Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-19
THE COUNTY ASSESSMENTS.
An Indignation Meeting Of Taxpayers
at Mount Pleasant.

| SPEECHES MADE COMPLAINING THAT THE ASSESS
MENTs OF REAL ESTATE OUTSIDE THE CITY ARE
| EXCESSIVE AND UNEQUAL RESOLUTIONS
ADOPTED AND COMMITTEE APPOINTED.
Half a hundred Taxpayers armed with facts
and figures met Inst night in the town hall at
Mount Pleasant to make a vigorous protest
against the recent assessments put upon their
property by the assessors. They were deter
mined to go to any lengths to prevent the
levying of what they considered to be unequal
| and unjust taxes on their land.
The meeting was called to order by Mr.. c. E.
Cobb. and the organization was perfected by
the election of Col Blount as chairman and
Mr.. Cobb as secretary. Mr.. A. L. Sturtevant
remarked that the time had come for action
and not for talk, and submitted
! SERIES OF RESOLUTIONS
to the effect that committee of five should be
appointed to confer with the board of equaliza-
ton and to represent to them the excessive
advance and glazing inequality" Of the assess
ments of county property, and ask that they be
remedied- In case of failure to secure relief
| the committee should consult lawyer as to
| the expediency of legally enjoining the Com
missioners from collecting the excessive taxes;
| also to act with the citizens committee of the
county in presenting the matter to the District
committees in Congress.
| A CASE IN POINT.
In answer to a query by gentleman on the
floor, MIR. Cobb explained the inequality of the
tax He gave as one instance the assessment
OF the Barber estate, at the corner of 14th
street road and Boundary, at 25 cents a foot,
and that of Judge Harlan's property, several
squares further out, at so cents. The total
annual revenues of the District, he said, are
-l.S(l IA ian m
the per capita tax being $3.50,
HIGHER THAN UNDER ANY OTHER CORPORATION
In the country. There has been q surplus
revenue turned into the treasury every year.
and he argued that in view of that fact there
seemed no reason for increasing the taxes now
whereas the taxes north of the boundary have
this year been increased from three to eleven
fold.
ALLEGED EXTRAORDINARY INSTANCES OF IN
EQUAL TAXATION.
Lieut.. Raby recited some extraordinary in
stances of unequal taxation, asserting that the
location of lots seemed to have no influence
upon the assessment except to raise the tax as
the land was located more distant from the
city.
MIR. Sturtevant said that folks had only to
look on the books of the board of assessors to
see most glaring cases of injustice, and de-
elared that for the past ten years the county
hdu pdiu JdNt5 tndu the city OF GEORGE
town and has had almost none of the improve
nents enjoyed by the citizens there. No sane
man, he said, believes that property in Mount
Pleasant has increased 700 per cent in value
since last year, and yet that is the average in
crease IN the tax rate. Whether last years
assessment was right or wrong, the fact re-
manned that the city received more than
enough money and the county got almost moth
ing IN return for its share.
so GLARING ARE THE INEQUALITIES,
he announced that. he was told, the board of
board of equalization are already beginning to
scale down the county assessments. If they
persisted in levying the tax as first assessed the
result could only be to depress suburban prop
erty immensely.
Mir. Cobb related the circumstances of a sale
which fell through because the intending pur-
chaser was frightened by the excessive tax
other gentlemen gave their views and ex-
perlences, DIR. Breed declaring that if the taxes
were LEVIED he should remove to Virginia or
Maryland to live.
One citizen said that he is now living in the
mud, without a street, without sidewalks or
lamps. and thought that to protest against pay
ing taxes might cut them off from much-needed
improvements.
tlon from others, who said that the county peo-
pie are not Directing to the payment of taxes
but to the inequality of the assessments
Mr.. Ihos. Exley said that in his opinion the
colonies IN l776. for they were grieved with
most burdensome case of taxation without rep
resentatioh. He thought that the best plan
would be to expend in the county all the money
raised there.
OTHER INSTANCES OF INEQUALITY
Mr.. Montague gave the instance of one lot of
ground assessed at 10 cents less than an exactly
similar one lying on the side furthest from the
city. this instance being supplemented by Mr.
EXleys story of a lot on Brown street assessed
at Is cents, while those ON either side were
taxed at cents.
Mr.. c. b. Hemingway told tale which he
thought, ought to bring tears to the ewes of all
present. He had recently purchased lot Just
beyond the boundary for $500, on which he had
put no improvements whatever. When the as
sessments were announced his lot was taxed at
$3.50 He appealed and the figure was cut
down to 81, OPS, beyond which the board abso-
lutely refused TO scale. He suggested that the
committee should go to the board and ask that
all property, both city and county, be assessed
at Its full value. If the board, he said refused
to do this, the grand jury should be asked to
lndlct them for misdemeanor in office.
THE RESOLUTIONS MODIFIED AND ADOPTED
Gen. Swain said that he had positive informa
ton that the board are revising the schedule, and
recommended postpOnement of action This
raised some discussion. the outcome of which
was that the resolutions were adopted leaving
out the second clause referring to taking legal
steps. and the following gentlemen were APP
pointed on the committee to call on the board
OF equalization: Messrs. Cobb, Dyrenforth
Jamison. Armes, Tanner. Action on the second
clause was postponed.
o-