Omaha daily bee., 1896-01-25
STANDING UP FOR OMAHA.

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1t ought not to be necessary TO defend
Omaha against an attack by an Omaha news
paper. There is as much taxable property
in Omaha as there is in ST. Paul or Denver,
and nearly as much as in Minneapolis or
Kansas City The assessed valuation, how
ever, is ridiculously low and absolutely worth
less as a guide. The Bee building, for in
stance, is assessed at one-tenth its value,
and Mr.. Rosewater only reported his whole
personal property for taxation at a valuation
Of about 500 until last year.
= In area Omaha is larger
than every one of the above mem
toned cities except st. Paul, and exceeds at
least two Of them in m banking and
manufactures.
In the amount Of public improvements
Omaha surpasses at least three of those
cities, and in actual amount of money raised
by taxation only Minneapolis and Louisville
exceed this city.-World- Herald.
1t ought not to be necessary for The
Bee to defend itself against the charge
of attacking Omaha. The Bee has
done more toward building up Omaha
than any other concern in Omaha. 1t
has as much at stake in the future
IN W ma as hhS JIM Nob
Germ in Omaha.
1t is passing strange, too, that no dis
cussion with regard to public policy or
municipal finances can be had without
making the personality of its editor
the issue. The inference sought to be
conveyed is that The Bee has been a
tax shirker and its editor has made
fro Il111Innf rafrrnS of hiS nprSnnp1 nr,nn-
erty. The most effective %refutation of
this may be found in the records of
the county and city treasures. The
Bee building is assessed at $50. 900. The
taxes paid by The Bee Building COM
pany since the erection of it's office
building in 1889 aggregate $27, 74O.
The taxes paid by The Bee Publishing
and Building companies for the year
1895 aggregate $3.50. OF this amount
nearly four-fifths, or about $4,000, a
year, is borne by Rosewater. There
has never been a time within twenty
years that Rosewater has appeared be-
fore a board of equalization to get his
taxes reduced or RENTED. All this,
however, is but an impertinent side
issue.
The way to stand up for Omaha is
not by brag and buster. nor by making
claims for it that everybody knows to
be ~eXtravagant and unfounded. Hon
esty is the best policy. A city has
nothing to gain by magnifying its re-
sources and initiating its own impor-
lance. Omaha has suffered incalculable
damage from the blatherskites who
claim everything and do nothing. The
best way to stand up for Omaha and
to build up Omaha is to claim nothing
for it that it has not got and to deceive
no one concerning its true condition.
The assertion that there is as much
in st. Paul, and nearly as much as
there is in Kansas City or Louisville,
either shows lamentable ignorance of
the facts or a downright perversion of
the truth. st. Paul is an older and n
Weather city. 1t has a dozen men
who can buy all Omaha. The milling
industry of Minneapolis represents Il
larger investment of capital than all
the Omaha industries combined. Min
apo MS lulIy uOuDle tHe DOIuiu-
ton of Omaha and covers tifty-three
square miles, as against Omaha's TWEEN
ty-four square miles. The net bonded
debt of Minneapolis is S5,22S, 700. The
net bonded debt of Omaha is So, T10,5G6.
Kansas City carries S250,713 in its sink
ing fund; st. Paul, $2S1, 800; Minneapo'
lis, 81, OOG,3OO. Omaha's sinking fund
is in debt to the banks for current
interest payments. The figures for
Louisville are not at hand, but Louis
vile has a larger population than Min
neapolis and is noted for its wealth.
Any attempt TO institute comparisons
between the fire and police departments
of Omaha and these cities is therefore
misleading and mischievous, because 1t
is designed to uphold Il t%op-heavy sys-
TEN which this city is not able to main
tain under present conditions.