The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-09-13
THE STATE BOARD.
Thomas Magee Replies to Some Attacks


of Its Organ.
Editor CAL: The State Board OF Equalization,
through its organ. the Examiner. continues its
attacks on me. The Examiner asserts that
charged the taxpayers $3.50 for my afternoon
jaunt to Sacramento. The Mayor and Mr. Ebert
agreed that should be paid $3.50 for my SER
Vices, expecting that / would have to be in Sac
ramento three or -four days, as they were; but
was there only one day, and / have, therefore
charged nothing whatever. Tie Examiner says:
Mr.. Magee had not been on the stand long when
the delegation saw that mistake had been made IN
intrustiHg TO him important matter, aud Ere
erick r. siebe and others openly and repeatedly de
clared that the eitys case seriously injured by
MS rambling and inconsistent talk.
Mr.. Siebe denies utterly that h ever said any
thing whatever on the above subject; so much,
therefore, for that. The assertion is made that
In not a single case did give a corresponding
assessment TO show that assessments we're too
high. This is The assertion OF ii. Ii. b amer,
ono OF Tie Ocalied State Board OF Equalization.
Here are facts to show the utter untruih OF this
assertion. The LOT 155Xt55 feet on the south
side OF Market street between First and Second,
is assessed at 1892, 975; vacant $4,000 a loot,
or 1910. 600, would be fair price Tor it now IN
view OF the depression In wholesale property
rents. The 50-vaTa on the south side OF Pine
street. between Powell and Mason, was lately
sold for s25 600 Ii Is assessed al $3.50
20 per cent OF its selling price The 50yara
on the southeast corner Of Pine aud Mason
streets, lot and building are assessed at e29,295
House. lot and furniture also were sold fof
S3S 600 OH February 10, 1890. The house and
lot on tie west side OF Valencia stree I, 80 north
OF Twenty first. 3Sxll0. Just sold for Sll 400 TO
adjoining owner, and therefore presumably al
high piice. natural 10 think; this property Is as
sesssd al 5000. The 50-yara LOT and house on
the west side of Beale street 1877 :6 north Of
Harrison, are assessed at Sl6,625; were sold for
500, 00U IN 1889 and are not worth more to-day.
A 50-yara on Broadway and Polk street, lately
sold Tor S24 500. Is assessed at 900. gave
numerous other cases and told the board would
give them huudreds!of such cases II they wished
NE to hunt them up.
Il Ia an unmitigaled untruth for Mr.. Beamer
10 say that anything / said about the sale by me
10 William Coleman. on Townsend street, could
have conveyed The impression TO any one that In
buying lie lot was &C ing for Mr.. Coleman.
/ bought the lot on February II. 1891. and tried
from November OF That year until April. 1892.
TO nEd lessee for It, for whom was willing TO
build. Ia the latter month Mr.. Coleman turned
up as a buyer, but because he happened 10 own
a lot 45:lOia feet front behind II on
Bluxome street. | am to-day perfectly will
Ing 10 buy Tie lot back at the price he
raid me. as / have before made him sole
judge whether did him auy injustice In max Ing
good proht in selling TO him. When bought
tile let did not run II down, but bought IL at just
what II offered ar, and when sold IL, not
only aid L not pun It's merits, but l advised him
to buy another and much larger property on
Townsend street. which lie declined, because Of
large ownership already III that region. his Iea-
son being, as lie said, that he did not want TOO
many eggs IN one basket.
AS TO The sale on Market, quoted by the daily
papers al $50, 900. / have only 10 say that the
owner on Market decided bis lot to the owner OF
Post and Polk, and the latter received deed TO
the Mark tstreet lot. / SAID this was really an
exchange. If II was not so. do not know what
IL can he called.
Tie Examiner further says:
1t is also pointed out that from time 10 time dur
ing the past FIVE years Thomas Magee has declared
IN his monthly publication that lots In what is
known as the Richmond district, north OF the PARK
would not be worth more than 1915 at any time In
the next twenty years. To show the value of his
opinion In this connection the sale Of lot on the
west side OF Eighteenth avenue. l25 feet south of
POint Iobos Is pointed to. On the nth OF last
month Magee sold this TO Mary r FuckIey for
5000. ana in advertisement In his own periodi-
cal he says this.
never In the Circular said that lots in the
Richmond district would MT be worth 1915
within the next twenty years, nor anything ap-
preaching TO such statement 1 think u an
advancing district The lot / sold At $500 on
Eighteenth avenue, near Point Lobos road. de-
rived part of Its value from cioseness 10 that
road. The best answer to The assertion that it
was too high al 5000 Is that am perfectly will
Ing to take II back at the same price.
The outside lands | have for several years
thought were too high were lands far south OF
The park, where boomers ran them up on
victims 10 point double or treble what they
were worth. All outside lands got 100 nigh,
even in The Richmond district. The mstas e
L made In the two reductions OF as
sessments on Second and Octsyta streets was
that IN saying they were assessed at so much, /
used my lat years tax bills, when they were
assessed as testified. / did not dream that they
had been reduced voluntarily 10y the Assessor
THIS year the property on Second street gave
away To "a charitable and religious society (the
Presbyterian Unlon) and ! had no IuteresI, ex-
cept 10 X en- its taxes down TO fair point.
Whether II was assessed high or low was not one
cents benefit to me. Ii Is asserted that said
gave only $500 for 1t In my application. IL so.
IL was clerical error. for gave $4,000. Out OF
these perfectly Innocent transactions some point
Is sought 10 be made against me.
The Examiner says further, "Magee Is not
popular with the real estate agents" If II means
by that outsde-and boomers, the assertion is
perfectly true. ] have opposed aud always Will
oppose Their games. To them. In part, we are
Indebted for the present depression. All that
suited the purpose OF the State Board of Equal
iZation went into the Examiners two articles,
and The real testimony for reduction and all
my explanations were omitted. Now, suppose
that kir. Beamer and all the State board, with
its consorI, the Examiner, wresie with TINS fact
The Assessor of Alameda County WAS present at
the State board meeting when / was there. /
asked him for the length and depth OF the Oak.
land wafer front Claimed by the Southern
Pacific. He said he did not know, because II
was assessed 10 several parties. l also asked
him what the whole OF that water front was as
sessed for, and he said for the same reason he
did not know. | got no information from the
State board on thea samei question, although
they bad the fullest knowledge OF all San Fran
cisco assessments aud sales. / then asserted
that four fiy.vara lots on the water front OF this
city. used for similar purposes as the Oakland
storage factories-wrre assessed for more
than the whole OF the wafer front named across
the bay. | have not yet been contradicted In
that assertion. The ours that are now yepine
at me better keep quiet. i know. and / think
the public knows. where all these attacks come
from and their object. THOMAS MAGEE.