People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1898-07-21

board for reduction of the assess
ment then in force on Missouri Pa
cifc property
Judge Horizons claim is full,
substantiated by a reference to tn,
assessment of the Missouri Pacih,
lines in this county. The total as
sessment of the Missouri Pacif,
lines in this county in 1894, unde
the Lewelling board was S277,791.6l
In 1895 it was jumped up by thu
Republicans to 100000, while tina
of other roads was decreased; il
1895 the Republican board let then
off at s294,57S. Judge Horton
commended that the Missouri Pacific
lines were purposely Disseminated
against because they refused to pu
up money for a campaign fund fol
the Republican party; he asked thi!
board to do them justice, which ii
the face Of the facts they could no
refuse.
In regard to the assessment thi!
year Richards says:
The records in County Clerk Woods
Office show that the assessed valua'
tion of the railroad properly in Sum-
ner county was 81, 466,lSO in 1896; 81
Ala, 405 in 1897, and 81, 294, O29 10 1898,
Stated otherwise the Populists re-
duced the railroad assessment $751; 7i
in 1897 and then made another reduc'
tion of sl20, 1886 10 1898. The assessed
valuation Of the railroad property iD
this county for 1898 is Sl72, Ill less
than it was in 1896. The Republi.
cans made the assessment in 1896 and
the Populists made it in 1898.
The assessment Of 1895 included
the St. Louis Kansas and South,
western road, running through the
south part of the county,as a branch
of the St. Louis and San Francisco
system, and as such was more valu.
able than as an independent line
The reader will recall that in 1897
the Frisco abandoned its lease on
the road, pulled all the rolling
stock off the line and the road stood
idle for many months. Thus, in
1897 We find that the owners of the
road returned no rolling stock in
their sworn statement. This item
alone in 1896 amounted to $40.
1881 which accounts for nearly all
of the total reduction Of 1897, as pei
Richards statement (s5l,175) The
remainder Of the reduction came of
the mileage assessment which is still,
too high, perhaps, since Judge
Williams of the federal court has
enjoined the collection of taxes 70,
that year from the company on the
ground Of excessive valuation; and
the taxes are yet unpaid.
In 1898, the assessment of tn.
property of this company is still
further reduced in the sum Of tlS,.
5s7. They return no rolling stock
again this year for the reason, we
presume, that they own none, all O,
their rolling stock being leased OF
borrowed.
Again, up to this year the assess.
ment of the Western Union Tele,
graph Co.'S. property has been in
cluded in the railroad assessment
A law passed by the last legislator,
makes it assessable separately, anc
this year the assessment for Sumner
county amounts to sls,l5O, which
Richards of course fails to add to tn,
railroad assessment. Instead, there
fore OF the railroad assessment o
1898 being decreased by sl79,lll
from 1895 the apparent decrease i
only sl52,96l, and from that of ls9'
OF slOl,lS6, and not sl2O,Sss a
Richards states.
These facts could easily have BEEF
stated by Richards but it would no
have served his prime purpose, viz
to deceive the people.
As to the further reductions tn
Voice will here introduce a lette
from Attorney-General Boyle t
Hon. E. I. Hackney on this subject