Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1894-02-02
DfsCRfafTvsIYEoN IN THE 4 ssEsa
MEs'T or F.ARsfING AND MN
ERAL LANDS.

/ INSTRUMENTATION IN THE 4 IS E'sS-
MENT or F.ARStINGs AND MN
-ERAL LANDS.
The report submitted to the legislature
last week by the joint committee Of the
Senate and House, Of which Mr.. 4, f.
| Withrow Of Allagiiany is Chairman, is
likely to attract as much attention from
/ the tax payers of the State, and especially
the farming element, as anything that will
come before that body this session. The
committee was appointed at the session Of
1884, 2. ''to ascertain the real and the as
sessed value of the mineral lands of the
State in order that the same may be reas-
sessed and taxed according to their real
value" The committee in the interim
have personally visited the mineral districts
of the State and gathered information in
all Of them. Among other things they
found that Oh the Peter McLaren tract il
Allegheny, comprising 102. 900 acres and Oh
which the Allegheny Iron Mountain Min
ing Co. makes All output of a hundred and
| fifty tons OF iron ore per day, the whole tax
collected by State and county is only 1925.
81. The output Of the Allegheny Company
for years back has been $55. 1000 worth OF
ore on which the State has received no tax
es. The land of the McLaren tract is as
sessed at from $1.75 to S. 80 per acre, while
farms in the vicinity are assessed at from
| IS to $40 per acre. The chambers Sur
vey'' of $4,000 acres in the same county, is
claimed by several nonresident parties and
tile State gets no taxes. The erich Patch
Iron Company with $500 acres in the
same county, which sold in 1871 at $12 900
and in 1890 at s150,000, is only assessed at
IS per acre, though in the fourteen months
The present owners have had it they have
mined 0,000 tons Of iron ore worth So {,
ton. The Low Moor tract Of $500 acres,
including furnace and town. is assessed at
800 an acre. The Longdale tract of 5000
acres, with its furnace, residences and SO
forth. is only assessed at SIS an acre. In
| Bath county the celebrated ''Douthat sur
vey'; Of 10000 acres is only assessed at 50
an acre. In Pulaski tie Bertha Zinc
| Works, which makes one-twelfth OF all the
|
d day are only valued at So, 900 for taxation
The greater part of the property is owned
/ by non-residents who pay 10 income tax
| In returns of minerals to the Auditor, says
the report Augusta county reports moth
ing in 1891, nothing in 1892. and S. for 1893
notwithstanding the celebrated Carnegie
manganese mines and also iron mines, that
shipped thousands of tons of iron ore to the
Crozier Furnace at Roanoke, are in this
county,"
The report gives a list Of large num-
ber Of counties in the Valley. Southwest
and Southside from which great quantities
Of ore are shipped and OF which no return
whatever is made to the Auditor. From
great Pocahontas mines is shipped from.
nothing was reported in 1891, nothing in
1892, and the books for 1893 have not vet
been received. 1t says:
| The owners of mineral property, in various
sections of the State, have made complaint of
/ the great hardship that an increase in valu-
alton would be to them, if such an increase is
put upon the mineral land, when the present
law provides that the assessed value should
be placed upon the minerals raised. This
caused your committee to secure from the Au-
ditor's Office reports from twenty-siX of the
most prominent mineral counties in the State
The Information which we have obtained
from the Auditor is startling beyond measure
and shows that of all the mineral resources
of the State Of Virginia, including the total
coal output of the great Southwest, together
with the iron interests of these tWenty-siX
counties. the Commonwealth only received
during the years 1891, 1892 and 1898, $751;
S939.S6, and S903.S4, respectively.
The three furnaces, known as Low-Moor,
Longdale and Victoria, the first two Of which
| are situated in Allegheny county and the 9th
er in Rockbridge county, make in the aggre-
gate three hundred and siXty-five tons of iron
per day. The amount of ore required to make
| one ton OF iron is about two and half tons.
The statement Of the Auditor showed that in
the county Of Allegheny in 1891, the assessed
value of minerals raised was So 466; in 1892
it was 1913, go. The property books for 1898
have not been received. The Auditors state
| ment VS., as far as Botetourt is concerned,
that in 1891 the assessed value of the minerals
raised was S96 6S7: in 1892 it was $50, 062; in
1888 it was S30,675, In Rockbridge the as
sessed value of the minerals raised in 1891 was
nothing; in 1892 it was nothing, and in 1885 it
was nothing In these three counties are To-
Gated the mines known as Low Moor, the
Rich patch mine, the Longdale mine, the Iron
| Mountain mines, the Dolly Anne mines. the
Danlap's Creek mines, the Rockbrdge Fur
mace mines and the Buena Vista mines, which
/ have been continuously worked for the past
several years. The Low-M and Lengdale
! furnaces have been running continuously for
ten years. and the Victoria furnace for six or
eight years.
The following are the conclusions reached
| BIZ the committee and with which they end
| their report:
| i. Taxation upon real estate in Virginia is
not equal and uniform.
| .. Lands used for agricultural purposes are
assessed far above lands containing minerals
and the burden of taxation is thus unfairly
placed upon the farmers.
| 3 Lands containing minerals-both devel-
oped and undeveloped-are assessed far be-
low their value.
f. BY reason of the unequal assessments
throughout the State, the Commonwealth has
lost an untold amount of revenue.
| D. Failure to express the true consideration
in deeds conveying property has also deprived
| the Commonwealth Of her inst dues.
| g. We believe if taxation upon real estate
| 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
I taxation.
Bills relating to the subject will hereafter
| be introduced.
Respectfully submitted.
A. +. Withrow, W. A. Fentress, John +
| Mason, r. L. Anderson, NJ. 2. Jackson, on
the part Of the House of Delegates. Henry
Fairfax, Conway r. Sands, 6. A. Mushbach,