Mr. Purtell's Version Of The Salt Business

Editor Courier: I trust you will llow me the space in your paper to anwer a few of the many assertions made )y my friend Wynkup entitled, "Superisors in the Salt business." Although I islike to enter into a newspaper controersy, especially on a subject so much alked about, and yet, so yaguely undertood, which can be very readily pereived by comparing tlie ;two diiferent ommunications, the one by Mr. Wyuup and the other by "Outsider," whover he may be, I suppose lie tliinks he uderstands the whole business. Verily, e does, in the way he talks about Salem laying the taxes of some other town. ?he Argus said it was Wynkup a shakng up his old hat. I said at once no, no, t is more likely to be some one who ports a silk tie. Mr. Wynkup lived too ong in the township of Salem and repreented it too many times on the Board to ïake iiny sucu a statement. Uut I am diverging f rom my subject, s I do not Intend to write a langthy artiie, but in justice to my eonstituents and n my own defense, for I fear Unit il' I emained silent some of your many readrs who do not know either me or the ownship of Northfield, which I have had ie pleasure to represent, might deern ïy silence as consenting to the various liarges put forth in said communication. The first paragrapli reads as follows: The City of Aun Albor paya the state nd county taxes on $4,060,000. Now very principie of right and justice and ven coininon decency would seem to reuire that the city should be represented n the committee of equalization and lave one vote at least in defense of her iglits. Thisyear the just claims of the itizens in ttau respect are entirely set side. This is cowardly in the extreme nd is the quintescence of meaness, etc.' This is the shaft tliat is imed at me as chairmau of the Board - stronger expletives the author could not fiud. I would pass this by unheeded, only that your paper is read by a great many people to whora I am a perfect stranger, as I am sure that those who know me will laugh at its inconsistency. "Every principie of right, justice and cornmOH decency, cowardly in the extreme and the quintesence of meanness." Cowardice, is a term unknown to me, and f in my ignorance I have inter fered witli any of the rights or did any injustice to any of the citizens of the City of Aun Albor, I hope they will charge t up to my ignorance and to the "quintesence of meauness" of the members who voted to rnake me chairman, as it came to me unsought, unasked and very unexpectedly, for I did not vote for myself as most people do. I thought when they elected me chairman thac they made a mistake. I see It all now- alas'! too late. After we had adjourncd several of the members asked me where and when I nu going to make out my coinmittees, and some of tlieni intimated that they would like to be chairman on the committee of equalization. But, like jurors, I thought that the very request disqualified them for the position. " Why," they said, "you will certainly stay in town and make out your committeesf " Ah! yes, now I see it, consult the city fathers. But no, I went home and held my own cousel- used my own judgment in selecting the various committees, when lo, I am a coward, I despised every principie of justice and even common decency; I am the very quintesence ot meauness. VVhy? because I dared to act independently, untramelled and untampered by any of the lobyists. If this is cowardice, I shall ever remata a coward. I believe that the course which I took on the Board, wliich was ever independent, and the counsel which I always gave as chainnan to any of the uiembers on any of tho conimitteos was invariably, do what is right, use your own juügment. If any of the members can say aught to the contrary let hini speak out. Again hesays, "Let me see if Northlield has decreaaed, etc." and very kindly calis on me as a young man to assist him solve the riddle. Why he should cali upon me and not on some of the older members- one with more experience or why he should select Northfield in preference to some of the other townsbips is a mystery to me. He should ask Mr. Wheeler or Mr. Burch to rlse anti explain, and he should have selcted Salem townühip- or does he consirier a city with itg growing hamlet He is certalnly better acquainted with Salem than he is with Northfield. I will ask Mr. Wynkup two questions here and require an answer. Was Northfield equalized as high as Salem in 1873? and has not Salem improved more than Northlield since then ? I find that he was Supervisor of Salem in 1872 and in J873, and in 1873 I find that Isaac Wynkup of Salem, was chairman of the cominitteon equalization, and the several supervisor district were equalized and assessed as follows: ii you win multiply tlie nj;iires opposite each district as assessed and equiUi.ed by tliree for the year 1S73, it should correspoud with 1884; if the assessment was uniform wit h one-third the cash value ! and if the equalization was just and equal in 1873, and of course it was correct and just, as Mr. Wynkup vras chairman of that committee, and the city of Ann Arbor and Vpsilanti each liad a meinber on that committee. Assuminjj that the arative growth of all the districts had een equal, which ia not true, three times lie assessed valué of 1873 would give the ity of Arm Arbor $5,258,255 assesaed nd three times the equalized would give $4,346,000 or $314,000, less than the city 9 equalized to-day, and the 5th and 6th vards would be assessed at 1833,745 and qualized at $759,000 or $öl,000 less than ; is equalized this year, and who will say liat tliey have not increased tliat inucii n eleven yearf? And Northtield would e assessed at $905,730 and equalized at 840,000 or ?7ö,000 less than it was cqualzed this year. Sixty-one thousand dolars is eiglit per cent. of $759,000, the inrease of the öth and Cth wards, and $75,00 is nine per cent. of $840,000, the inrease of Northfield, and so on through