Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-16
Gas COMPANY ASSESSMENT
Equalization Board Raises il from 100000
TO S775,00O.
NOT SATISFACTORY TO COMPLAINANT
9OssibiIity that Lawyer Mcintosh
May Appeal 60 District Court on
Writ of Error-wnter Com
pany Comes Next.

Board Board
Review Eq'za'n
Asst. Asst.
Omaha Gas ID ........ $4,000 S775,OOO
Omaha Thomson = Houston
Electric Light company. III, 500 1900
Nebraska Telephone company $50 $4,000
At 4 o'clock Thursday afternoon, after
having been in executive session for an
hour and a half, the Board Of Equalization
returned to the council chamber and an
nounced that the assessment Of the Omaha
Gas company had been raised from S4OO. 900
70 s775, 200.
This report is not satisfactory to the
complainants, and there is a possibility
that Attorney Mcintosh will appeal to the
district court on a writ Of error. He de-
clines to say yet what he purposes doing.
He expeced the assessment would be not
aess than $500. 900.
The assessment OF S775, 900 is in excess Of
the assessment fixed upon by Tax Com
missioner Fleming, who last January certi-
fled $4,000 to the Board Of Review, and
Is said also TO be in excess Of the compro-
mise figure proposed to the officers Of the
company by the tax committee Of the
Real Estate exchange, and which the Of
hcers declined to accept. The advance
over tie Board Of Review assessment is
greater in proportion than in the cases Of
She electric light and telephone companies,
which were settled by compromise.
Al 10 o'clock this morning the city at
forney will revise the language Of the
boards report. placing It in legal form. and
then there will be a roll call of the mem
bers upon It's acceptance. AS soon as this
Is done the hearing Of the Omaha Water
company will begin.
A report is current to the effect that
negotiations are on between the tax com
mittee Of the Real Estate exchange and
the officers OF the Water company, look
ing to a compromise, but both sides deny
Its truth. Mr.. Mcintosh says he will use
his Influence against any such compromise.
McIntOsh Argues the Case.
The first order Of business yesterday
was the argument Of Attorney Mcintosh,
representing the complainants. After re-
terring to the gas company's sending it's
books to Philadelphia, he said in part:
They expect you to believe that the
books Of a concern can be audited 1000
miles away from the concerns ofices and
employees without the aid OF records of gas
sales and other records equally important.
That was not their reason, gentlemen, for
sending their books to Philadelphia. They
sent them to Philadelphia because they
didn't want you to find out that they are
making $3.50, 900 clear velvet every year and
that It costs only AZ cents per thousand
feet to manufacture gas for which they
charge you $1.45."
He then read from the report OF the dep
uty labor commissioner at Washington for
1899 to the effect that there are twelve gas
companies In as many cities Of the United
States, all under one general control or
supervision. and said he had reason to be-
lieve that Omaha was one Of the cities in
cluded. In the report was the statement
that the cost Of gas manufacture under nor
NAL conditions is AZ cents per 1000 feet.
According to this" he added, 1.-The
omaha Gas company is making 81 profit
out Of every 1000 feet of gas It sells in
Omaha. and still 1t doesn't want to pay It's
taxes. Its officers come in here and tell
you they can't approximate the cost Of man
ufacturing gas"
Estimates On Value.
He went on to say that he had figured
the value Of the gas company's property
from four different standpoints, as follows:
From It's stocks and bonds, from the pur-
chase price paid in 1897, from the com
pany's own returns made to the tax com
missioner and from President Murphy's
dguTeE. He thought the estimate based
upon the value OF the company's stocks and
bonds to be the most accurate and salts
factory, This estimate follows:
Fair cash value as shown by stocks and
bonds:
Bonds &. OS7 900
Preferred stock at 20 cents.......... $4,000
Common stock at 20 cents........... 50O.0O0
Moneys and credits $1,000
Total value g, $40 600
Value OF real estate ........ 500, 900
Ounuee village .............. 3,llS
Dundee franchise ............ 5000
south Omaha eost..;..."... $1,000
Net value Omaha per-
Assessed value. 20 per cent. ..... 81. Sss. ia 10
From other standpOints.
The other estimates are as follows:
Fair cash value on the basis Of the pur-
chase price. and improvements added.
t4,247,Ss 40 per cent of which is $685.
1910.
Fair cash value as shown by the com
pany's own returns. 81. 2e5, 2s6, 40 per cent
OF which is l.o26. 114.4O.
Fair cash value as shown by President
Murphy's figures, 2 .27s, 2s6, 40 per cent OF
which is S911 .S14.IO.
Mr.. Murphy's estimate Of the value Of his
eompany's personal property was 81, 500, 900,
from which he omitted moneys and credits.
The moneys and credits are estimated at
$751; OO. which makes the total value S2,57s,-
900. From this is deducted the value of
real estate and the value Of the company's
property outside Of the city. leaving s /. 27S.-
ase.
speaks for Gas Company.
Attorney Pritchett. representing the gas
company, spoke in part as follows: The
trouble with Mr.. McIntosh's case is that
he has not been able 20 get any evidence
upon which TO base his conclusions. The