The Assessor Followed the Law. Then the County Lawyer Sued — and the Taxpayers Got the Bill.

The Democratic press of the county, or what little there is left of it, is endeavoring to make the people of Stevens County believe that Assessor Bottorf was in error in following the law in making the assessment. We desire to state as emphatically as possible that there was no other course for Mr. Bottorf to follow. The law was passed by the last session of the legislature, exempting mortgages, warrants and such securities from taxation. The state board of tax commissioners instructed Mr. Bottorf what to assess, and all of the detail sheets were printed leaving these items out, as were also the tax rolls. Mr. Bottorf followed the law. It was not for Jerry Rochford, the great constitutional lawyer, to advise him that this law was unconstitutional and should be ignored. Mr. Rochford was out of his province when he advised Mr. Bottorf to disregard the law. Mr. Bottorf was compelled to follow the law until the courts had declared it unconstitutional and void. Mr. Rochford never thought of this matter until a court in Lincoln County declared the law unconstitutional. Then he rushes into court in Stevens County and seeks the aid of the law in undoing all assessment in Stevens County, and throws upon the taxpayers the additional burden of paying for double assessment.

We venture to say that not enough additional mortgages and credits will be found to pay for the extra expense attached to the assessment. Furthermore, we would like to ask Mr. Rochford what the credit of the county will be when it is known that county warrants are going to be assessed to the amount of 95 per cent, leaving the holders a scant 5 per cent for their money? We say place the blame where it belongs, upon Mr. Jeremiah Rochford, constitutional lawyer and Democratic county attorney of Stevens County. He is the man who sought the aid of the courts to knock out the assessment made in good faith by Mr. Bottorf. He, Mr. Jeremiah Rochford, was not compelled to go to law about this matter. He could as well as not let it rest, as other counties in the state are doing. But no, he saw a chance to glorify himself and humiliate the county assessor, and the taxpayer must pay the bill, and the credit of the county must suffer. The people will get this matter through their heads right, and Mr. Rochford will go down to defeat at the coming election, notwithstanding the frantic efforts of the Democratic press to glorify him and make it appear that Mr. Bottorf was in the wrong. — Statesman-Index.