The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-11-06
HOW DOCTOR
DODGE DOCTORS
FIGURES
He Is Challenged by
Assessor Siebe.
ASKED TO PRODUCE PROOF
DODGE TALKS ABOUT HIGH COR
PORATION ASSESSMENTS.
Fails to Tell That Taxes Were Never
Paid on Such Assess
ments.

The reckless and altogether unrella-
Bile manner in which DR.. Dodge, the
Democratic nominee for Assessor, has
tuggled with flgures-alleged records of
the Assessors office-during his cam
paign stamps him as first-class DOC
tor of figures" II he were to be elected
to the office to which he aspires, ne
would, If he pursued such an entang-
ling course in making his assessments
as he has in making his campaign, soon
have the assessment roll In such a
muddle that 1t would take a small army
of expert accountants to straighten 1t
out.
On the various occasions that the
good doctor of medicine has posed as
a doctor of figures. and In the latter ca
pacity addressed himself to mass meet
ings of voters he has fortified himself
with an alleged transcript of the re-
cords of the Assessors office. When
speaking his little piece he has used
this alleged transcript to try and prove
what a bad Assessor Mr.. Siebe has
been and what good one Mr.. Badlam
was. He concludes by, in substance,
promising to be even better Assessor
than Mr.. Badlam was.
Now for the records, and what they
show. Mr.. Dodge states that during
seven years of Mr.. Badlam's admins
tration Grom 1876 to 1882 inclusive), he
assessed the Spring Valley Water COM
pany and the San Francisco Gas Com
pany for total of $S5, 321, 1853 on per-
sonal property and franchises. Mr..
Dodge is mistaken. His figures are
too low by about $S,500.000. The re-
cords of the Assessors office show that
during these years Mr.. Badlam as
sessed these two corporations on fran
chises alone $S1, 000,0 00 while he as
sessed them on personal property S12,-
716.068, making grand total OF $s3, 49,
068.
Mr. Dodge talks about the beauties
of these high assessments of corpora
tions and tells what burden they re-
move from the shoulders of the small
taxpayer But, alas for the facts The
books of the Auditors office and the
Tax Collectors office tell a different
story from that told by the good doc
tor of medicine. On all this enormous
assessment of Mr.. Badlam's, amount
ing to $93, ZIG, 06S, the Spring Valley
Water Company and San Francisco
Gas Company paid taxes on exactly
s12 716, 06S, the amount Of their personal
property assessments. In fact, the re-
cords of the Auditors and Tax Collec-
tors offices do not show that they paid
even the full amount of taxes on this
s12, 716, 06S.
They simply ignored the assessments
of their franchises, and the amount that
they would have paid on a moderate
and reasonable assessment was shifted
to the shoulders of smaller taxpayers
thereby adding to their burdens.
Against this showing stands Mr.
| Siebe's record. During the eight years
he has held the office of Assessor his
total assessment of the franchises AND
personal property of the Spring Valley
Water Company and the San Francisco
Gas Company was $37, 900 900, on which
amount every dollar Of taxes has beer
! paid.
! This record speaks for itself and al
who will take the trouble to investigate
| will discover that Doctor of Figures
| Dodge has been endeavoring to throw
| dust in the voters eyes by a misrepre-
sentation of facts, as shown by the re.
~cords of the Assessors office. These
Misrepresentation may have beer
made either deliberately or through
carelessness on his part. In either
| case It demonstrates his absolute un-
| fitness for the office to which he as
pires.
Assessor Siebe openly challenges DIR
Dodge to prove that the taxes on these
| arbitrary assessments which were
| made by Badlam for effect, and not ir
the interests of justice, have ever beer
paid by the corporations under consid-
| Grafton. Mr.. Siebe further states thai
| If such proof can be produced he viii
| donate to the orphans asylums Of the
| City and County of San Francisco tn.
sum Of S5O0