Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 October 1904 — $27,952,101 [ARTICLE]

$27,952,101

Increase on Lands, Improvements on Lands and Lots and on Improvements by Republican Board ot Tax Commissioners. No greater outrage was ever perpetrated on the people of the state of Indiana than has come through the policy of the Republican Hoard of Tax Commissioners in fixing the assessments of lands and improvements on lands in 1903 under its assumed power to “equalize” assessments. Fifty of the ninety-two counties in the state have had their assessments on this class of property increased, and the aggregate reaches the enormous total of $27,952,101, the burden falling largely upon the farmers, whose taxes are necessarily increased in proportion. When the Republicans in their state convention in 1892 denounced the tax law as “odious’* and Mr. Fairbanks, as chairman of that convention, declared that it ought to be “radically revised," it was not supposed that the Democrats would deviate from their policy of forcing the corporations to bear their just proportion of the tax burden of the state, and until 1895 they adhered to the policy which was inaugurated by them when the law was enacted. But the Republicans have ignored the demands of the people and have steadily reduced the assessments of railroads and other corporate property till the net reduction, when the increase in main, second main, side track arid rolling stock is considered, amounts to more than $16,000,000. Bst the board recognized the necessity of keeping up the payments on the state debt, and, in order that these should not be decreased, the specious policy of making other classes of property pay It was adopted. There being but the two classes of property—private and corporate —in the state, of course the only place to put the assessments was on the former, and this has been done at the expense largely'of the farming or agricultural sections. In the effort to carry out this policy the judgment of the local assessing officers had to be ignored, but the Republican board was equal to such an emergency. County after county had its assessments increased till in some of them the values were raised more than $1,000,000. It Is a remarkable coincidence that the total reduction of corporate assessments in nine years, when the increased mileage is considered, aggregate about $23,000,000, while the increased assessments on lands and improvements on lands reach a total of $27,000,000. If the board had been trying to make the increase, in the assessments on private property compensate for redtidtions in corporate property it could hardly have struck a nicer balance. That these results have not been brought about by accident is plain when all the circumstances are taken Into consideration. Everyone knows that the value of corporate property has riot decreased in the past few years, and it is equally true that farm property In the state has not Increased in the proportion that the assessed valuation would make it appear. And thus, while the corporations are paying on less than the value of their property, the private citizen is paying on a valuation that is purposely padded to make up for reductions in other values. In Allen, Gibson. Greene, Lake, Laporte, Marion, Poeey and Vigo the increases exceed $1,000,000 to the county, and in many others they are in excess of $500,000. The following table shows the counties in which these increases were made in 1903 and the amount of the increase In each: Counties. Increase. Adams $ 101.429 Allen 2,129,374 Bartholomew 410,660 Benton 304,103 Boone 345,086 I Cass 245,743 ' Clay 66,915 r Clinton 431,940 Dearborn 135,525 Decatur 364,597 Dekalb 44,336 Dubois 405.336 Elkhart 932,883 Fountain 458,029 Franklin 56,944 Gibson 1,191,058 Grant 690,143 Greene 1,040,016 Henry 187,631 Jackson 811,360 Jasper ............. 839,069 Johnson 170,198 Lagrange 149,886 Lake 1,746,392 Laporte ........... 1,260.594 Lawrence .......... 494.394 Madison 120,763 Marion .....1,264,365 Marshall 670.648 Martin 40,188 Monroe 271,754 Morgan 445,404 Noble 376,808 Grange 291,988 Parke .. . 686,477 Perry 22,833 Pike 246,639 Porter 758,045 . Posey 1,541,849 Putnam 153,209 Bush 956,907 Starke .. 446,769 Steuben ... 248,998 St. Joseph 360,559 Tippecanoe ........ 669,733 Tipton 312,608

T Vermillion ?68,055 Vigo 1,764,672 , Wabash 630,519 ft White 388,676 ■ f Total $27,952,101 The foregoing increases in the valuation of property property become significant when placed side by side with the reductions that have been made In railroad assessments since the Republicans came into power in Indiana nine years ago. Between 1894 and 1904 the following increases were made by tho railroads in Indiana: Main track, 682.02 miles; second main track, 357.57 miles; side track, $1,107.89 miles; rolling stock, 910.81. This increase called for an assessment of $23,390,054, If the mileage ratio fixed by the Democrats had been maintained, but the increase in the nine years by the Republicans was only $7,092,065. showing that there was an actual reduction in favor of the railroads of more than $16,000,000. When the railroad assessments are thus reduced and the assessments on farm lands increased $27,000,000, the tendency is certainly so obvious that it ought to be checked before the law Is acutally made “odious."