St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-25


real estate valuations of the state and 1888
per cent OF the total personal property of the
state, for the year 1894. They do not pos
sess this proportion of the actual real and
personal property of the state, but notwfth-
standing this fact the state board, last year,
raised the personal items another 10 per cent
see no way to properly protect our citi-
zens against an unjust share Of state taxa
tion, except to reduce valuations, and if
necessary increase our local rate
trusting this answer to your inquiry will
pe VI service 10 you, remain, your truly,
-Channing Seabury.
DANIEL R. MOVES.
Your letter of inquiry Just received.
The choice is difficult I could easily areue
Ior reduced assessment and state abundant
reasons why it would be difficult and severe
10 increase it; but 1 would rather have it
increased rather than increase of rate.
The better way is, l think, TO let present
Valuation and rate stand, correcting obvious
sible. wv D "' po"
L think, although 1t would hear unon mo
that central improved and rentable property
should bear the most of the burden vet a
ly assessed now
outside property is assessed low, but for
present purposes is improbable. The best
residence portions Of the city are / think
practically lowest in assessed valuation pro,
portionately. ~
Yet they are assessed as high as any of us
want to pay.
1ou nave d problem Friend Seng-
the hardest any assessor has had for years
ooupt III you can please anyone-eyen YOUR
seir-very fully. Yet there is but one thing
10 do.. Get all good advice you can and then
go ahead and do your best.
See that everything reachable and taxable
is in.
| wish I could do more for you in way of
suggestion, but this is all that suggests it.
sell at the moment Respectfully,
Daniel r. Noyes.
In my letter to you a few days since in
answer to your inquiry 1 did not speak of
what, / think, is the most important point
of all, and that was that there ought to be
a general reduction of valuations on real es-
tate this year. AS l understand it, we shall
reduce our expenses something like $500 600
perhaps more-taking all things into consid-
eratlon. This would warrant reduction in
real estate valuations of twenty to twenty
hVe mlinons In my Judgment, and in spite
there ought to be substantial reduction in
the valuations Of improbable property out
lying and In any part of the city, so far as
made.
referred in some measure to this when I
suggested the careful equalization and the
great Importance of getting anything which
is not taxed, and ought to be- upon the LIST
Resldence property on the hill is well I'D
now, and so is all property but we must do
the best we can. Yours respectfully
Daniel r. Noyes.
H. T. M'cLUNG.
AS understand new assessment of real
estate is about to be made for 1896 and 1897,
ana as understand that in making such as
sessments 1t has been the custom since the
time OF Mr.. Beaumont to copy the previous
assessment In making out the new one, 1
aesire tb 10 cal your attention to some matters
tnat, think, need correction. 1 inclose
ilst or the property Of which 1 wish to speak,
together with the 1895 assessed values and
,vnat wnat ! claim to be the true value, or, at
least, that the true value is not more than
state, and to show good faith on my part I
now offer any all the property on
@ tnat iist to you or any one else at the fig
VIII be made very easy-not all cash, by any
means-1O per cent cash and 10 per cent each
SIX months thereafter until the whole is paid
deferred payments to bear per cent ner
annum interest. Any other reasonable terms
would do as well. but these are certainly
very easy" This property is owned by nv
motner thot and slsters.widow and orphans-and
they have been paying these excessive taxes
Ior the past ten years, and the taxes and
assessments so paid, together with interest
on on tne same, would amount to more than
Wnlch make to sell this property at
prices stated l make as the authorized
agent OF the owners, and If you wish it I
Will have the owners themselves sign options
on property for the prices stated and for
any reasonable time
L wish to have the taxes for 1896 and e7
pased upon the true value Of the property, and
am advised by my attorney that this is aI
that IN law can be collected. I wish to offer
to prove to you that the value of this pron-
erty Is not more than l have stated, and to
Drlng competent witnesses before you who
upon oath, will verify what l say Do YOU
care to hear any evidence upon the values
know that some of the surrounding prop
erty, great deal of it on the West side is
also assessed on the same basis as this hut
that does not make it right and I am not
nghtlng other peoples battles for them If
! ~, can n 40 nothing in the matter alone 1 shall
ers and either have the West side fiat re-
ouced 5o per cent all around as it should be-
or contest the matter in the courts. l know
that you are fair man, and that this will
not be necessary if you are not so tied up
as to render the matter impossible to change
II we are not to have a new assessment to
suit the tmes-that is on the basis of pres
ent mot pasD values-but are still called
upon to pay on the old basis, I, for one,
propose to cease paying taxes and to spend
TINS this money and my time in organizing the
holders of vacant property to fight for our
rights in the courts and in every other legiti-
mate way possible. I know of a good many
large holders of vacant property who feel
some one to take the lead to have them
join In gladly. In 1895 I paid about Sc 900
taxes for those 1 represent and I will call
your attention to the fact that I am asking
for reductions in only a few places-mostly
on outskirts of city-on the bulk of the prop
erty l represent AS far as the assessors s
to valuations Where the assessed value is
anywhere near the right, even so per cent
more than the real value, 1 have made no
point The only valuations to which I am
objecting are where they are twice or three
times what they should be.
l am sorry that l paid my 1894 taxes with
out making a fight did go before the as
SCISSOR and the boards, but received no salts
faction. l shall appear before the board of
abatement again at their next meeting and
If they refuse to make any reductions in the
1895 taxes-where justice requires such re-
ductions-I shall stop paying taxes on this
property this year and shall commence the
fight on the 1895 tax first. If the law is that
vacant real estate shall be assessed two or
three times its actual value Qf the real es-
tate is purely speculative); that business
blocks and fine houses shall be assessed from
80 to 60 per cent of their value, and that per-
sonal property shall pay only 10 per cent
of its real value, I want to
know it. and am determined to satisfy nv
desire for knowledge. There is a possibility
of knocking out the whole tax levy, and if it
Is necessary to do this in order to secure
justice the attempt will be made. My family
have for the past thirty years always paid
their taxes promptly and have never hereto
fore refused to pay, and do not now refuse to
pay anything like just amount, but we
will not pay two or three times what Is right
The fact is that the taxation on this prom
erty has ceased to be taxation-has become
confiscation.
Now, all we ask is that cur property be
assessed at fair values, at which it can be
bought and at which surrounding property
can be bought-current values. If you do not
know what are fair values I WILL at my own