The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1892-06-18
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
Single Tax Investigation in Wash
ington.


in the District of Coluiebia i" fsvof OF
the single tax cause took plHce last Sat
orday, March II, when the district COM
missioners gave a public hearing on
Tom L. Johnscn's bill TO shift taxation
in the district from Improvements to
land values To those not familiar with
The Form of district government it
should be said that there is no municipal
legislative body here. Congress passes
ell the municipal laws and has them adj
ministered by three commissioners, ap-
pointed by the president. Each house
of congress has district committee. to
which all matters pertaining TO legisla-
ton for the District of Columbia are ic-
ferred. The district committees GUS
tomarily refer much of their business to
che commissioners, whose approval or
condemnation in most instances deter
mines the action of the congressional
committees. Mr.. Johnson's bill, on be-
ing introduced in the house, was re-
ferred to the district committee, and by
that committee referred to the district
commissioners. 1t was therefore here
that the first contest had to be made,
and in accordance with public notice The
friends and opponents of the bill assem-
bled in the office of the board of COM
missioners Saturday at noon.
1t was an interesting little assemblage.
The three commissioners, experienced
looking, white-haired men, sat together
in bow window with a large table be-
fore them. At one end of the table sat
Mr.. johnson with his maps. books and
papers, and at either hand Congressman
Warner and Congressman Simpson.
Near by sat Charles Hemingway. who
had drafted the bill. Ranged about the
room and crowding in the doorways
were prominent citizens, property own
ers,- and persons conspicuous in the
single tax movement. Against the wall,
but in places where they could hear, sat
the district assessor, Matthew Trimble,
and his three assistants, one of them q
middle-aged, fine-loolxing colored man.
The chairman Of the board, Commits
sioner Douglass, politely, and in the
briefest manner, explained the reason
of the hearing, and read the bill under
, consideration, after which he called
upon Mr.. johnson to speak upon 1t.
Everybody gave close attention when
| Mr.. johnson arose. 81 appear in behalf
of this bill, said he, (which proposes to
change the plan of assessing property
in the District of Columbia by relieving
/ improvements and putting taxation en-
tirely on land values. i do not come
| here in antagonism to any interest in
the district. / am not unfriendly to the
district. come to urge what believe
| viii he a great benefit to the district
and ii, people"
Commissioner Douglass gravely nod
ded assented and Mr.. johnson went on:
"We find by looking at the assessment
returns of the district for 1891, that the
| value of improvements just about
EQUALS the value of the land. That is
! to say. the result of that assessment is
that the house, the improvements. all
that lies above the land. is about equal
in value to the land itself. So that il
the tax assessment remains as it is and
you were to take the tax off the i'm
| provements, to raise the same amount
of money you would have to levy twice
| the rate on the land or So instead OF
ef.50"
Mr.. johnson then spread out on the
| table large map of the district of Co
| lumbia. He said that at first blush il
might be thought that this change
would fall heaviest upon the poorer
people of the city, but the contrary is
true. He had taken twelve blocks in
the most important part of the business
centre, and ten blocks in the poorer
residence section, and found that, ac.
cording to the assessors published fig
ures. in the latter locality the value OF
| improvements amounted to 60 per cent.
and the value of the land 81 per cent
of the total real estate assessment
while in the former section, that is. in
! the business centre. almost the reverss
| is true, 80 per cent. of the assessed
value constituting the value of improve
ments, and 81 per cent the value OF tn,
land In other words, that in the resi-
dence section the improvements ex
ceeded twice the value of the land they
rested upon. while in the business sec
ton the land value amounted to almos
| double the value of the improvements
IF You start from the center of thu
city," said Mr.. johnson, pointing to thu
map, ''you find the value of the i'm
provements low as compared to th'
value of the land: and as you approach
the outskirts you find the value of thu
| improvements is high. So that to re
lieve improvements of taxation does no
relieve the people in the center of tn
city, but the people in the small houses
towards the outskirts-the people hav
ing small homes"
The commissioners seemed intereste'
| in this statement, the chief assesso
was little confused. and bunch o
single tax men, sitting in a corner
broke into loud applause and looked a
happy as if they had just heard tina
they were heir to large fortunes. MI
johnson smiled and said that that wa
only the beginning. that his deduction
had been drawn from the official as
sessments. but that those assessment