The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-02-25
Dunn ON ABATEHENTS
AUDITOR STANDS SQUARELY BY
THE STATE BOARD OF
EQUALIZATION
RAPs ATTORNEYS KNUCKLEs
Says There Is No Foundation for the
Statement That Ramsey County
Has Not Had Fair Treatm I'M
certainty I'm Determining What
Are Bona Eide Applications for
Abatement, and What Fraudulent.

County Auditor Johnson yesterday hled
with State Auditor Dunn several score of
applications for abatement recently all
lowed by the county board. Mr.. Dunn
stated that he would look them over and
would approve of any that were shown
to be of meritorious nature, that Is,
mistakes of assessors, etc, but otherwise
he gave assurance that he would make
no discrimination unless there was a
very good reason shown.
'"There is no foundation for any state
ment that Ramsey county has not had
fair treatment at the hands of the state
board of abatement" said the state au-
ditor. For myself 1 want to say that I
am as much interested in Ramsey county
as any other county in the state. The
county and city Of st. Paul receives
seven-eighths of the taxes, while the
state gets but one-eighth 1t is import
ant that the city of st. Paul have enough
money to run it's schools, indeed, great
deal more so than that the state lose its
small share of the tax. J am not here
"a state auditor to discriminate against
the counties in favor of the state. and
from the distribution Of taxes this would
not be possible.
1.-THE state board of equalization made
no arbitrary assessments. In Ramsey
county no individual changes were made
with the exception of an Increase In the
assessment of the city railway company,
which did not fall upon the people at all.
Increases were made by the board OF
the different crassifications of goods, but
no more so than In any other county in
the state, and indeed in many cases Ram
sew county received lower rate than
almost any other county.
"The average rate of taxation for 1898
was 2S.9. and for Ramsey county during
the same period it was 21.5. Last year
the state at large paid total tax of 224
mills. and this county paid 2.6 mills.
These figures, think, show that no dis
elimination was made against this coun-
~ The great trouble in this county is
this. The board knows if it does not
make a return In proportion with the
nreceding year the state board will raise
II After the board had adjourned the
county board abates the tax and thus
nndoes its own work. This is a custom
that should cease.
"Another difficulty which 1 meet In this
office is the uncertainty in determining
which are bona fide applications for apate-
ment and which are fraudulent Several
cases have come to my notice. Attor-
news perhaps. for lack of better occu-
nation. have gone to property owners and
offered for a certain sum to have their
taxes cut down half. These taxpayers
intended from the first to pay their taxes,
b,,t In this way become party to the
scheme. and, in one instance, | know
where Ramsey county was defrauded out
of several hundred dollars. 1t again
comes to light that property owners nave
actually bought the county board IN
4 xryi11 he
from this that it Is no easy matter to de-
termine which applications have merit
and which have not, even after the coun-
nv board has passed upon them.
"Referring again to RameSy county, 1
will say that think it has not the slight
est occasion for complaint Of the state
boards arrangement Of taxes. A snort
time ago the county auditor MADE COM
nlafnt about the increase of 90 per cent
made to apply to the saloons OF 81. Paui.
Ten wears ago the saloons of the city
vera assessed for nearly $500, 600, and last
wear the board made return OF siloo0.
The county board could do nothing but
bring these figures at least to correspond
with the assessment of the year before,
namely S124, 000.~ To do that 1t was nee
essary to raise the amount 80 per cent.
Think Of it! Ten years ago the saloons
were assessed for two-thirds more than
they are today, and they kick on that
T have figures here which will show that
over 300 saloons have licenses and are
listed on the tax rolls.
.Ten years ago the general merchan-
disc of the county was put In at about
s4.000O00. 1t was returned last year at
So. 5OO, 1873, and the board only increased 1t
per cent in Ramsey county, making
the assessment 50, 100000. 1t cannot be
that there is less general merchandise to-
day than ten years ago, yet we find the
BASIS of taxation lower, and some people
even kick before there is a little S per