Bisbee daily review., 1922-07-26
Valuations Placed On Property
 Too High, Life of Industries
 Threatened, Conference Is Told

Conditions that are threatening the farming stock raising and mining in dustries in Arizona were put squarely before the state tax conference yes terday with plea that the state tax commission reduce all valuations on property in accordance with it's cash valuation.
 Increasing costs of state and county government, coupled with the decreas ing value of the dollar, are driving industry closer to the wall each year, delegates told the conference.
 Protest Mine Valuations
 The first protest against general valuations was made by Robert E. Talley, of Jerome. Tally said:
 "As governor of the Arizona Chap ter of the American Mining Congress and as representative of the mining industry of this state I appear before you for the purpose of protesting against the high valuations which you have placed not only upon the produc- ing mines but upon other classes of property as well.
 "The industries and taxpayers of Arizona have suffered greatly by the depression of the past two and one half years or more and we well realize the difficulties that you have encount cred in your endeavors to assess in as just a manner as possible the diff ferent classes of property.
 "The law states that all property shall be assessed in accordance with it's full cash value. This is very of ten difficult of interpretation, but it is quite evident that in some cases your valuations are excessive. 1 re- fer particularly to farm land and real estate which is often assessed for more than the property will sell for. Cattle at $2250 per head is also ex- cessive. Would it not be more equit- able for you to reduce the valuations of all property in accordance with the law and raise the rate to meet your budget? I am certain that it would be and recommend such for your con sideration.
 Requests Revision
 "As regards the mines, I feel that you have erred. During the past sev- eral years you have valued producing mines by capitalizing the average net profits over a period of the preceding five years at rates varying from fif- teen to twenty per cent. This method at the time was considered unfair but We felt that it might be equitable if continued over a number of years in other words, if the method was used during bad as well as prosper ous times. But when it came time to figure the lean year of 1921 you have seen fit to arbitrarily change the method, thereby acknowledging it's failure and reopening the entire sub ject of mine taxation. Taxes, next to labor, are the largest item of mine cost and, unless we have definite means of estimating and reducing the amount of these taxes, the mining in- dustry will suffer to such an extent that it will react against the welfare of the entire state. The industry needs encouragement and I assure you that capital will not be interested in the development of new mines un- der existing conditions"
 'T again ask your immediate recon sideration of this subject with view of revising your 1922 valuations for all classes of property in accordance with is fair cash valuation"
 NOTE: Tally refers in his talk to the proposed change in the method of taxing producing mines. Here is the present method of fixing the valuation of such mines: The production of