The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-04-17
THE BIRMINGHAM AGE-HERAID, sUNDAY APRIL 17, 19zl

printed their ridiculous statements and a few editors have commended favor ably apon them.
 Therefore, 1t is 0ecessary that those who seek the truth may keep in mind these factss
 CT. The law of 1911 provides that
 property shall be assessed for tax
 ntiOn at 60 per cent of it's reason
 nble cash value. It is still the law,
 and those who fail to seek to en-
 force il nre false to their oath
 and 10 their conscience.
 '2. The average assessment
 throughout the state for 1919. ac-
 cording to estimate, was 26 per
 cent of the reasonable cash vnIue
 or 34 per cent less than the law
 requires.
 a. The assessment for 1920 is approximately 90 per cent or 25
 per cent less than the law requires.
 ALL ACTS OPEN
 Acting under the authority of law and complying with their oaths, the tax adjusters during 1920 made an assassrnent for the period of two years beg ming October l. 1919, and ending Octobe9.1. 1921. Every act of the ad- justers gas in the open and in plain view of the public. Unusual opportu- mites were given all aggrieved per sons to appear and make protests or furnish information to counteract any facts gained from any other source by the adjusters.
 "After the assessment of the ad- justers was made, there was ample pro vision in the law for an appeal to the courts of county commissioners or boards of revenue. If the assessment of the board of revenue or court Of county commissioners was not satfs> factory, the taxpayer had another ap- peal to the circuit court, where he could call for the Judgment of a jury Of 12 citizens of his own county. Fail ing to gain satisfaction from his own neigkbors a taxpayer could take his cas- to the court of appeals and on to the supreme court. If he had right> eous cause he had nothing to lose, be- cause all costs were to- be assessed against the person found to be in error. Notwithstanding every right of appeal known to the law was pro- vided for the benefit of property owners, out of the hundreds of thou sards of pieces of property assessed in 1920 only a few hundred appeals were taken. Not a taxpayer ever went beyond jury of his county. In majority of counties not single appeal was taken.
 els that not positive proof that
 of the hundreds of thousands of
 property owners only n few hum
 dred in the entire state were dis
 satisfied with the assessmentf Does
 it not prove beyond doubt that
 the assessment of property for
 1920, at the time the assessment
 was made, was entirely satisfac-
 tory to practically everybOdys A
 first impression would cause one
 to believe this degree of satisfac-
 ton to be remarkable. But is hs
 When one understands that the
 average Is now 25 per cent less
 thnn the property owners were lin-'
 ble for under the laws made by
 their owH representatives,, does 1t
 seem to be remarkable?
 WHY THE CRY?
 with these facts in mind, one is forced to wonder why there should now be such hue and cry about tax bur lens,' 'confiscation of property 'unlaw- ful assessments and other similar in temperate utterances. The chief cause must be the demagogy of the po- litical microbe and the selfishness of the well-to do tight-wad, bolstered up by the low price of cotton and other farm products, the stagnation of busi ness, and the practice of living beyond the income /ith the consequent ln- bility to meet the calls of the bank. the advancing merchant and other creditors.
 But the most lusty cries are coming from the demagogue who deceives and misleads people who are ignorant of what constitutes fair, just, equitable and lawful taxation. Under the edi-' torial sanction of daily newspaper whose property was given in for taxa tion at less than 12 per cent of it's value, according to it's own books, Il few small bore politicians--democra republicans and populites-and few, yea, a very fey estimable gentlemen met in, Birmingham few weeks ago and organized the Alabama Tax Dodg- CTS league. which is now pleading for public recognition under the respecta : ble name of the Alabama Taxpayers league.
 Those patriots named several well known citizens of Alabama as com mitteemen, but the well known and re, spected citizens have not yet publicly acknowledged membership in the league or accepted comittee lead ership. A general meetinf of the