Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1916-07-13
New Assessment Ordered.
County Commissioners Should
Be On Their Guard For
The County.

The County.
A new assessment has been order
ed. A meeting of all the tax officials
of the State was in session last week
in Baltimore, where the matter OF a
new assessment was threshed out.
We desire to sound a note of warm
ing to the Commissioners in several
ways. This assessment is pre- sumed
to be made to equalize the taxes all
over the State; in fact it is going to
be an attempt on the part OF Baltl-
more City to force the Counties to
assess on basis of total value OF the
property. Baltimore has been preach
ing this for number of years, crying
that she is made to bear her undue
burden of State Taxes. She has in
augurated a cash value for the City
not because she feels that it is fair to
the State, but because it is expedient
for her to do this and to meet the
large and growing demands of her
Expert Politicians who, in order to
hold their jobs, must keep the tax
rate down, so she needs of necessity
to have a higher basis in order to
give her own people lower rate to
keep them satisfi ed, for any admins
tration that raises taxes unduly, gen.
orally has the wrath of people called
down upon them.
Now Baltimore wants to get rid OF
paying high State taxes $50 do WEI
and she thinks that if she can force
the counties to increasing their basis
it will automatically lower her taxes
in a reduction of the State taxes.
This means but one thing, that the
Counties are asked to pull the chest
nuts out of the fire" for her, and
Frederick county as a large county is
expected to do her great share.
Conditions are not analogous;
values fiuctuate greatly in the coun-
ties, some times we see of sales being
made at what are acknowledged to be
excessively high prices, but that does
not fix or determine values. Senti
ment often makes a man hold out for
a higher price than he expects to get
in the hope of soaring off the buyer,
but if the buyer is persistent the deal
may go through, but this should in
no wise reflect the values of his neigh
bors, who if they were made to meet
this high value would be great
wrong.
The members of the Board of
County Commissioners of this county
are all men of substantial means and
have accumulated this by their own
thrift and they certainly would have
no desire to infict tax punishment
on the people Of their own county.
They have to account to the 'peo-
pie at home" and we say in all can
dor, don't permit Baltimore City or
any other section of the State to pur-
suade you to burden your own people,
simply to help to ease the burden of
the "other fellow, for remember the
other fellow" don't care rap about
you.
And again we trust that the Com
missioners will appoint men with
good sound business sense and judge
ment; don't appoint man just be-
cause he has some political recon-.
mendation or backing, but appoint
him because of his fitness for the job
before him. II is a serious matter
and one that will affect every owner
of real estate. Remember that if this
theory is carried too far it will mean
a step in a long way towards the
single tax" theory which is that
the land should be made to bear the
whole burden Of taxation. We feel
that the people are not awake as to
what is confronting them in this re-
assessment, especially if the State Tax
Commissioners (who advocated the
assessment on the lines Of total valu-
atom have their way. Baltimore
City politicians and the State Tax
Commissioners are entirely too close
in this respect to suit us.
If you have any views on this sub
ject you better spend few minutes
talking with your Commissioner, and
let him know your views.