Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-01-26
OUR MINERAL LANDS.
REPORT or THE JOINT COMMITTEE
ON THEIR ASSESSMENT.
Taxation ~ Compared with Farming
Lands Unsqusi-ConcIusions
and Recommendation.

| At the last session OF the General hs-
sembly special joint committee was
appointed ito investigate and report to
| the next 0his) General Assembly the
| real and the assessed value OF the mineral
| lands In the State. In order that the
same may be reassessed and taxed ac-
cordiny to the real value"
The committee consisted of Messrs.
A. r. Withrow, OF Bath; II. !. Anderson.
OF Pittsyivania: w. A. Fentress. OF Ports
mouth: John r.. Mason, OF King George.
and NJ. +. Jackson, OF Wise. on the part
OF the House. and Henry Fairfax. OF
Loudoun: G. A. Mushbach, OF Alexandria,
and Conway r. Sands. OF Richmond. on
the part Of the Senate. All the members
of the committee except Mr.. Jackson are
members Of the present General Assembly.
Yesterday the committee submitted their
report In the Senate through Mr.. Fairfax,
and in the House through Mr.. Withrow.
The report is voluminous and exhaustive.
and bears evidence that the committee
addressed themselves to their labors with
energy and system.
The principal mineral sections OF the
State were visited, the properties and
deeds thereto examined, and testimony
as TO values taken from assessors. clerks,
&c. Inquiry was also made which devel-
oped whether owners OF properties were
residents or non-residents, and statistics
gathered as TO the value OF the product
Of mines and of the manufactured material
turned out from such product.
COMPARATIVE VALUES.
Evidence was also taken as to the rela-
tive assessed value OF mineral lands and
farming lands In the same vicinity, with
the result OF showing that the farming
were assessed much higher than the
mineral properties.
A SPECIMEN OBSERVATION.
The character Of the committees OBJ
servations may be gathered from the fol-
lowing extract from the report:
THE Allegheny Mining Company Is
operated by a Joint stock company: On
examination OF the books at Allegheny
Courthouse we found that no income-tax
had ever been paid by the owner of the
property or the lessees. The books OF the
Commissioner of the Revenue showed
that for the previous year $500 had been
stated as the product of these vast mines.
The amount OF tax derived on thls was
S23.I. To show what has been lost 10 the
State In the way OF taxes, II Is only ne
cessary to call your attention to the fact
that by the statement OF the manager or
the Iron Mountain mines, which are the
mines operated by this company. the OUT
put OF these mines for years PACK mas
say $50 days a year. This would make the
annual output about 1880 tons worth:
at the least, $3.50 per ton, making TOTAL
Of sjs.375 on which the State should
have received taxes"
A GENERAL CONDITION.
Pretty much the same condition OF
affairs exists regading the Rich Patch
section, the Chambers. and the Douthat
surveys. and the mineral lands OF Craig
and Botetourt counties. In some In
stances farm lands are assessed AT 10
per acre and mineral lands from 10 cents
TO 81 per acre.
THE SOUTHWEST.
ION investigation" say the committee,
ut appeared that the coal and timber
lands throughout Tazewell. Wise, Buch-
anan, and Dickinson counties are assess
ed at prices entirely incommensurate
with their real value, Notwithstanding
developments are going on In dinerent
parts of some of these counties. and nun
dreds Of thousands OF tons of minerals
are being shipped annually These ship
ments are being made over the Norfolk
and Western railroad TO the eastern mar
ket, and yet IL Is a startling fact, as
will be shown by statement from the
Auditors office, that not one dollar In
taxes has been paid IN minerals raised.
We therefore recommend that action be
taken in this matter, and that an inves-
tigation be made, and that the owners or
these vast rich coal properties be re,
not be taxed on minerals that have al
ready been taken from these coal-neids
within the past two years.
I'VE further ascertained that nearly al
of the coal land of this vast coal-held or
Southwest Virginia has been bought up
on speculation by non-residents, together
with some residents. who hold the pro-
perty for speculation, while the ciuzens
right. We were informed by the Clerk OF
Wise county that when these lands were
sold the deeds invariably showed a nomi-
raj consideration"
ment from the books Of the Auditor OF
Public Accounts: Taxes assessed on mine
raj products-1S9l. ssl74s; 1882, $9S9.s6; 1875,
sos. "a.
THE CONCLUSIONS REACHED.
The committee think the amount thus
assessed should be at least sso.OVO ana set
forth their general conclusions as follows:
l. Taxation upon real estate in Viz
ginia is not equal and uniform.
2. Lands used for agricultural purposes
are assessed far above lands containing
minerals, and the burden or taxation Is
thus unfairly placed upon the farmers
g. Lands containing minerals-both de-
veloped and undeveloped-are assessed
far below their value.
4. BY reason of the unequal assessments
throughout the State the Commonwealth
has lost an untold amount OF revenue
5. Failure to express the true considera-
ton in deeds conveying property has also
deprived the Commonwealth or her JUST
dues
6. We believe II taxation upon real es-
tate be fair and equal the State. will be
able to meet promptly all her demands
and perfect her free-school system and
reduce the rate Of taxation.
The committee promise to introduce
bills carrying out the policy they. outline.
Mr.. Il. p. owen accompanied the com,
mittee on their tour, acting as clerk and
stenographer, and took hundreds of pages
OF testimony. from which the report was
formulated.
Mr.. James Il. Denton died on Wednes-
day at his home, near boswell, Hanover
county, after an illness of year lacking
four days He was one Of the most wide
Unknown men In that county. He was
in the 65th year OF his age. His funeral
anoir rlana Yesterday at 2.2l p NJ from