Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1901-09-13

hullNd dSS lol tue pui iDoSc VI t"A"Iioh'
prepared ut the request Of Mayor Tom
L. johnson, Of Cleveland, follows:
In the following pages it will be
shown that the railroads of Ohio are
now appraised at less than $117,000,
600, or only 21.4 per cent of their value
for purposes of SALE while farms, city
real estate, and ordinary manufactur-
ers and merchants are assessed ON
the average at about three times as
much, 'in proportion to the real value
of their property. 1t Is therefore shown
that each county would gain by pro
per and Just taxation upon the trans
portation monopoly if the railroads,
instead of paying as they did last year
about $430,000 directly to the State,
and about $2,1S7000 to the counties,
should pay to the latter about $6125-
600, or 81, 100000 more than the entire
local taxes on real estate and personal
property that is turned over to the
state, including what goes into the
state common school fund.
TWELVE TYPICAL ROADS.
Many Of the Ohio roads. although
fortunately only minority in point
of value and mileage have no COM
plete quotations of their securities.
Hence, to determine the true value in
money, of many of the roads in Il
state. as the constitution requires for
the purpose of taxation, it is necessary
| to learn what relation exists between
net revenue and the market value of
the securities in the roads whose mar
Ike, value can be ascertnined.
In the Adams Express company VS.
Ohio State Auditor, 1855 u. s. 1856,
decided March Is, 1897, the Supreme
Court of the United States declared:
1T is cardinal rule which should
never be forgotten, that whatever
property is worth for the purpose of
| income and sale 1t Is also worth for
| the purpose of taxation. The
| value which property bears in the mar
| ket, the amount for which its stock
can be bought and sold, is the real
value Business men do not pay casl,
for property in moonshine or dream
| land They buy and pny for that
which Is of value In It's power to pro
duce income or for purposes of sale
All the railroads in the state have
just been assessed by the County Audi
tors Mt approximately Silt 100000
Twelve of these roads assessed at SIT,
7S0,4S6, or two-thirds of the total as
scssmcnt OF all roads, have outstand
Ing securities in the form of stocks
bonds and floating Indebtedness, whicl
were worth In the market last Marcl
S363375, ,lTS. March was taken be
cause 1t was the month just precedin!
the legal date of assessment. Th
market value was determined by TAX
ing the average Of the maximum ant
minimum quotations for the month.
The assessment OF these twclv
roads average only 2l,4l per cent, o
about one-tifth of their true value, an,
Is about onethlrd MS much as is be
loved to be the average ratio of as
scssment to true value in the case o
J the farmers, the house-owncrs, an,
$ the ordinary merchants and maufac
{ turcrs Of the state, which is common
n ly assumed to be about go per cent
I of the true value of their property
n Even between railroads there is grca
/ inequality of assessment The Bl!
c Four systems, |. g., the Cleveland, Gin
Y cnnatl, Chicago g. st. Louis Is onl,
II assessed at 1881 per cent. of its mar
II ket value and the Cincinnati, Hamil
II ton h Dayton at 1921 per cent Will
|. the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chlcag
|. & Ut. Louis and the Little Milan
roads. belonging to the Pennsylvanl
system. are assessed at 34.6t per con
, and the Cleveland, Akron & Colun
bus at 25S per cent. Cincinnati, Han
ilton & Dayton at 1921 per cont, Will
the Pittsburg. Cincinnati, Chicago
J. st. Louis and the Little Miami road,
: belonging to the Pennsylvania syi
0 TEN, are assessed at 34,6i per cen
! and the Cleveland Akron IL Colum
t bus at 25.S per cent. The others G
o the twelve roads referred to are b,
l. tween these extremes. These 12 road
T. were selected solely because they wer
J. found to be the only roads in th
state whose securities were at III
: same time widely quoted and in othC
o respects thought to be a fair guild