The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1919-08-22
Does the Moral and Legal Stand
point" Justify in Reducing AS
sessments of Banks Without Ex-
tending the Reduction to Farm
Lands-Mr. Taxpayer, Who
Made the Discrimination?

There was published in the
Aberdeen Examiner, July 4th, an
article signed A. c. Lowe, Presi-
dent Board of Supervisors. taking
the editor of the Aberdeen Week
ly to task for exposing in editO-
rials the false propaganda that
the State Tax Commission had
caused the inequalities of assess
ments between individual tax
payers. which undoubtedly exists
in this county. and which COM
pelS certain property owners to
bear an unjust burden of the
taxes while others. some, of
which are banks get by with
greatly decreased taxes.
The Weekly stated, in those
editorials, that the board of Su-
pervisorS is solely to blame for
this inequality of taxes between
individual taxpayers in this cOun-
~.
The article signed by Mr..
Lowe stated that these editorials
had done him and the board of
supervisors great injustice in thus
exposing the falSeneSS of the pro-
paganda and telling the public
that the board and not the State
Tax Commission, was solely to
blame for these inequalities be-
tween Individual taxpayers in
this county.
To Mr.. loves article which
was published July 4th, the
Weekly replied, the next week.
July 18th, and cited him and the
public to testimony which 1t
quoted from the report of the
joint committee to the Legisla-
ture of 1918, opinions from the
Supreme Court records. and as
sessments copied from the land
rolls of the county, which con-
clusively proved its contention.
that the board of supervisors
alone had caused the inequality
of assessments between individ-
ual taxpayers in this county. Six
weeks has passed since the
Weekly published its reply to
Mr.. Lowe and up to this time he
has not questioned. nor attempted
to question the testimony. nor
the records which fixed the
blame for these inequalities upon
the board of supervisors. In the
same issue of the Aberdeen Ex-
aminer. July 4th. there was also
published an article signed John
ston Campaign Committee which
covered practically the same
ground as MIR. loves article,
ticle, except that it appended a
table of figures purporting to be
a comparison of taxes paid by
banks and farmers, and attempt
ing to show that while the banks
paid less taxes in 1917 than in
1916. the farmers paid more
taxes. This discrimination in
favor of the banks was charged
directly to the State Tax Com
mission.
The Weekly waited for two
weeks before it exposed this un-
just charge, in order to see If Mr..
A. c. Lowe. president of the
board of supervisors. would cor
rect this injustice which had been
done the State Tax Commission
and shoulder the blame for this
reduction in the assessments 0i
these banks, which we knew he
knew had been made in violation
of the State Tax Commission,
order. in the December meeting
Of the board Of supervisors, De
cember, 1917. and after the tax
rolls had been approved by The
State Tax Commission for thai
year. Then it was the Weekly
published the orders and cited
Mr.. Lowe to numbers Of minute
books and pages, thai
fixed the blame Tor re
duction Of aosossments q thesl
q