328 MISC. PUBLICATION 218, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
board of health appoints a health officer for each town. In several 
States the power to appoint county health officers is given to the State 
authorities in case the local authorities fail to make an appointment, 
and in a few States provision is made for State approval of local 
health officers. State removal of county health officers is provided 
in several States, including Connecticut, Kansas, and Oregon (119, 
pp. 820-323). 
State control over local health authorities is also secured by requir- 
ing that their regulations be approved by the State board of health. 
Thus, the Michigan Legislature in 1927 authorized boards of super- 
visors to provide for county health departments, the plan of organiza- 
tion to be approved by the State health commissioner. The adminis- 
tration of the health laws is to be carried out by the county health 
department “under the advice and direction of the State department 
of health.” * 
While there has been a tendency in recent years to build up county 
health administration, as is seen in the movement for county hospitals, 
county nurses, and full-time county health departments, there appears 
to have been no decline in State supervision. Indeed the tendency 
seems to be clearly towards centralization of authority, which in the 
field of public health results in that uniformity of practice so essential 
in curbing disease. 
ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY 
To meet the inequalities and defects of a decentralized system of 
assessing property for taxation, some degree of State supervision and 
control has long been exercised. As early as 1825 a State board of 
equalization was established in Ohio, with power to readjust the 
agerevate assessed valuation of counties so as to equalize the distribu- 
tion of the State tax. In later years such boards were established in 
most States, but their function has been only to attempt to equalize 
the total assessments of taxing districts. In recent years effort has 
been directed to the improvement of the original assessment so that 
little reliance need be placed upon equalization. 
Supervision over local assessments was begun in Indiana, by the 
establishment in 1891 of a State tax commission, with two salaried 
members in addition to the ex-officio members of the State board of 
equalization. ‘This commission was given power to prescribe forms 
to be used in the assessment and collection of taxes, to construe the 
tax and revenue laws of the State and give instructions to local 
officials, to see that all property is assessed according to law, and to 
visit each county in the State to hear compliants, collect information, 
and secure compliance with the law. State tax commissions with 
similar powers were established in New York in 1896, in Michigan 
and Wisconsin in 1899, and since then in most of the other States. 
There are now 42 States which have tax commissions or tax com- 
missioners with supervisory powers over local taxing officials. In 33 
States the State agency has the power to order a reassessment. In 
27 States it makes the State equalization and in 5 others assists in doing 
so. In 36 States it assesses all or a part of the public utilities (159, 
POON i). 
It is known that the actual supervision exercised by the State tax 
commissions is often much less than their grant of power would 
9% Michigan, Public Acts, 1927, Act 306, amended 1931, Act 15. 
