The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-03-12
Listers Of Caledonia County
Meet Here Today To Hear
Address by Com. Plurnley


purposes.
We shall have, we can have, Just
as good tax system as the people
want, and because this is true it is
absolutely indispensable that the
work of education in matters per-
tanning to taxation should be carried
forward. After call the tumult and
the shouting dies" the fact remains
uncontroverted that all genuine tax
reform lies in that public opinion
which supports and is back of fearless
and faithful execution and admins
tration of the laws placed upon tbe
statute book.
1t matters not what tax system we
may be working under, the burden of
administration and enforcement Of
the law rests squarely upon the
shoulders Of human beings whose
judgement is not infallible and who
are at all times liable to make mis-
takes. Until we wake up to realiz
ing sense Of the fact that the persons
to whom we delegate the most impor-
tant task having to do with taxation,
namely, that of listing and apprais-
ing our property, are not paid q wage
commensurate with. the responsible
ity which they assume, we viii get
exactly what we pay for. It is ad-
mitted by all authorities having to
do with tax matters that the under
payment of listers and the lack Of
appreciation by the public Of the re-
sponsibility placed upon listers, and
its effect upon every taxpayer, under
lie and are at the root of all the un-
dervaluation and inequality in taxa
ton of which we at times so bitterly
complain.
The. power to correct this situa-
ton is in our hands, and until we
undertake to help ourselves by using
the remedy so close at hand it is
nonsense to talk about theoretical tax
reform far afeld Any other system
the administration of which is dele
gated to human beings would be in
exactly the same situation and for
the very same reasons. What we
save by the narrow minded policy of
underpaying our listers we lose
through undervaluation and unequal
appraisal of property and the inetfi-
cheney of those who will not, or can
not afford as they see it from the
| standpoint of public duty to take the
time to perfect themselves in the
knowledge of the law and their du-
ties hereunder. We get just what
we are paying for and have no one
| but ourselves to blame.
If we are going to collect the
taxes we must have legal grand list
and whether we have legal grand
| list or not rests primarily upon the
| men who make it. From the selfish
standpoint of the interest of the State
and of the several towns it would be
far better to make the mistakes OF
oyerpaying the listers than to persist
in continuing the short-sighted poll
CIV which now obtains in altogether
| too many towns | re-assert that the
! lister is prominently the most I'M
portant official in the whole scheme
of general property taxation, ano
| every effort to better the system
should be concentrated upon him anc
| his work. Unless the initial assess
/ ment which he makes is approximate
i ly fair and uniform, taxation becomes
a farce, and deliberate tax dodgine
| will continue to be popular recreat
| ion. The germ of inequitable taxa
4 ton finds its origin in the local as
| sessment, and every subsequent ster
in it's progress nourishes the growth
4 of this germ until well developed
j disease has poisoned the whole s35s
tenn of taxation.
From the selfish standpoint o.
every taxpayer, it is therefore til'
highest kind of economy to see tha
} listers are competent and efficient
: from which it follows, necessarily
that they must be paid wage com
mensurate with the work which the.
do and the responsibility which the
assume. They should be fairly pal'
and held responsible under the law
for the efficient discharge of the du
ties imposed upon them by the law
Listers Meetings.
The interest manifested at thes
meetings and the character of ques
t tions asked and discussed and tn
knowledge of the law and OF thel
duties evidenced by the listers whel
! compared with the situation whlcl
existed few years ago would con
vince even the most skeptical tina
4 the educational value of such meet
: ings cannot be overestimated.
| The value of educating listers a
T to their duties under the law is no
: where more clearly demonstrate
= than by the fact that in 1917 the q
, mount of taxable personal propert
: which was put into the list shove
: an increase of three million, nv
: hundred thousand dollars, in roun
? numbers. over the amount of taxabl