The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1921-10-28
WRIGHT SCORES
LOUTHAN'S PLAN
OF ASSESSMENTS
CITES RAISE IN MAURY COUNTY
AS EVIDENCE OF DISREGARD
OF EVIDENCE.
CHAIRMAN DOMINATES THE BOARD
Declares That Proof Submitted by the
Local Officials Was Entirely Isnor-
ed When Twenty Per Cent Advance
Was Made.
(From Mondays DAILY Herald.


NASHVILLE. Tenn, Oct. 24-W. L.
Wright, of jamestown, Fentress coun-
ty, member of the state tax commits
sion, since the adjournment of the
commission and the signing of its
minutes, has prepared and given to the
press of the state a caustic statement,
in which he criticises severely the
methods of making the 1921 assess
ment ofreal and personal property in
Tennessee, and in which he cites nu-
merous instances of alleged personal
favoritism of Chairman Louthan and
members of the commission in assess
ing various counties and individuals.
Mr. Wright, it will be recalled sew
eral weeks ago issued statement in
which he contended that there should
be fiat reduction of 20 per cent in
the assessment over the state, instead
of cutting or raising the assessment by
individual counties.
After giving many other .illura-
tons Mr.. Wright makes the follow
ing reference to Maury county:
'Maury County had been cited to
show cause why its assessment should
not be raised 20 per cent. It's assess
ment, as fixed by it's county board,
showed reduction of 1873 per cent I'M
der the 1920 assessment. They com
pared their county with that of Will
Hanson County and other counties,
one of which, If | remember, was
Rutherford County which had an es-
timated reduction of 80 per cent I'M
der the 1920 assessment, and which
was passed on by the state board in
the chairmans blanket recommends
ton. Rutherford County is the home
Of one member of the state board
There must have been ten or twelve
persons present from Maury County
and fifteen to twenty affidavts. The
county judge and assessor were both
present and made statements before
the board.
"Al this showed conclusively to my
mind that the real estate of Maury
county had deprecated from 80 per
cent to 40 per cent in the past year.
They showed that one. farm sold in
1919 for $4,000, of which $1,000 had
been paid in cash, and recently the
farm went back to the original own
ers for the balance due of purchase
money. Another farm sold for $24,-
900, with a cash payment of $4,000,
and that it recently went back to this
seller for the balance of purchase
money. They showed that some farm
lands in Maury county were assessed
as high as 5000 per acre.
But it appeared that the chairman
had had a man in Maury county, a
Mr. PEBBLES, and his evidence weighed
more with five members of the state
board than the evidence of the County
board of Maury county, coupled with
the evidence of the county Judge, the.
county assessor, the delegation pres
ent, and their file of affidavits. The
result was that Maury county got an
increase of 20 per cent.
Sumner county, the home of Chair
man Louthan had reduction of 1871
per cent from the 1920 assessment. a
difference of exactly one per cent I'M
der Maury county. This county was
passed upon and now stands with a
reduction of 17.9 per cent less than the
1920 assessment. The proof bowed
that Maury county, as whole, not
INCLUDING the towns, was assessed at
&t1 per acre, which, With the increae
of 20 per cent made $4S20 per acre.
1t developed the Sumner county was
assessed at $40 per acre.