The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1914-07-24

been violated when, as a matter OF
truth, the controlling thought is tc
withhold our vote for selfish, II not
ignoble, purposes? How often has il
been charged that people were over
assessed? In that very remote contin
gency there is ample facility for pro
lection against wrong, The prevail
ing complaint is that too many indi
viduals and interests have not been
paying their share of taxes. and ordi-
narily the offender has been the art
full person, skilled and resourceful in
human eventualities, the very sort OF
an individual who was influential in
his ward or township, and his known
power was strongly suggestive TO the
assessor. Under the operations Of
the new law, the Standard Oil COM
pany, without protest, submitted TO an
increase In Hancock county this year
of ten million dollars-the value of ten
average townships in the state. The
plain meaning of this is that the farm.
ers in ten townships have in the
past been paying a large part OF this
company's taxes In large city man
whose name was never on the tax du-
plicate before was listed this year for
$600000 in Standard Oil stock. The
average return by home owners in
the working mans districts of that
city is $1,000; so that 600 workmen
have been paying this mans taxes
for years-paying the policeman to
guard him at night-paying the fire
department that protected the roof un-
der which he slept. This is more
than injustice-it is a crime; and II
is high time such practices came to
an end in this state The commission
Of William Mckinley, after stating
plainly that the system was indefen.
sible and intolerable, centered its en-
/ ergies on two basic recommendations
First: That the appointment of a
! state tax commission which should
value all public utilities and control
the taxing policy Of the state in order
to render the system uniform as the
constitution provides; and
Second: The appointment Of asses
sors
In May, 1910, the first recommen-
dation was adopted in the act ere.
ating the tax commission Of Ohio and
giving to that commission supervision
over the assessment Of real estate and
original jurisdiction in the assessment
of the property of public utilities. AS
a result the grand real estate dupli-
cate of the state was increased from
81 ,656, 944, ,631 in 1910 to S441S,953,299
in 1913-an increase of $2,7G2,00S SOS;
public utilities were increased from
1926 ,226, DAB in S110 to $1,O5S.231 $50 in
1913-an increase of $832,005, 1877; and
banks were increased from $SO,742,115
in 1910 to $1S4,232,970 in 1913-an in
crease of $1O3, ,49O,S55.
The situation in taxing affairs when
the present administration came into
being was as follows:
Assessments Out of Proportion.
There had been an adequate assess
ment of the property of public utili-
ties and banks and of real estate, all
of which was done under the super
vision of the tax commission of Ohio.
There had been made an increase of
four billion dollars in these classes Of
property When the present admin
istration came into power the person.
al property of individuals and the prop
erty of incorporated companies were
the only classes Of property in this
state that were not listed by the tax
commission, or under it's supervision.
so that while the four billions of dol
lars increase to real estate, public
utilities and banks had brought about
a reduction in tax rates, the owners of
individual property and incorporated
companies shared in that reduction
without having increased their valua-
tions proportionately.
The Warnes law was enacted pri-
marily to extend the jurisdiction of
the tax commission to the assessment
of the two classes of property which
had heretofore been inadequately as.
sessed, and to give the commission an ,
adequate means of securing the desired ,
results by providing for the appoint
ment of local assessors instead Of
their election-all the work under the !
direct supervision of the commission J
While the commissions records are ]
not complete as to the assessment for !
1914, the returns from seventeen Of I
the small rural counties show an in 7
crease in the valuation of moneys, !
credits and investment in stocks and :
bonds over 1913 of $21 1,990229, or a l
gain slightly in excess of AZ per cent. $
The principal gain in these items will, :
Of course, be from the larger coun- +
ties, from which few returns have V
been received. l
Here is the way this increase was
made:
The state commission was able TO S
secure close cooperation between the
district officials in the eighty-eight =
counties impossible eX- s
,ept under the centralized authority A
plan; mortgages were copied and ex- y
lists of taxable securities, F
With the names and addresses Of hold. L
srs, were distributed, and from this s
source approximately $100,000,00O OF
axable values were secured. There c
vas also an interchange Of other use t
ul information. The commission kept r
n constant touch with the work in the Il
district assessors required s.
Iaily reports Of the work from their II
equities; and the district assessors re- fl
orted weekly to the tax commission. S,
While the information in the posses Ia
ion Of the commission at this time is Fl
IA