Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1900-08-01

Not Likely that there will be any Fur
ther Increase in Railroad Valu-
alton this Year.


alton this Year.
5# The state board of equalization, con
sisting of Gov. Fancher, Attorney Cen
eral CoWan, Auditor Carlblom, Treas
urerI Driscoll and Commissioner Of Ag-
riculture Thomas, meets at the state
capitol, Aug. !, to equalize the assess
ment Of property through the state.
The board is. confronted again with
the question Of procuring sufficient
revenue to carry the state, through the
coming two years, and this without
working injustice to any class of prop
ertyl owners. Last year, the feature
of the session of the board was the,
radical increase of railroad assessment. 4
The railroad lines through the state
were raised from a valuation of $4,000
ia mile on the main lines to a valuation
of $1,000 mile. This made the total
valuation of railroad property a. little
over 81 { 100000, two-thirds Of the as
5sessed valuation of all the other per-
tsonal property in the state, which was
assessed and equalized at $25,OOO, 900.
It is not to be expected that this
year there will be another such radi-
cal increase, for the reason that at the
valuation fixed for railroad property
last year, it is paying on about the
same valuation as other property own
sers: The railroad representatives
fought the increase of assessment Wig
Eorously last year, but were unable to
prevent the increase. The board ar
#gued that there was need of additional
revenue, and that the railroads were
not paying on the same proportion Of
their tls valuation as were owners of
farms and STOCK. It was generally
admitted, after the meeting of the
board, however. that until other prop
critics in the state were raised in as
.sessed valuation all along the line,
there would be little further increase.
in the valuation Of railroads. .S5}i
s Last year the total assessed valua-
ton of all classes of property in the
state, real, personal and railroad, was
3$1 y, 33334 42s. Of this the total real
valuation was s72,1l0,O59 The per-
ssonal $ 'lls1 valuation was ~, POS, All and
the railroad /. assessment $17,O14, ,95S..
On#this Increased valuation, a levy Of
33.S mills was made for general state
purposes. This levy has barely sufficed
to pay the current expenses Of the state
institutions for the biennial period
now closing. .3; .3z3
q There is little likelihood of any reudc-5
tions anywhere on the list of property.
So far as real prop perty is concerned it
is assessed at an exceedingly low fig
ure IL the eastern part of the state. 4
In the Red river valley, where the av-.
3erage value of land on the market is
$50 to $40 an acre, it is assessed for
purposes of taxation at So, So and $6
an acre. In, Traill county, where no
land is on the market for less than $50
to $50 an acre, the land is assessed for
less than s an acre, about one-fifth
Of its value, Certainly no owner Of
land in that locality can have a com
plant that his land is exorbitantly
valued. Cass county last year paid
on its land at a valuation Of 5$G. 81 an
acre. Grand Forks paid on valua-
tion$of SIS. go. Trail county paid 81.
a valuation of Sc Richland paid
on q valuation Of 50 81 Other vaI-
ley counties paid On, an equally low
rate. ss5 Ss
The fusion PARTY of the state. in its
platform, charges the republicans with
discrin ninating in favor Of corporations
/ in the matter Of taxation The fact
that people who live in glass houses
should not throw stones was never bet
ter illustrated. The fusion board Of
seqr aiization in S!,3s not only failed to
raise the assessment OF railroad prop
erty, but reduced This administra-
ton numbered among its shining lights
such men as w. sH Standish, the great
corpor alton batter Of Grand Forks,
then attorney general. The governor
was p. g. p. shortridg dge. a farmer, an
ICY whose synlpathies we're supp to-
be with the granger element These
men failed lamentably in their duty,
and AS q result the state administration
and the treasury went into the hole
with rhe pop inistration On the
other hand, the republican state board
Ct equalization, for the past three or