Williams news., 1915-08-05

find harmony and a spirit of get together and each county assist in making as nearly correct assess ment as is possible under the law and existing conditions. In this connection I will state that it is the desire of this Commission that each of you should utilize this conference as clearing house for the many vex- atious questions and problems that
 are constantly arising ill your work as taxing officials.
 I feel that l cannot pass from this
 subject without first calling atten-
 tion to the injury done Arizona dur
 ing the past six or eight months by
 certain misguided and misinformed
 newspapers and individuals in their
 apparent systematic efforts to do
 politics of the peanut variety.
 This systematic effort was inaugur-
 ated last January at banquet giv-
 the members of the Legislature by
 one of the Civic organizations of
 Phoenix, the plant for which had
 been carefully laid and thought
 out by one of it's officials who had
 only a short time before, become
 resident of the State.
 The keynote speech made at this
 repast, was sounded by well known
 pill docter of the the town of Mi ami, whom will be more charit- able than to designate as ''quack"
 as he did the taxing official of Ari- zona. There is little room for doubt that the doctor, 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 his Primer on the subject of taxation, the ,ignor- ance displayed by him on this oc- casion being lamentable.
 The doctor conveyed to the assem- bled multitude the startling and ap- palling ( if true ) information that Arizona was the |" the worst tax ridden state in the Union, that her taxes were higher than the war rid den countries of Europe, that her taxing officials were a bunch of quack tax doctors, and that the pa- tient was apparently in her death throes from the effects of the med icine prescribed by the aforess i'd quacks," togeth r with somewhat lengthy diatribe of similar purport and mis-information. This speech was copied by the various newspa- pers of the state 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 almost incalulable injury to Arizona. My only reason for dwell- ing at length on th1s subject at this time, is for the purpose of correcting the report and placing Arfzona's tax matteinrs their true light to prospective settlers and investors
 Arizona is not the highest taxed state in the Union, nor is her aver age per capita tax one tenth that { ,f the war ridden countries of Flu 1 'ope, as the Miami doctor and the f lnvil chorus press of the state would f proclaim to the world. On the con- :; rary, her per capita tax is less than ( 'ne-half that of California, 27 prct. 2 ess than that of New York, 27 i ger cent less than that of Wash f ngton, 25 per cent less than Ore S ,on, 16 per cent less than Wyom- f ng, 9 per cent than Idaho and 2 r ger cent less than Wisconsin. It c 5 only 6 per cent more than b Minnesota, 8 per cent more than e 'olorado, 10 per cent than Mich t gan, and II per cent more than 1; Utah. This is an extremely O ood showing and comparison is 1hen the facts are considered of he immense areas of Forest Re- o