The Meeker herald., 1901-07-20

light rains throughout the drouth. .strick-
en- sections Of Kansas, with fair pros.
poets of more in sight.
THIS will be good news to soockmen
of Northwestern Colorado, as a total
failure OF the corn crop means poor de-
mand for feeders, and low prices.
Rains now would save some of tire corn.
Corporations Treated Fairly.
In recent issue of the Denver Post.
Assessor Alexander Of Arapahoe county
speaks of tine workings of the new
revenue law in its operations with the
big Corporations as follows:
There peyer was law passed to
regulate taxation which got at the bot
tom Of the thing so thoroughly rs the
revenue act under which we are making
the present assessment.
ut distributes the burden as no other
law has ever done or could do.
There are few Objectionable fest
ures in the act, but these are 30 small
that they are of no consequence. In
fact. they do not affect the general re-
suits at all.
RAILROADS GET 1T.
Now, let us take, for instance, the
assessment Of the property of the rail-
roads and corporations, which enjoy
special privileges by way OF franchises.
When this law is applied to them they
receive absolutely just treatmentl That
is why they object. and is the very rea-
son they attack the law.
I'm the past 1t has been customary 10
assess corporations on their visible prop
erty, so many tons of old scrap iron and
the like, and the result was that when
the thing was done it was no nearer the
real value than il the assessor should sit
In his Office and guess at the thing.
Then the corporation would go before
the county commissioners and declare
that the scrap iron wasn't worth what
the assessor said, and there was another
contest.
JUST LIKE CITIZENS.
"Under the present law we assess
corporations just rs we do individual
possessions. We calculate what 10 the
market value Of the property and az the
assessment accordingly. For. instance.
here is man who owns certain ptsce
Of real estate. he might say tAat II
cost $1,000. W. knsw. howssee. taat
10 rsntios ~ ~ psktE go iian1p ~
5000 aud tilas Il he wishsd % Ill hs
could get S5 900. 70 us pat Tie aSsess-
ment at IS 600. He has little chance TO
get snv reduction II Ais assessment.
Now. it has always bsen 20 with this
man. But how with the cofpoeationsP ?
The water and gas companies have
80 many miles Of mains in the streets.
The assessor has returned this at 30
much foot or mile. basing the valu-
alton On the original cost. Now, this
pipe has been In the ground and has
been increasing its earning capacity
and still the company comes in aud says
the pipe is not worth nearly what it
once cost. because it is wearing out.
Gradually reductions have been made
under this plea.
Contrast that with the manner In
which the man who owns the house has
been assessed. and you see the injustice
of the thing.
STOCKS AT MARKET PRICE.
.Under the new law what have We ?
We assess the corporations as units.
We take the stocks and bonds at their
market value and 30 have the actual
value and represent theearning capacity.
This puts the corporation on exactly the
same basis as the individual house
owner, and this Is why the corporations
object and want the law wiped out.
There is NO more chance to quibble over
tire valuations. 1t fs tco simple, and
they want chance to squirm out.
-'Under this law also we have been
enabled to discover much property
which has before been concealed, and
even though the state taxes have been
already assessed, believe IL the law is
declared valid, the taxes will be no
higher, as the county commissioners.
city councils and boards Of education
may largely reduce their rate of taxes,
and the only persons who will pay more
than in the past will be the corporations.
This will be because they are sharing a
just portion Of taxation, thing which
they never did before.
"S,rould the law be declared invalid
the only thing for the county boards to
do to protect the common people and
the merchants would be to make a
horizontal reduction in everything.
That is the only way in which the cor
poration can be made to pay anything
like what they should"