Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1917-10-05
COUNTY ASSESSOR HAS NO
POWER TO FIX VALUES


hearing or an unbiased opinion. Then
it is that the unscrupulous. with per-
sonal interests at stake, may take ad
vantage of the public and deceive
well-intentioned citizens. In Clear
water county the Spirit of demagog-
uery has been most malignant. We
have class presuming to be political
leaders who have sought to coin a
popular predjudice, created by their
own lies, and thereby maintain con-
troll of this county, The people have
been told that timber is not fairly
assessed that the people can, by elect
ing this or that fellow to the Office of
county assessor, fix any arbitrary
value that the wild-eyed muck-raker
may be pleased to fix, and that the
rates fixed by political grafters will
stand; that it is within the power of
the assessor to determine values re-
Eardless of justice, right, or the val
ues fixed for such property thruout
the state. And lot of people shave
believed this buncombe.
We have been told that Assessor
Hinckley has been favoring the TIM
Der companies; that he is tool Of
corporations; that he fixes the'values
of timber, and that he determines
how much taxes the Potlatch. ,ne
Clearwater, or any other company
pays.
But does he?
publican or democrat, socialist or an
archist, may start put'under the idea
that he is the whole show: that he
can fix values, determine taxes. and
assess farm hnd at fifty cents an
acre, hogs at ten cents each. cows at
a nickel, horses at thirty cents, inn
provements cent on the dollar,
printing plants at million dollars,
and standing white pine timber at
$40 per thousand feet. But
Will it stand?
The assessor sends an abstract of
his values to the county board, and
after they have approved. or changed
them, as they have power, the assess
ment is passed on to the state board
OF equalization to be compared with
like values in, all the other counties
of the state, and is increased or low
cred as they are higher or lower than
the values fixed. not by the Clearwa-
sfer county assessor, but by all the
county assessors. and approved by
the state board. If, however, all the
assessors in Idaho should happen to
would exempt farm lands, and va. ae
Clearwater county white pine at SIC
per M, then the combined judg-
lnent of all the county assessors in
Idaho would be set aside by the state
board. For the law will not permit
rank discrimination, and the courts
will not uphold robbery under the
guise Of political jobbery.
Let us not forget this. Let us re
member that the powers of county
assessor do not include the right tt
fix values of white pine or farm
lands or any other class of property
Let us remember that Clearwater
county timber is assessed as high al
is like timber in any county in tn,
state, and that the people of thi
county are powerless to set up an III
dependent schedule of values for tax
alton purposes, regardless of wha
politicians may say, or the promise
they may make in their mad scramble
for Office.
This year we have democratic
state board of equalization approvin,
without one change. the valuation
as returned by republican count.
assessor and approved by n republi
can board of county commissioners
Which proves all that we have sal,
In this article. Mr. Hinckley's val
ues were not made to suit timbe
companies nor to get farmer vote
on a platform of deception. only 4
be changed later when they reache,
Boise. thus placing the democrati
state officials in false position b.
making It appear they were favor
ire timber corporations. as tn
Clearwater county ring of allege
democrats did with republican stat
board Hinckley's assessments wer
approved by democratic state boar
because they were placed by a repuh
lican county assessor where they be
longed In the first place.
And yet the next election will n
doubt find INSCRIPTIONS men maxim
the same old howl about timbe
tools, and promising to jump timbe
values to ten or fifteen milliop'
These fellows will work on the theor