The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-12-08
RAISING QUESTIONS

HCan we resume the agitation of the
tax question that was discontinued
last May after four months Of dis
cussion Of the subject. We have al
ready published twenty-five chapters
plus chapters a, b, c, d, e, I, g, and
n and the chapter in this issue is
chapter number twenty-six.
/ The county commissioners made
an effort last winter and spring to
cut down the county expenses and to
increase the assessment of property,
to get all of it ON the. rolls that had
been left off. They went about it
after fashion OF their own and they
did not get results as they. hoped
they would. This paper said at the
time that the way to get results was
to get new assessor, but the county
commissioners took the view that
lthey, had no power to discharge the
assessor and they did not make the
experiment Of asking him to resign.
Members OF the board OF commits
sioners said week ago that they
thought the assessor had done q
great deal better this year. In view
of the material published in chapter
twenty-six of this issue 1t does not
appear that there is any improve
ment in his method of assessing live
stock. Indeed it appears that he has
'willfuliy omitted assessing the large
herds. owned by the men whom we
gave him and the tax commission in
formation about last spring. On
Friday evening, March 18 when the
tax commission was in session with
the assessor present, the editor OF
The Republican laid a mass of In
formation on the table regarding the
fiocks and herds Of this county for
the years 1919 and 1920, introduced
two witnesses to prove that that part
of the information that had already
been published was true, and told
the tax commission that he was
ready to convey to them the informa-
ton by which they could determine
whether all Of the rest Of his charges
that were still unpublished were
true. He asserted that there were
eighty-flve stock men in the county, !
the owners Of the largest fiocks and |
herds who were either not assessed |
at all or were not assessed correctly, |
and he laid before them the names |
and addresses OF seventy-five of these |
stockmen. told them he was ready
to furnish information or to point |
them to the source of information
by which they could find out exactly
what was the truth of ownership 81 I
the stock. He said that he was ready
to publish the names of the stockmen
and the amounts Of their actual
holdings, together with the amount
of their assessment as soon as the tax
commission checked up on the in
and wrote it into their re- n
,ort. The committee laid the infor-
nation aside and did not use it.
Last Monday the board Of county
commissioners showed that they had
discovered new source Of informa-
ion and were making use of It when
hey subpoened the ledger and the
,ookkeeper for the Eastern Idaho
irazing association, placed him
lnder oath and required him to give
II the information he had and all
hat they wanted regarding the own
rship of the members Of the ASSOC
iation. The testimony given by Mr..
ar mer as detailed elsewhere in this
ssue of the paper. corroborates the
harges made by The Republican last
farch and April. and shows that the
ounty has lost the taxes for another
ear on the large herds and Jocks to
hitch he called attention at that
me.