Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1901-09-12


prepared at the request Of Mayor Tom
L. Johnson, Of Cleveland, follows
In the following pages it win be
shown that the railroads of Ohio are
now appraised at less than SILT 000,-
900, or only 214 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 $i30,0O0 directly to the State
and about $2,1s7,O 600 to the counties
should pay to the latter about $6,125-
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
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
ket value can be asccrtained.
In the Adams Express company VS.
Ohio State Auditor, 1866 u. s. 1856
decided March Is, 1897, the Supreme
Court of the United States declared
TT Is a cardinal rule which should
never be forgotten, that whatever
property Is worth for the purpose of
income and sale 1t Is also worth fol
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 pay for that
which Is of value in its 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 at approximately $ll7000,000
Twelve OF these roads assessed at SIT,
TSO, ,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
S3633T517s, March was taken be
cause II was the month just preceding
the legal date of Assessment. Th
market value was determined by TAX
ing the average OF the maximum an,
minimum quotations for the month.
Tho assessment Of these twelv
roads average only 2l.i1 per cent, o
about onc-lifth of their true value, an,
IL about one-thlrd as much as Is be
licyed to be the average ratio of as
scssment to true value in the case o
the farmers, the house-owners, an,
the ordinary merchants and maufaC
turers Of the state. which is common
ly assumed TO he about 60 per cent
of the true value of their property
Even between railroads there IL groa
inequality OF assessment. The Blj
-Four systems, !. O., the Cleveland, Gin
cinnnti. Chicago & st. Louis Is onl,
assessed at 1891 per cent. of its mar
ket value and the Cincinnati, HamlI
ton n Dayton at 1921 per cent Will
the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chlcag
g. 81. Louis and the Little Milan
roads. belonging to the Pennsylvanl
system. arc assessed at 34.6i per cen
and the Cleveland. Akron & Colun
bus at 25.S per cent. Cincinnati, Han
ilton & Dayton at 1874 per cent, Will
the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago
st. Louis and the Little Miami road
belonging to the Pennsylvania sy
TEN, are assessed at 3i.Gi per cen
and the Cleveland, Akron & Colum
bus Mt o5.S per cent. The others ,
, the twelve roads referred to are h
tween these extremes. These IL road
were selected solely because they wcl
found to be the only roads in III
state whose securities were at IL
same time widely quoted and in 9th,
respects thought to be fair gult