The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1918-01-29
A. w. JONES CITES
:, GOVERNING LAW
Saws Duncan and Hemphill Over
estimated His Power.
The State.
The following communication has
ben received from A. w. JONES'
chairman of the tax commlsson.


have noted the remarks attrl-
buted to Representatives Duncan
Of Union and Hemphill of Chester
during the debate on the bill to
abolish the tax commission. Mr'
Duncan stated that ''he thought the
present plan lodged too much pow
er with one man." An opinion is
valuable only when it appears to De
reasonable and to have good toun-
dation in fact. If the members Oh
the general assembly will refer. 70
the act creating the tax commission
they will find that the commission IS
composed of three men and tna1
each member possesses, so far as the
assessment of property for taxation
is concerned equal power with the
others; that it takes two members
of the three to fix and determine
the amount of an assessment upon
any and all property coming under
the authority of the tax commission.
By reference to Section IL OF the
acts of 1915, page s61, it will be
seen that any person feeling ag-
erieved at the action of the MAORI
ty of the commission has the right
to appeal to the tax board OF review
which consists of seven members,
one from each congressional district.
This right Of appeal is often exer-
cised and in all such cases the action
of these seven gentlemen is final
and binding upon. the tax commits
sion and all other tax officers OF the
the State.
. If it is intended to create the I'M
pression that Notwithstanding the
law and that through my PERSONAL
ty, I dominate the tax commission
"a well as the board Of review, l
have only to say that my associates
Hon. J. P. Derham, former comp
troller general, and Hon. W. 6.
Query, former member of the legis-
lature from Spartanburg County,
are men of character and ability,
and those who know them will not be
impressed by suggestion that they
are dominated other than by their
own intelligence and desire to per-
form their duties conscientiously'
The board of review is composed
of B, F. Mcleod, chairman; T. w.!
Berry, J. b. Shuler, E. M. Croxton'
D. A. Geer, James L. Quinby and
L. L. Wagnon. Those who know
these gentlemen will also not be I'M
n,essed with the idea that I in any
wise dominate or control them in
their official actions. Besides, any
one who will take the trouble to
read the official reports OF the tax
commission will find that oftentimes
the board of review overrules or
modifies the action of the tax COM
mission in cases appealed to them.
A striking instance of the action OF
the board of review was in an ap-
peal in which it reduced an assess
ment made by the tax commission
s2S7,748, or from $1,442,908, fixed
by the tax commission, to $1,154,-
100, fixed by the board of review.
In 3S~ appeals, all of which were
corporations, the board of review
sustained appellants, entirely in ten
cases, and particularly in one, re-
ducing the tax commissions assess
ments by $1,573,6S2
Mr.. Duncan, as I understand, is
not a lawyer, and is, perhaps, not
familiar with the statutes creating
the tax commission and the tax
board Of review, and that may be
the explanation of his giving an
opinion which is, in fact, not well
founded. I understand, however,
that Representative Hemphill of
Chester is q lawyer. This being true,
it is difficult to perceive how he
should have fallen into the error
attributed to him, all of which might
have been avoided by making an
easy inquiry at the tax commissions