Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 57, Number 72, Decatur, Adams County, 26 March 1959 — Page 12

PAGE FOUR-A

Tax Assessing Laws Boon For Taxpayers

INDIANAPOLIS (UPD—For the first time in Indiana history, taxpayers can afford to be honest with the assessor. That is the way Dr. Robert J. Pitchell. director of the Commission on State Tax and Financing Policy, sums up the importance of a package of tax assessment laws enacted by the 1959 General Assembly. But don’t expect any changes for a while yet. Pitchell and Joda G. Newsom. Columbus, chairman of the State Board of Tax Commissioners, said the taxpaying public will not feel the effect of the new laws until 1963. Backbone of the package are three new acts which: , —Direct the State Board of Tax Commissioners to prepa re " a standard personal property tax t manual in 1959 and make a test run with it in six counties in 1960. New Land Values —Require reassessment 6f real estate in 1961 and every eight jrears after that. These changes will not show up in taxes paid until 1963. —Sets an across-the-board assessment ratio of one-third of "true cash value” on all real estate and personal property, effective Jan. 1,1962. Three other new laws also figure in the tax assessment picture. One of these sets up a quadrennial look at exemptions given to nongovernmental charitable, educational, religious and fraternal property owners. If they fail to file they go on the tax duplicates. Another calls for separate assessment of motor vehicles with a separate tax receipt for each which must be attached to every renewal application fojTt motor vehicle as a means of closing a loophole whereby many car owners avoid paying property taxes, effective in 1962. The third of the secondary' bills relating to tax assessment and "also to other, uses in a new law calling for up-to-date financial reports annually front the state auditor and State Revenue Department and others. Pitchell believes this will help answer a lot of questions about the effect of revised tax®? for which no facts previously have been available. Equalize in 1362 • “I honestly think,” said Pitchell, “that in 1962 we will see the first major steps toward equalization of property taxation. There will be changes, not only in the system but j in the attitude of the people.

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“Many who previously felt they had to negotiate with assessors or hide property should be more likely to work with the assessor. The laws should result in reductions for those wihlo have ben,* overpaying and fairly modest increases for those underpaying. No w for the first time taxpayers can afford to be honest with the assessor.” Pitchell noted there are 1,009 different assessing districts, and in theory, that many different standards for assessment of taxes. He said some surveys had shown property valued at less ffianr live per cent of it„worth for tax purposes.

Under previous law, an assessor could set the tax assessment at 100 per cent of value.but—since this is inpractieable, a wide variety of valuations have been used. Manuals In Process Newsom said the tax commissioners already are “sending out feelers trying to get a basis for something tangible” in setting up the all-important manuals for personal and real property tax assesment standards. He said queries are going to all states who now have standard manuals and an effort is being made to "get the best advice we can from people who know about Indiana values. There is a lot of controversy in determining what value is, and what is reason-1 able and acceptable to the asses-; sors as well as to the taxpayers.” j Newsom said Indiana now has I a real estate manual but it was rhade in 1949 and will need to be brought up to date for use in 1961. But on personal property standardization “we haven’t any' background except past procedure.” He said no decision has been made as yet on the six counties where a test run is to be made I to provide data for the manual. The law requires one industrial and one rural county and four other which are “representative” of the entire state. School Reporter begin April 7 at Adams Central gym. The following teams will play; girls: Hartford and Decatur Catholic. Adams Central and Pleasant Mills, Monmouth and Berne, and Geneva will play the winner; of Monmouth and Berne. The boys ; tournament will be played the. same night as the girls at Adams | I Central gym. The following boys !

teams will play, Decatur Catholic and Geneva, Adams Central and Pleasant Mills, Hartford and Monmouth, and Berne will play the winner of Monmouth and Hartford. We wish the teams the best of luck. —P.M.H.S.— Tie seniors will be selling year books this week and next week we would like to sell you one. The following students are selling year books: Judy Williamson, Roger Snyder, Betty Myers, Sheldon Light, Janie Raudenbush, Judy Lough, Marie Ohler, Margiore Dailey, and Dick Ehrsam. —P.M.H.S.— We here at Pleasant Mills wish all of you a happy Easter. —P.M.H.S.— WILLSHIRE HIGH By -Rose Baumgartner

The March assembly program, held on March 25, was combined to include the high school and low e_r grades. 'Tie first? second and fourth grades - presented special num-

bers, the speech class gave several choral readings, and the choir sang. The speaker for the assembly was the Rev. Wilber Sites of the United Brethren church in Willshire. — W. H. S. — Congradulations to the mighty choir. Saturday, March 21, the Willshire choir entered competition against seven counties of choirs in the northwestern band and choir contest. Willshire received superior ratings and will compete in the state contest held in April. “ Only two schools in the seven counties were eligible to go to state. Van Del received 2 ones and 1 two and Willshire received 3 ones. All of lus from Willshire wish the chou pots of luck in the state competiI tion. — W. H. S. — George Buchanan and Leon Reynolds are privileged to go to Buckeye Boys’ State during a two week period in the summer of 1959. Tie participants are chosen by the teachers on leadership and other outstanding qualities. The purpose of Boys’ State is to acquaint boys with our government and how it is run. Congratulations to both I George and Leon. — W. H. S. — The pupils at Willshire school were engaged in taking a series of tests Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. They are the every pupil tests given each semester. The results will be back before long. — W. H. S. — The juniors chose their magazine company last week. Tie juniors ■ . will begin selling the magazines in! the fall of 1959. — W. H. S. — ! The Honor roll has been reported for the 4th six weeks period. The

