THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Five 



Fairness and Justice Our 

 Aim— Wm. H. Malone 



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Discusses Duties of Tax Commission 



and Cooii County Revaluation on 



I. A. A.— WLS Forum 



THE duties and powers of the Illinois 

 Tax Commission and the scientific 

 revaluation now in progn^ess in Cook 

 county were explained by Wm. H. Ma- 

 lone, chairman of the Commission, in a 

 recent radio address on the I. A. A. 

 Forum from WLS. 



"One of the principal powers of the 

 Tax Commission," said Mr. Malone, "is 

 granted in the statute which says 

 'whenever it shall appear to the Tax 

 Commission that property in any 

 county has not been assessed in sub- 

 stantial compliance with the law or has 

 been unequally or improperly assessed, 

 the Tax Commission may in its discre- 

 tion, in any year, order a reassessment 

 for such year of all or any class of tax- 

 able property.' 



Commission's Authority 



"The Commission has no power to 

 change individual assessments," con- 

 tinued Chairman Malone. "We cannot 

 step in and lower the taxes of the man 

 who is paying more than his just share 

 of the tax burden. We cannot raise 

 the assessment of the other man who 

 is escaping his responsibilities. The 

 law does not give us that power. We 

 can only order a reassessment when 

 the facts reveal that property has been 

 unequally or improperly assessed. I 

 want to drive home this point because 

 there has been much misinformation 

 broadcast as a result of our past efforts 

 in carrying out the law which we haye 

 sworn to uphold." 



Mr. Malone gave a graphic account 

 of the grraft, corruption, and inequali- 

 ties which had crept into tax valuations 

 and assessments in Cook county. He 

 traced the history of the case, which 

 culminated in the adoption of enabling 

 legislation in a special session of the 

 55th General Assembly, and later the 

 order of reassessment to bring back 

 honesty and decency into Cook county 

 tax administration. 



Must Obey Law 



"Our only interest is to see that jus- 

 tice is done," he said, "that inequalities 

 are wiped out, and that taxes are as- 

 sessed on a uniform basis in compli- 

 ance with law." 



In closing Mr. Malone congratulated 

 Illinois farmers on their organization, 

 the County Farm Bureau and the Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Association, and the 

 able manner in which they have been 

 represented in tax hearings before the 

 Commission by John C. Watson, direc- 

 tor of taxation, Donald Kirkpatrick, 

 legal counsel, and others. 



Much Work Ahead 



Possibilities of a long drawn out in- 

 quiry into the percentage valuation 

 factor for tax assessment purposes in 

 downstate counties looms ahead as a 



Wm. H. Malone, Chr., 

 Illinois Tax CfMnmission 



result of the scientific revaluation now 

 being made in Cook county. Down- 

 state counties may be expected to in- 

 sist that Cook county property be as- 

 sessed for state purposes on the same 

 relative value as^ downstate property. 

 Thus, if Cook county property should 

 be assessed at only 36 per cent or less 

 of its actual value, as was true in 

 1927, those counties in which a factor 

 of more than 36 per cent is used will 

 be getting the worst of it. Out of it 

 all may come scientific valuations in all 

 the counties and substantial equality 

 and uniformity in levying assessments 

 throughout Illinois. The Tax Commis- 

 sions responsibility is a great one, and 

 its work promises to be complex and of 

 long duration. 



Tax Hearing at ^ , 



Springfield, Apr. 4 



A TAX hearing was held before the 

 Illinois Tax Commission in Spring- 

 field on April 4. The hearing was 

 called at the instance of the Farm Bu- 

 reaus in Williamson, Franklin, and St. 

 Clair counties, with which the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association is cooperating. 



Investigations by the Farm Bureaus 

 of the three counties in 1928 revealed 

 that there were serious inequalities in 

 valuations as between different classes 

 of property. 



A. 0. Eckert of Belleville, represent- 

 ing the St. Clair County Farm Bureau, 

 and a representative of St. Clair 

 county tax officials were appointed as a 

 committee of two to investigate and 

 agree on the facts relative to valua- 

 tions between farm and city property 

 in that county. A somewhat similar 

 arrangement was made in Franklin 

 County. Williamson county officials, 

 who failed to show up at the hearing, 

 were given 15 days to show cause why 

 there should not be an order of re- 

 assessment in that county. 



Chairman Malone of the Commission 

 asked for a further showing of facts 

 and continued the hearing to a future 

 date to allow all interested parties to 

 present their cases. 



Agree on Joint Rail Water 

 Carrier Rates 



Tentative joint rate agreements be- 

 tween the Inland Waterways Corpora- 

 tion, a government agency, and the rail- 

 roads of the country, have been ar- 

 ranged. — 



The agreements, described as the 

 most important event in 100 years of 

 waterway history in the nation, will co- 

 ordinate the service of railroad systems 

 with the water routes of the country. 



Davis Makes Announcement 



The agreements were announced by 

 former Secretary Davis in a statement 

 transmitted to the war department 

 from Fort Benning, Ga. The state- 

 ment follows: 



"I have been informed by Major 

 General T. Q. Ashburn, chairman of 

 the Inland Waterways Corporation, 

 that a tentative joint rate agreement 

 subject to approval, has been reached 

 by oflicials of the railroads and water 

 ways corporation, as a result of the 

 conferences on joint rates, recently held 

 in Washington. I appreciate the spirit 

 in which both sides carried on the con- 

 ferences. If the agreement is approved 

 by the railroad ex^utives and by me, 

 I regard it as the most important de- 

 velopment for the whole waterways 

 movement in co-ordination and co-op- 

 eration with the railroads that has ever 

 been accomplished." 



The agreement embraces a complete 

 system of joint tariffs which will affect 

 every railroad connecting with a water 

 route in the United States. 



"The agreement/' General Ashburn 

 said, "is the most important one that 

 has been reached in 100 years of in- 

 land water ways history. It provides 

 for private operation of water ways 

 the same guarantees that were made 

 for public operation. A complete state- 

 ment of the division of traflic, routes 

 and rates is included in it." 



Legislation and | 



Insurance at 19th 



(Continued from page 4) 



and one-half cents on each $100 full 

 assessed valuation. The representa- 

 tives from the different counties went 

 on record unanimously approving the 

 passage of this bill< 



Congressman Chas.. Adkins discussed 

 the farm legislative situation in which 

 he pointed out the probable action of 

 congress on the tariff on farm prod- 

 ucts. Also the situation as to the so- 

 called farm relief legislation, upon 

 which the senate committee began 

 hearings March 25, and the house com- 

 mittee March 27. It was expected to 

 have the farm relief bill ready to in- 

 troduce April 15 when Congress con- 

 venes for special consideration of the 

 tariff and farm relief with a fair pros- 

 pect of having an adequate tariff on 

 farm products and a farm relief bill 

 along the lines outlined by President 

 Hoover. 



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