The Coconino sun., 1915-07-30
Third Annual Tax COnlerenCe
Continued from Page One)

fault finding and petty jealousies formerly existing, we now find harm ony and spirit of get together and each county assist in making as near ly a correct assessment as is possible under the law and existing conditions. In this connection 1 will state that it is the desire of this Commission that each of you should utilize this confer ence as clearing house for the many vexatious questions and problems that are constantly arising in your work as taxing officials. By so doing you will not only continue the high state of efficiency that has been evidenced by the taxing officials of Arizona dur ing the past three years, but will also keep the baby state in the fore front as model, whose laws and system of taxation other states will continue to copy from as they have been doing for some time past.
 I feel that I cannot pass from this subject without first calling attention to the injury done Arizona during the past six or eight months by certain misguided and misinformed newspa- pers and individuals in their apparent systematic efforts to do politics of the peanut variety. This systematic eff fort was inaugurated last January at a now famous banquet given the members of the Legislature by one of the Civic organizations of Phoenix, the plans for which had been carefully laid and thought out by one of its officials, who had only short time before, become a resident of the state.
 The key note speech made at this repast, was sounded by a well known pill doctor of the town of Miami, whom l will be more charitable than to designate as a "quack" as he did the taxing officials of Arizona. There is little room for doubt that the doc tor, is, to say the least, an average physician and surgeon, and that he has studied extensively and read many voluminous works on this subject. However, it would be the height of folly to accuse him of ever having read even his Primer on the subject of taxation, the ignorance displayed by him on this occasion being lament able.
 The doctor conveyed to the assem- bled multitudes the startling and ap- palling (if true) information that Ari- zona was the "worst tax ridden state in the Union, that her taxes were higher than the war ridden countries of Europe, that her taxing officials were abunch of quack tax doctors, and that the patient was apparently in her death throes from the effects of the medicine prescribed by the aforesaid quacks," together with somewhat lengthy diatribe of similar purport and transformation. This speech was extensively copied by the various newspapers of the state and such of newspapers of the state and much of it found its way into the telegraphic news and was printed in other states.
 There is little doubt but that this transformation, sent broad cast as it was,--its sponsor being the leading civic body of the state, has done al- most incalculable injury to Arizona. My only reason for dwelling at length on this subject at this time, is for the purpose of correcting the record and placing Arizona's tax matters in their true light to prospective settlers and investors.
 Arizona is not the highest taxed state in the Union, nor is her average per capita tax one tenth that of the war ridden countries of Europe, as the Miami doctor and the anvil chorus press of the state would proclaim to the world. On the contrary, her per capita tax is less than one-half that of California, 36B less than that of New York, 279e less than that of Washington, 25@o less than Oregon 16% less than Wyoming, 9S less than Idaho and 296 less than Wisconsin It is only 68o more than Minnesota 8@t more than Colorado, 10f6 more than Michigan, and 11b more than Utah. This is an extremely good showing and comparison when the facts are considered of the immense areas of Forest Reserve, Indian Res- ervations and desert portions from which no tax can be derived, but not withstanding, which are subject to the laws of the state and require no small amount of expense for policing and consequent court procedure.
 The following data compiled from reports from fifteen states, principally western and central, shows Arizona eighth in the list from per capita otondno;nt Tf tho larua nor cant maid