THE DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT, DECATUR, INDIANA

scholars are as follows: Grade 7— Joanne Spitler. Judy Spitler, Ronnie Lautzenheiser, Robert Vining, and Edward Leighner; Grade 8— Lyn Marbaugh, Robert Games, Daniel Reichard and Kenneth Fetters; Freshmen —Jim Anderson, Mary Jane DeArmond, Deatra Riley, Marianna Vining and Dianne Kuhn; sopohomore—Gloria Ag 1 er, Tom Clouse and Junior Miller; juniors—Judy Avery, Besty Buechenr, Bonnie Diebrich, Janet Goodwin, Karen McClure, Rozanne Sticky, Becky Baumgartner and Lois Krall; seniors—Jim Cowan, Leslie Leighner, Mary Goodwin, Dave Byer, Vill Clouse, Richard Dellinger, David Duff, ,Jim Myers, Marlene Dietrich and Vicki Neuenschwander. — W. B. S. — Leslie Leighner and Jim Cowan have been notified that they are candidates for “achievement scholars" at Ohio Wesleyan University. If they are chosen, they may receive their room, board and tuition, depending upon financial need. Willshire Chapter of Future Homemakers of America held its March meeting in the home economics room of the school. Jb Allmandinger acted as chairman as Becky Baumgartner, President, was absent. Group singing was conducted by Betty Allmandinger. A mother and daughter tea was planned, to be held at 7:30 p.m., April 20. A committee for the arrangements was appointed.

— W. H. S. — A door to door bake sale will be held Saturday, March 28, at 9:00. All kinds of baked goods will be on sale. The headquarters will be at John Spitler’s in Willshire and Wendels Garage in Chattanooga. There are about 1,500 gas utility and pipline companies in the United States. -—- The word “Christian” was first applied to the followers of Jesus Christ in Antioch, Turkey, site of St. Paul's first ministry. Bermuda is named for Juan de Bermudez a 16th century Spanish explorer. Canada’s population is increasing about one and a half times as fast as that of the United States —2.8 per cent a year compared with 1.7 per cent. BAN HAMMER DENTS You can avoid hammering dents into The surface of a wood-working project by placing a piece of perforated hardboard citer the wood. Nail through the perforation until the nailhead is flush with the hardboard surface, then complete the nail -driving - with a nail, set—Enlarge one of the holes in the hardboard with a drill before using large-headed pails. Jack

Lebanon Is Easing Back To Normality By PIOL NEWSOM UP! Foreign News Editor BEIRUT (UPI) — Almost exactly six months after the last U.S. troops left Lebanon, this little nation still is feeling its way back toward normality. Instead of American landing craft plying between the beaches and the warships outside, Beirut’s beautiful harbor is almost deserted now. Smoke drifts idly from the single stack of a small steamer lying about halfway out between Beirut’s sandy shoreline and the mountains on the other side. Beirut has had an unusually severe winter which caused suffering to many in this nation neither used to nor equipped for cold. But you’d never know it now. Snow still caps the mountains but swimmers are on the beach and umbrellas are up against the blazing sun on theterracebfthe Saint George Hotel. Notes Some Tension Nothing could look more placid nor more normal. But there is an undercurrent of tension which rises partly from the still-unforgotten revolt against the regime of former President

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Camille Chamoun and partly from the tensions gripping Lebanon’s neighbors. Part of the tension here is the result of an early lack of conlidence in the new regime of President Fuad Chehab. Confidence only now is being restored. But in its early months, the Chehab government refused to use the means at its disposal to crush the bickering which sometimes led to fighting between the almost evenly divided Christians ; and Moslems. Cites Kidnap-Murder Case Strangely, one of the factors leading to an upsurge of confidence has been the government's vigorous handling of a kidnapmurder case here. No such vior. had been demonstrated in the days during and immediately following the revolt. Now it is expected the govern- ■ ment also may move more vigor- ■ ously to maintain peace between the Moslem Basta section of Beirut and the Christian sector on : >the other side of the Place de I*Canons. I * ' There are strong pro and auti- ' Nasser for and against the Egyptian president’s policy of Arab na‘tionalism and positive neutrality. In motion picture theaters, it expresses itself in boos and hisses ' from the one side for Nasser but • cheers for Gen. Charles de ; t Gaulle. : I Anxiety Over Pro-Red Trend

Jeffersonville To Be Census Beehive JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (UPI) —The old quartermaster depot near Jeffersonville will become the nation’s beehive for “people counting” during th'e 1960 U.S. census. Robert D. Krook, ekecutive officer of the Census Operations Office at Jeffersonville, said that by summer of 1960 about 2,200 persons will be at work on the returns to be shipped from district census offices throughout the country. There i also anxiety about the pro-Communist trend of the Iraqi government. But long-time, observers here say there is no chance this government will go Communist. The Lebanese are businessmen, and they believe their ties are with the West. ' — — The American troop landings are seldom mentioned now. There are too many other problems. American prestige is not particularly high but it is higher than it was. Even the most rabid nationalist admires the United States because it got out of Lebanon when it said it would.

THURSDAY. MARCH 26, 1959

At present about 900 persons are working in the Jeffersonville office on tabulation of data about business and manufacturers. Krook said that nearly all of the persons employed at the Jeffersonville office will come from the Louisville, New Albany and Jeffersonville area. Asked if the fact the area had been hit by unemployment was a factor in picking the depot for the census center, he said “it may have had something to do with it." However, Krook said that the facilities at the quartermaster depot are well-suited for the operations to be carried out. The raw data received from throughout the country will be put on microfilm at Jeffersonville and sent to Washington for development and tabulation. Electronic computers are used in compiling the figures into usable form. Krook noted that the 1960 census is expected to show the nation's total population at a little under 180 million persws. The 1950 census showed 151,132,000. rThe Coachella Valley in era California ranges from 22 to 200 feet below sea tevel. 1 The U.S. Patent Office received 21.929 applications for marks in 1958, an increase of 539 over 1957. .