all ie districts the reader can flnd the inoe ise nd decrease per cent. comparing 187Ö vith 1884, and I will give the districts dereased since 1873 : Ann Arbor Town, 15,000; Dexter, $90,000; Lodi, $61,000; Manchester, $24,000; Pittsficld, $14,000; cio, $76,000; Saline, $58,000; Webster, 147,000; York, $14,000; Ypsilanti ïown, ;59,000; Ypsilanti city, second district, ;28,000. I will say right here, Mr. Wynkup, in lie main you are right. This equalizaion is a furce and a humbug, and the qualization of the counties of the state s no better. Now, I claim, and I believe hat every intelligent reader will bear ma ut iu the assertion, that if you take the th and Gth wards together, that they lave improved ten per cent. more since 873 than did the township of Northfield; br you must romember that the Gth ward s the cream of the city. Vet, comparlng he two reporta 1 tind that the couimittce ays that Northlield has increased nine per cent. and the 5th and Gtli wards ight. Agalu he says, that " the average valution per acre from my roll is $34.50 '' which is not quite correct), and I will ay here for the benefit of the " old setleis" and for Mr. Wynkup, that I can nd theni seveial farms for $5 and plenty or $20 per acre. Quite true, there are uany farms worth $40 and $50 per acre, and if he will take the pains to look on ny roll he will find some assessed at SGO, 170 and $75 per acre, and descriptions at !90 and $100. Again he says, "I would not cali atcution to his outrage by low assessment, etc," if he had not relieved lis township of 45,000 within the last wo years." It would be well for Mr. Wynkup iu the future, before he makes such charges, to examine the assessment ii the farms with which he isacquainted. [ do not think Mr. Wynkup intended to do me a wrong - or to my township - and [ believe he would retract every word he said in regard to low assessment if he would examine the roll; for 1 believe lie would say as every one who is acquainted with the farms say that I have assessed ,he real estáte at its " True cash value." [ must say in justice to Mr. Mathewson, that he was nearer right when he assessed the Swift mili at $20,000, than the Board of Review that reduced it to $10,000, not one-tliird of the " True caeh value." Let the reader stick a pin here, ihat property would have sold lust spring if put umler haminer at $30,000 or $3.",000. Lay on MoDufl and cursed be he who cries enougli.'' Now, I venture to say, that Mr. Wynkup has not seen the inside of my roll to ascertain the facts, but nierely jumps at conclusions nnd tties to bulk the town, swamps, lakes and all. If it was not for our Iake3 where would you get your tish ? and for our awamps where would you get your whortleberrles? I was not oi the eommittee on equalizatlon last year, nor was I chairman of the board, vet the eommittee saw fit to take $38,000 öff o( Northfield. Nor did I go to the commiitee with tears in my eyes or beg any favor of them; and furthermorc, I voted against the adoption of the report. But, lo! this year I had the misfortinie to be eleoted chairman. and the eommittee took $10,000 off of Northlield, henee, I am the father of the "salting eommittee." I find that Mr. Wynkup did not stop to find out that this $45,000 was added to Northlield iu 1882, when Mr. Willi.im Walsh was supervisor, and that in 1874, there was added to Northöeld when Geo. Renwick was supervisor $35,000 on a basis of $10,000,000 or $105,000 on a basis of 30,000,000. If he will turn to pages four and five of the year 1874, he will see the causo for the raise öa Northfield, and he will see that it was pure cussi;dness, and he will see that ttie city received $8,000 of the benefit and Northlield the curse, or a raise of twelve and one-half per cent. Never was so great a raise per cent. added to any town either before or since. If I have not already made my article ot the coramittee. Uut ot live members only two lowered their district, and those only $20,000. Let us compare and seo tí theyare not the most unseHish coramittee "that we have lmd for years. I flnd by comparing 1873 and 1874, that tlie coinmittee consisted of Beven members, and that six of the seven lowered themselves $G3,500. Eightcen seventy-five was aa off year, the report of the committee was lost and a substitue took Us place. Iu 187G, no change; in 1877 some one had to be salted and a committee of five lowered four out of the five $38,832; in 1878 no change, and in 1879, another off year, they adopted the immortal "Star Chamber Substituto," and if the reader will take the pains to read pages 36, 37 and :8 of that year, he will see many things to laugli al. In 1882 some one again had to be salted to the tune of$49,000, and the committee of live had to have a share, but only one member, Mr. Harper of Lodi, had a share - and the lion's share - only $50,000. But you must not blame the committee too much. One great drawback to the board is that many of the supervisors do not bring in tlieir rolls uittil the last orabout the middle of the second week, and then vcry often they are not certifled to. The rolis should be all in on the first day of the session, correctly footed and proof sheet attached and a certifícate should be attached to the roll in May, before the Board of Review act on the same; and the Board of Heview should act on each and every parcel and assess it at its " True Cash Value." ïhis year there was our roll that was not hamled in until the Wednesday of tlie second week, and another had his roll along but not footed ; and not one-half of the rolls had certilicates attached to them until the middle of the second week. I fear that I have made my communication too lengthy, but I cannot refraiu trom makiig one poi'.it more. If Mr. Wynkup will fiud any farm u Xortifleld that is not assessed 'J0 per cent. nearer its "True cash value" than either the Swift's Mili or the Agricultural Works in the Door 5th ward. then I will set un