The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-09-05
To tn. Editor of TIE PAyuLuc

To the Editor Of Tie Republic.
Jefferson City, Mo, Sept. 4-The charge
is made that the State Board of Eoua,iz,-
tion has been reducing the valuation fer
taxation Of the street railway propcrtaes of
st. Louis. Mo. and the Republican press Of
| the city of st. Louis is attempting to SHOW
that the Democratic State officials are f.
voring the corporations Of ST. Louis in IN
matter of taxation. In tire light OF tha:s
facts it will be well TO see what is tn,
record of the Republican city officials them
selves with reference TO these street rail-
way properties, and the assessment there
of. when the Republican city officials Of St.
Louis had the power 10 asses the street
railway property.
Prior to March II, 1897. the street always
Of st. Louis. as we'll as the street railways
in all other cities and counties In the State,
were assessed by the local assessor. In the
city of ST. Louis the assessment OF the
street railroads prior to 80, and in the year
81. was made by the Republican Board Of
Assessors OF said city. presided over by the
City Assessor. Mr.. Fredericks, who Is also
q Republican. II had long been apparent
from the complaints made by the citizens
OF st. Louis that home owners Of St. Louis
were paying much the larger percentage
Of the taxes of the city; that the corporate
property OF 81. LOUIS, anu especially the
street railways, were escaping their just
proportion of taxation. This complaint be-
came so general that in the year 1880 a bill
was introduced in the General Assembly
providing for the assessment of the street
railways of St. Louis by the State Board of
Equalization, composed of five Democratic
executive State officials. 70 Wit: Tit Cow
ernor. Attorney General, Secretary Of State,
State Auditor and State Treasurer. This
bill provided. in general terms. that on or
before the list of January OF each year the
president or other chief officer of every
street railroad company in this State should
furnish to the Auditor a statement sub
scribed and sworn to by the president. or
other chief officer. setting out in detail the
length of the line, the length OF track, the
real estate, the number OF cars. the trolley
wires. cables. power-houses. stables and all
other property, real. personal or mixed. and
that said State Board of Equalization should
assess said property In the same manner
provided by law for the assessment and
taxation of the steam railroad properties of
the State. This bill was opposed by nearly
all Of the Republicans in the Legislature,
and was bitterly fought by the corporations.
The present candidate OF the Republican
party for Attorney General. Mr.. Samuel
O'Fallon of Holt County, was then a men,
Der of the House. ard the Journal OF the
House. page sol. being the forty-first day of
the session. February &c, 1897, shows that on
the final roll call on the passage Of this
bill Mr.. O'Fallon voted against it, as did
Bi,tinger of Buchanan, Mueller OF st.
Charles. Pickler Of Adair, James OF Jack
son. Erhart Of st. Louis, and others. Messrs.
Sc~hweickardt. Mott. Martin. Matthew'S.
Keene and Burkhead are amongs the Sen
ators who voted against IL. The bill was
passed in the House by a vote Of 81 to 81.
and In the Senate by a vote OF q TO II. and
was approved by a Democratic Governor
March II. 1891.
The Republican Assessing Board Of the
city Of st. Louis. In 1891, assessed this prop
erty. and they fixed the value of the lines
In st. Louis city and county at $500, 200. This
was done in April, 1897 The record Of the
State Board OF Equalization for 1895. page
800. shows that Mr.. Fredericks. the Repub-
lican City Assessor OF the city of St Louis,
responded to a summons Of the board to ap-
pear before that body on the sd of June,
1928, to testify with reference to the assess
ment of real estate and other property In
the city Of St. Louis. and said record shows
the following statement made by Mr..
Fredericks with reference to the per cent of
value at which the average real estate OF
ST. Louis Is assessed:
Mr.. Crow: what / wanted to inquire Of you
about was the general average Of the essess-
ment Of the ordinary run of real estate for the
city Of St. Louis. I do not refer now to any
big manufacturing plants. nor do l refer to any
isolated piece OF property. but the average as
sesSment CT homes and business houses OF St.
Louis. the per cent. according to their real
value"
Mr.. Frederick: Well. We aim to assess them
at two-thirds-0 per cent. or as near 20 ber cent.
as We csn-of the ordinary selling y::Ie Of a
piece OF property. You understand, CT course,
that the law says property must he assessed at
Its cash value. The determination Of this cash
value has always been q troublesome question
with Us. and We take a certain percentage of
what a piece OF property would sell FOR and then
deducs its sssessahie value"
The same record OF the State Board Of
Equalization. page 370-37l. shows that Mr..
Charles Nagel. as a member Of the Board
of Assessors of the city of ST. Louis. testi-
ned that his understanding was that the
attempt OF the assessment Of st. Louis by
the local board was TO assess real estate AT
about 20 per cent of its value.
The market value of the stocks ana honda
of these street railways on June l. IsT was
about sio.5li.50. That year, as / have stated
the Republican Board of City Assessors
bxed the valuation for taxation at s.. 5a3. 700
III the assessment of the corporate proper
ty or the street railways had been fixed on
a basis of 20 per cent of the value on which
IT paid divfdends-to-wit, 20 per cent of s4e : !
oii,SVI-then, according to the testimonv ~
Mr.. Fredericks. the Republican CITY As
SCISSOR. and president of said City ASSESSING
board. the street railway properties wouId
nave been assessed on the same basis as "a |
the property of tie average home owner