-
ed the burden of the farmer and the
small home owner, so will every dol
lar OF intangible personal property to
be placed on the duplicate by the oper-
alton Of the Warnes law further de-
crease that burden.
while 1t is not flaunted in the face
of the people with the same degree of
abandon, there is underlying the pres
ent assessment Of personal property
just as much noisome scandal as OBJ
tanned under the old system of assess
ing public utilities. There is more
evasion, there is an excess of false
hood, and three years after the
Warnes law is in operation the people
of this state would no more return
to the present perjury-fostering sys-
tenn than they would now return to
the old system of taxing other prop
erty.
"The commission appointed by
Governor Mckinley made it's basic
recommendation in these words:
Experience teaches that the most
effective way of securing just assess
ments is to place the assessing ma
chinery in the hands Of capable, dis
interested and independent agents
Independent in the sense of being re-
of popular favor or displeasure),
whose compensation and term of SER
vice will justify them in giving, if
necessary, their entire time to the
work"
$50 far as 1 know, the only man in
Ohio who has ever sought to discuss
taxation with any degree of under
standing and who now objects to the
Warnes bill is Allen R. Foote of the
Ohio State Board of Commerce.
In his publication, the Ohio Jour
nal Of Commerce, he wrote in 1911 as
follows:
ITO expect 2,511 elected, inexperi-
enced assessors to make a correct as
sessment of all real property in Ohio
within a period of six months betrays
a childish confidence in the infallibil-
ity of elected officials which the mind
of primitive man might be capable of
entertaining, but which has no reason
able place in this enlightened age.'
I'm the same publication, in speak
ing of the personal property assessors
under the present system giving two
months Of their time to perform their
work, Mr.. Foote says: Here is an
other exhibition of child-like faith in
the omniscience of elected officials.