Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-06-06

we adopted and applied rule Of market" or
commercial value and reached that value by
the records Of actual sales-msny Of them
being al what are termed boon pricesH-this
assessment must inevitably have been cruelty
unjust. oppressive and destructive alike 90 the
interests of both government and taxpayer.
IL would have brought TO the capital city Of the
nation ruin instead OF benefit. IL would have
killed the goose that laws the golden egg and
defeated the very object of the law itself. 80.
too, II was not for us. as a board. to adopt
other floating theories of value never contem-
plated by the law, such. for instance rs that
which declares that values for purposes Of tax
alton should be determined by RENTALS
theory which. while it may be operative in the
old and fully bailt-up municipalities of Europe
would, in our judgment. be impracticable
and unequal IN comparatively infant
city like this. For such system
as that applied here. would be as unjust in one
way as the so-called single tax system would
be IN another. In the one case the unmproved
land would escape taxation. while in the other
without \ chance of ripening for building par
poses for decade or more-with no chance Of
securing sewers water. gas and surface street
Improvements il would he loaded down with
double taxation which would he tintamount
10 absolute confiscation. Instead Of consider
ing such vagaries as these We took what we con-
sidered common-sense business construction
of the term value tor true value'l a. We
believed Congress intended the term to be con-
strued in its application to assessment for pur-
poses of taxation, and adopted the above rule
of intrinsic value. determining al the same time
TO apply 1T. without fear favor or respect to
persons. equally throughout the District And
now. in looking back at the vast work We have
already done. we can thankfully say that from
the time of the adoption of that rule Of '.in-
trinsic value" down to the present there has
not been one moment that we have doubted the
propriety, the wisdom, the eNredieney. the ne
| cessity or the legality of our action. Ii is the
solid rock upon which this assessment will
stand. despite defects attributable mainly To
the magnitude of the task and the iRsufliciency
of tine time ..fforded-as a help. if not a guide.
for future and. We hope. better assessments.
On July II. 1891. We took the field in a wag-
a working table for the heavy plat books. books
of subdivision. &c. The plan of work. which
was carried out. was TO make ''actual view Of
| each and every square in the city OF Washing
ton consecutiveiy from square 1 AZ the Rock
creek boundary 20 square ll70 at the Eastern
branch boundary, commencing at the south
eastern corner OF each square and continuing
around II. making individual memoranda. first
as 10 our separate ideas of the land values. and
secondly. coming to a provisional agreement.
subject to individual protest and possible future
change as TO house values and then doing the
same rs to alley property in the square. Mem
oranda rs to existing conditions of the prop
erty such as high banks. unopened or Door
streets or other circumstances bearing upon its
value were also taken for use in the subscaHef,t
review We contemplated making in the Office
From that date until January n, 1892. in fair
weather and foul. through the scorching heat of
summer and the numbing cold Of winter we