Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 March 1894 — INDIANA ASSESSORS. [ARTICLE]

INDIANA ASSESSORS.

Seventy-Eight of the Ninety-Two Counties Represented at the Indianapolis Convention. ' Seventy-eight counties of Indiana sent their assessors to the conference which convened at Indianapolis, Wednesday. Gov. Matthews called the meeting,,to order and spoke at length. Upon the subject of tax dodgers he said: There is another class of property to which I trust you may devote serious attention, that may be properly put down as the invisible, at least it possesses the wonderful facility of escaping discovery. These are in the forms of notes.mortgages, bonds and other securities held by individuals and corporations as investments. Too often is the enormity of this concealment only revealed by the hand of death, and through the consequent settling of estates do we first learn the extent to which the State, the county, the community and the honest taxpayer has been defrauded in the just amount of taxes due. Lists should be carefully gone over, the party questioned upon each item and solemnly sworn to in the presence of the assessor, and not, as too often, carelessly left to be filled by the party assessed. Following the Governor’s address a motion was made for the appointment of five committees to discuss the assessment of certain personal and troublesome real property with a view of fixing uniform rates of taxation in all the counties. The motion was made to Include seven committees and they were appointed. Executive business requiring the Governor’s attention, Col. I. N. Walker was called to the Chair and made a short address, impressing upon the officials present the importance of equalizing assessments. At the afternoon session Attorney-General Smith was present, and answered many questions concerning points of law bearing upon the duties of assessor. One of the most important points was the assessment of movable property belonging to persons outside the State or out of the county and stored here for safe keeping or other purposes. The Attorney-General stated that all such property was assessable either to the owner or to the person who had It in charge in the county where it was stored. j The conference reassembled, Thursday morning, and received and adopted the, reports of the various committees. The rate of assessment this year will be as follows:':

. Horses Heavy draft horses; First grade, SSOO to S7OO each; second, $300; to $400; third, SIOO to's2oo, governed by the breedingqualities and individuality. Light draft stallion, roadsters: First grade, 'sl,2oti to $1,500; se'cond, S6OO to SBOO, third, S2OO tbs4oo, governed <by the speed shown, individuality and breeding. General purpose stallions: . First grade. S2OO io. $300; second, SlOO'tOSaoO/gdvernfedby the breed.ing.General purpose workhorses: .Firstgrade, four t.Q. ten years q1d,.550 to. S6O; you'dger arid Infeidor hbtefes in the sdme prbportibn.':'Boadstersjandi spitedihorses three tmeight years old,-.550 to S6O-each; ( younger sud jOlder ones ip, the. .same.pro - portion.’ : .7 ■ " ~ i ,n-. bd<jf: (! (Bulls, $25 to fteQi - iplteb cqwsr.ahd each. Registered milCh arid butter cattle: Bhlli, sft) to'iloOltec'h', fedws aid ''hfeifers, •35 to iFatii daitUec.yiEMJorUnite Al hundred,, gross weight;; shippers, S 3; butehW *3,50. TCrimmbn ihilch 1 :cbws.«Hlf >1 it Hogs—Registered/ 'slo‘'tb‘.l»7&; ! I&ditfaldte ihommoH, $2 > B' 'dozen; b dhcks;T3l a ■ jdaz ba > nVhvtrtdNo. !3, 454 per biisheh ebrn,t2s to. j4oc;.yve„X<?; ba^,,a’}CJ.nWs^Qj; ; J»UJ! toes, 40c; timothy seSd, $1.50; clover seed., : <?loV/ir, s|; rbeaf 4l 4c,pjei* / pdundj,l»atert, Sgt? bulk pork, Qe; lara,Jq;. wool, toe; tobaepo, : 3‘to sd; Waple siigar, «c; J beef*pfer ‘b jrtels' 88; pork, tlO? Icider, lOfl per .gaildnuvitie,gar, k’dt wasMlecided I ‘ttf leave the ateessteerit of:’tedls,-^farmins^imptem ieiltSian dHma i Ichinery te the 4pwtehip,: assessors. Prepaid, building, association. Stock wilt be .assessed tfe ths owner. Mortgage and alte othet'notes' will be’’ listed a'i their lvalue. 1 ' 'Privafie banks-’ wiH' ba assessed on ‘thfrTcsVdufeiO’f feroift after 1 deducting the 1 amopnt of; indabteduess; added to cash on ^ deposit with other banks , the value of fixtures. . . ~ The committee on household furniture^ 1 libraries and musical instruments mh'de a 5 report in‘wh’Tch''£’he'”arirc(te varied, and tlte report ivsis(rerta!>ifed-.to jthticomfhitte'e „With, F( .tp T that assessments ! may be made aS the true cash I in'! a L'kimitcoii :. tsaW, that thn statutes.required.property to be assessed 'itWtrufifeh'sh’Viilufe. afHfe.ltethree" years old was of less value than omJ .twd roads of Indiana against the State T£ax , The Board of h»d the rule that a||. property, wifh'the .eiceptlori of rallrfeadsl be' assessed at to par cent, of its val ue, The rhfttfead atebssriiehf was- to bb fts ’ full nation. and thq most serious qqes|ion of, the ttix Cases ndw pending. The railroads have been emteavoring.to breakdownthe laws of the State relative to taxationand have Spent (thousands of dollars to accomplish it. The fight was on discrimination. If it were indulged in by the assessors, ho said, it would fill the courts with tax controversies. J 1