Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-23
Coal Men Declare that the Many
Petroleum Producing Lands
Should be Taxed as Such
ASSESSED NOW AS FARMING LAND.
County Commissioner Mercer Agrees With
Them and Will Try to Have Such
a Levy Made.
But ONE PITFALL IS ANTICIPATED.
Fortunes Realized Annually from Leases that Are
Now Exempted.

Now Exempted.
The oil fields may yet be taxed on basis
of their value as such. There is such thing
known as a conscience fund in Washington,
but otherwise good citizens, who may be
John Hampdens and all that, are often will
ing to escape taxation even at the expense
of their neighbors. The sires of 'I6 OBJ
iected to taxation without representation,
but many of us go farther and object to
taxation either with or without representa-
tion.
Superintendent Ball, of the Montour
Railway, has sprung the question of taxing
oil lands in addition to their agri-
cultural value, just as coal is taxed
when worked by a company, and one
County Commissioner, at least, Mercer, is
inclined to think Mr.. Balls head is level.
The latter calls attention to the fact that
their coal is taxed at the rate of $50 an
acre and the surface taxed at the regular
agricultural rate, while many thousands of
acres underlaid with oil-bearing rock es-
cape with the agricultural rate alone. Now
coal has, to pretty we'll defined extent,
fixed value, depending on its proximity to
market. But, while lands underlaid with
oil rock have a determiDate value, they
have also a speculative one, and that in
many instances is many times the market
value of the fee simple regarded as agricul-
tural land. One hundred acres of coal
taxed at $50 an acre yield to the county SIS,
and the coal may not be worth more than
$4,000.
The Coal Men Raised a Kick.
The same acreage of oil-bearing rock has
often produced $50, 900 barrels of oil, and
the owner of the surface, in addition to
many thousand dollars bonus, has had one
eighth ROYALTY, worth in round numbers,
even at present prices, $4,000, and on this
he pays no taxes to the county, but on
which owners of coal lands contend that he
should pay at the rate they are taxed, $50
year, into the county treasury. They fur
ther point out the facts that only the farms
supposed to lie on the oil belt get any ad-
vantage, and that oil development has cost
more to keep roads in condition than all
other industrial operations combined, and
people not benefited pay as much to keep
them in order for their fortunate neighbors
as they do themselves There is a farm in
this county assessed at $50 an acre and that
is its full value for agricultural operations,
as most of it stands nearly on edge, and yet
that farm has within two years yielded over
$50, 900 worth of oil.
Commissioner Mercer stated that the
matter will receive attention at an early
date, but he was not prepared to say what
the outcome might be, as some years ago
when the Commissioners decided to tax
some dump cars belonging to. coal COM
pany, they were knocked out by Judge
Ewing. The company objected to payment
on the ground that the State taxed its
rolling stock. Accordingly the Commits
sioners have felt their way since cautiously
when dealing with subjects that have not
been declared taxable by law. Two classes
of property are subject to taxation, real es-
tate and personal property. As to real es-
tate the following subjects are enumerated:
Houses, lands, lots of ground, and ground
rents, mills and manufactures of all de-
scriptions all furnaces, forges, blooma-
ries, diStilleries, sugar houses, malt houses,
breweries, tanyards, ferries, landings, and
all buildings and subjects of local taxation
not exempt by law. The exemptions are
noted further along.
Unfair Not to Levy Such n Tax.
Mr.. Mercer argues with Mr. Ball that to
tax coal and not oil-producing rock, which
is sometimes far more valuable, is uni iust.
Some may argue that it is poor policy to tax
anything that furnishes employment and
adds to aggregate wealth, and the same
reasoning would apply more cogently against
the taxation of coal beds which also produce
wealth and furnish more employment than
does the petroleum interest. Much oil land
is held by monopoly, not for the public
veal, but for speculative purposes, and is
Just sufficiently developed to keep the lease
alive. 1t would seem that no good reason
could be devised to prevent its being taxed.
1t would seem, according to section of
article 9 of the State Constitution, that
there is no power to prevent the Commits
sioners from taxing oil-bearing rock. 1t
says: "All laws exempting property from
taxation. other than public property used
for public purposes, actual places of re-
ligious worship, places of burial not used
or held for private or corporate profit, and
institutions of a purely public charity,
shall be void" 1t would seem, to some lay
men at least, that there is no power to pre-
as the proceeds are not applied to any of
the purposes that, under article 9, exempt
property from taxation.
Big Revenues From Coal.
When the landowner has sold his coal the
buyer is taxed for it and the landowner for
the surface. If an adjoining landowner has
not sold his coal the assessors are required
to take into consideration how much more
his farm is worth underlaid with coal than
if it were not. Now there are farms lying
along the oil belts on which oil operators
are paying from 81 to SIS all acre annual
rent merely to hold them until they feel
like developing. This rent in MANY in
stances is worth more to the landowner than
the surface yields him, but it is not taken
into account by assessors while the surface
yield is. MI. MERGERS view, and it would
seem to be the only one that
can be nationally held, is that assessors
should take into consideration everything
that enhances the value Of land, whether it |
be oil bearing rock, proximity to railway
stations, ore beds: marble quarries, sand |
stone quarries, or what not Assessors are |
required to value all real estate at the price |
they believe it would sell at bona fide sale |
and if they know that an oil farm worth |
previous to the discovery of oil s1OO an |
acre will now sell for 81, ,000 an acre or |
$1,000 an acre it is their sworn duty to |
assess it so. OF course, they cannot tell |
just how much some oil lands would bring. |
but often they could safely multiply values |
by two or even by ten. Within two wears |
Oh 90 acres in Robinson township S2O, 600 |
bonus was paid and a royalty beside. |
Previous to the discovery of oil there.
laa,