The San Francisco call., 1896-07-23
That of the District Attorney
Best Suited the Super
visorS.
NO HOPE FOR THE CITY
The Council Is Not Anxious to Ac-
cepi Railroad Figures and
Arguments.
OAKLAND OFFICE, SAN Francisco CALL, |

O~A@>@@4A-'N
sos Broadway, July %.
The State Board of Equalization has be-
gun Its warfare upon Assessor Dalton's
work.
delegation is at present compiling
data for the purpose of showing discrimi-
nation in assessment and so giving the
State Board an opportunity for saying
something derogatory to the work of AS
SCISSOR Dalton.
The most despicable part of the affair" I"
said Mr. Dalton this afternoon, "is that
Robert Leckie and Will Hawkett, who
were in this office before my election. are
the hardest workers in the interests of the
railroad company. These men were in
this office for years and were handsomely
paid by the people of this county for their
work, and now they are giving the benefit
of their experience to the railroad COM
pany in their efforts to throw more than
the legitimate share of t he taxes upon the
people who put them in Office
Tne State Board has no love for Mr..
Dalton. Mr.. Morehouse, the San Leandro
banker, has a pronounced dislike for his
method of making an assessment. When
Robert Leckie was Assessor of this county
Mr.. Morehouse complimented him on his
work. He has as yet done nothing but
cast slurs on Dalton's work. So far as the
total assessment is concerned, the State
Board can have no cause to complain, as
1t is about S160, coo higher in the aggregate
than last year. The figures are:
1Se5-To; al assessment. .Se3 7o1 2S2
16so-Total assessment. s3,s6o,4 ,4sO
Increase this year. $780,
"There is another very interesting point
l1G l.
said the Assessor. The city government
is composed of eleven men and they all
voted last year to sustain my railroad as
sessment after the five Supervisors had cut
II down about to nothing This year the
same old arguments will be made to the
Council and fully believe that the assess
ments have made will be again sustained.
The corporations paid their taxes on the
city assessments without fight, and hav-
ing done so one yearthey cannot very we'll
complain now"
Another popularity of the assessment
roll is that Under the opinion that came
through the District Attorneys Office the
money, bonds and stock of National banks
cannot be assessed. This has aroused more
discussion than all the other points
put together, as it directly affects the
pockets of the multitude of working
people who have deposited their savings
in the local banks. As the savings banks
are exempt, the discrimination will enable
the National banks to declare dividends
higher than their competitors.
Assessor Dalton does not believe the
District Attorney is right in the matter
ana he is sustained by the Attorney Gen
eral. In an'opinion from Attorney-General
Fitzgerald, he says:
Il am OF the opinion, therefore, that for
the purpose of testing the question and
obtaining decision from our Supreme
Court definitely determining the rights of
all concerned as TO such assessments, the
assessors of the State should assess TO the
National banks all personal property,
money, currency, etc, belonging to these
banks. The procedure for assessing the
stock in the hands of shareholders and the
personal property of the bank, and for col
lecting taxes thus assessed, is the same as
that presented by the Political Code for all
other property of the same general char
acter."
The opinion handed in by the District
Attorney reads:
Ny opinion, therefore, is that shares OF the
capital stock of National banking corporations
cannot, Under the law, be assessed either to
the individual owners thereof or to the bank
as corporation, and that such shares are not
in any way subject to taxation for State and
county purposes.
In answer to he second question propounded
by you, will say that under the principles
hereinbefore enunciated in this opinion cash
on hand OF National hanks, held by such banks
in their capacity National banks, cannot be
legally assessed ior State and county taxes.
In answer to the third question propounded
by you, my opinion is that under the law no
property OF National banks can be assessed for
the purpose OF taxation in this State, except
real property belonging TO such banks.
Now that the Supervisors and District
Attorney have concluded their work and
have tossed the responsibility for their
actions from one to the other and incl
dentally to the advice Of Mr.. Morehouse.
the Indignation meeting is being ar
ranged.