The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1921-08-05
Errors May Be Corrected By County Commissioners at Any
Must Be Correct.
Assessor Ole Aspeund Now Reclassyng Sheridan County
Correcting Lockwoods Work at Great Expense
Hundreds of Farers Protesting Their Cassifcations
cQMMR IUQ MATKINS SORE AS A HORNET
SORE AS A HORNET

B. K. O'Grady, county clerk and re-
corder, received a communication last
Saturday from Attorney General Ran
kin to the effect that the County Com
not only had the power
but that it is their duty to correct
errors in the land classification, under
is protest filed.
Attorney General Rankin sent his
opinion in answer to a request for
an opinion sent to him by the Clerk
& Recorder upon instruction by the
Board of Commissioners a couple Of
weeks ago, when the Commissioners
were setting as the Equalization
Board, after that body had been lit
orally flooded by protests against
classification by numerous farmers of
the county who had been injured by
the fake land classification Of one L.
v. Lockwood, who classified the lands:
without even visiting most of the
lands, and who probably does not
know enough to classify the lands ev-
en- if he had visited them. At the
time the opinion was asked for, the
Commissioners were up against it to
know what to do, yet feeling that
something had to be done, as the in
justices worked by the incompetent
and defective work of the land classi-
fiers was most glaring, and it ap-
peared that endless litigation could
only result from the fraudulent clas-
sifcation, and the attorney general
was appealed to in their distress.
The Attorney General holds that
when county commissioners find that.
errors have been made in classifica-
| ton of lands, these errors may be cor
lrected at any time, so Attorney Cen
eral Wellington D. Rankin says, in an
opinion at the request Of B. K.
| O'Grady, clerk of the board of co.in-
ty commissioners at Plentywood. Mr.
Rankin believes the purpose Of the
law to be just and equitable classifi-
cation and he thinks the statute is
broad enough to permit the board to
adjust classification when it finds in
equality.
After quoting section eight of
Chapter 240 of the Seventeenth ses-
sion laws the attorney general says.
ssUnder this section, the commits
sioners are required to notify land
owners and allow them to appear and
object to any classification made. Ii
the land owner, having been SO notl-
d fed, fails to appear and ask for cor
recfiOn. it is to he assumed that the
classification is satisfa actory to him.
"Howeyer, the Ultimate purpose OF
the statute and the result to be at
tanned is a correct classification OF
the land. Any incorrect classification
.. must result in unequal burdens OF
, | " Yp1
tice. The statute above quoted Ger
:. tainly did not intend to lay down SC
!. harsh and arbitrary a rule as that
. classification once made and not I'M
mediately protested by the farmer
owning the property, should stant
perpetually no matter how great tn
error in assessment resulting or tn
inequality and injustice in the burdel
of taxes borne by him. Suppose tina
the registered notice referred to il
the section quoted was delivered to- );
farmer in some distant state where
because of difficulties from drough
or other causes he had gone to pro
: cure employment.
"He could not reasonably be re
quired to leave his work, return t
Montana, and be present at the frs
meeting of the board of equalization
under penalty Of having his propert.
perpetually wrongly assessed. More
over. from the mere notice, and unit
= perhaps after extended inquiry in
Lyolving considerable time, farine
could not know whether the classified
4 ton placed upon his property CORES
ponded to the classification of simila
property elsewhere and whether TIL
same was correct.
seThe statute provides for invest
g CATION and reclassifcati0n upon pro
\ test BY the owner, and while it Nigh
seem from the fact that this prov
sion follows Immediately the prov
|e sion for sending out notices of clas
IS sificatiOn that it was intended tfla
protest must be made at once by tn
Hand owner, this conclusion does nc
st. necessarily follow, and the cOnstru'
4 ton will therefore be placed upo
IA the section that will without appal
le Iently harmmg any one, doing vioienc
to the statute, or interfering with II
is administration, permit the fairest n
n suit to be attained, namely, col
rect AMI equitable classification ain
assessment. :,
,dl sTt was not the intention OF tn
e-Ilegislature to require q classificatio
~ I'd be made once for all time. Th
class Of land may change from yea
ed to year. Land that was stump Ian
may be cleared and become agricultu
a. ii land. Non-irrigated land may !
n brought under wateF, and Otht
lchanges may take place such as
D. render the classification made in or
1 3
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