Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 July 1908 — IS STILL APOLOGIZING. [ARTICLE]

IS STILL APOLOGIZING.

The military editor of the Republican was out of town again this week on war department business and the salaried partner of the editorial flock sneaked out of the back room where he is usually,, confined and took advantage of his superior’s absence to fire about two columns of nothing at all at The Democrat, and attempt to show that automobiles should be assessed at v one-elghth to one-tenth their cost, while the farmer’s horse should be assessed at' fully one-half what It would sell for. The basis for assessment of hordes fixed by the assessors at their meeting Feb. 27 last was: yearling colts,. >35; 2-year-olds, SSO; 3-year-olds, >65; average horses, >IOO. The "argument” advanced Is that horses are constantly increasing In value while automobiles ing! This no doubt applies to old horses as well as others, in the brilliant mind of the writer. But the farmer who is assessed SIOO each on his $l5O to S2OO farm horse will need a stepladder to "see” why the owner of a $1,200 automobile gets off at SIOO to $l5O. The fact is the farmer gets the hot end of the tax poker time, and the writer of the screed above referred to well knows it. But what could one expect from a man who was willing to make oath to the assessor in deceiving him as to the value of his Junior linotype, and listing it at slos when it was “brand-new right out of the shop” and cost $1,500 —what could you expect, we repeat, from a man who still owed $1,250 on this machine and put It In for taxation at only SIOO. A man who has for years failed to list all his property for taxation and who has undervalued what he did list to the extent shown, would certainly be expected to excuse, cover up and smooth over other unreasonably low assessments, would he not? The readers of the Republican are not all fools by any means, and its tax "argument” is too thin for passing notice. Regarding the comparison made in the screed with The Democrat’s assessment, it deliberately lies as to the valufi of The Democrat’s equipment and assessments. Much of the equipment and type was bought ten or more years ago and has since been in constant use, and $1,500 would have replaced the entire equipment brand-new last March, before put In our linotype. The Democrat outfit and accounts due it were listed this year at S9OO, only SIOO less than the two complete outfits of the Republican and Journal with their $1,500 Junior linotype. Assessments of automobiles in Jasper county may be as high for all we know as they are In other counties in the state, but we repeat that they are unreasonably low as compared with the fanner’s horse, cow, pig, sheep, corn,' oats or his farming tools. In fact the only article they will compare favorably with is the Republican and Journal's Junior linotype, which was first listed —when brand-new — at one-fifteenth its value by the owner (until the assessor got wise and went back to him and had lt raised to S3OO, still but 1-5 its cost) and after one year’s use was listed at S2OO, or about 1-8 its value.