The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-02-24
Commissioner
Reject Tax Plan
Continued from page one

pay. Farmers and business men who
have been overcharsed n their taxes
AID ", want to 8; the assessments
arprotioned properly ar; get the
county on cash basis, would be
willing to help in this matter for the
good 1t would do. The theory was
| that all of the property in the county
could be assessed in the course OF
ten OF fifteen Gays, all of the local
problems as to valuations could be
gone over and Strengthened out by
men living in the community where
the property Is and when the reports
were turned over to the county as
SCISSOR they would be more nearly
correct than it would be possible to
get them if the work were done by a
man who did not live in the commun-
ity, and reviewed by board of
equalization that was not personally
acquainted in the community. In
stead OF having the whole mass of
equalization to be done by the three
men at Blackfoot for the whole
county it would be done by twenty
two different committees living in the
twenty-five different communities,
where the property was situated
When migratory herds entered the
county, it would be to the interest of
any precinct or school district, to
ring up their local deputy assessor
and get the assessment made and the
property credited to their precinct
or their school district
The commissioners were consider
ably interested in the plan and a
copy of it was handed to Mr.. Malcolm
for him to read to see if he would
endorse it and accept the aid of the
twenty-five committees to be so Sc
lected to help him, and take much
of the work off of his shoulders with
out in any way reducing his salary.
Mr.. Malcolm promptly rejected the
plan; he would have nothing to do
with it because it was not provided
for in the law. He wanted a plan
where he could go strictly according
to the letter of the law.
The commissioners then had sit
ting to go over the whole situation
to see if the plan were workable any
how and they decided that even if
the assessor were willing they might
not be able to put it thru. They said
the people might not be sufficiently
interested to hold the caucuses or
in the different precincts to
select the committees and the deput-
les to do the assessing. Commits
sioner Miller said he did not think
he could find three men in his COM
who would be interested
enough to take hold of the matter as
the local committee. He thought |
there might be good many precincts
in his part Of the country, where they
could not get enough men to serve |
on the committee. He doubted if |
they could find a competent man to
serve as the deputy assessor in each
precinct. He said it would be lot of
trouble to hold the caucuses and |
there might not be full attendance
at the convention when the conven-
ton assembled.
Mr.. Williams said it would be
pretty much the same in his precinct.
lie said they had had trouble in get
ing people to turn out to school
elections and they had had more
rouble getting them to attend canal
meetings, often having to adjourn the
meetings from time to time because
hey were unable to get a quorum.
lie doubted very much whether they
'ould find three men in their COM
nunity with interest enough to act as
LdyiSOrS for the deputv assassor and
hen if they did find them there
would be cases where they would be
,assing their opinion as to the values