Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-09
COMPROMISE OF TAX SUIT
Donation for Auditorium if Prosecution b.
Now Abandoned.
REAL ESTATE EXCHANGE is DETERMINED
Members Express Themselves Against
Accepting Bribe 10 Drop Matter
So Nearly Passed TO n
Conclusion.

A report gained circulation this week
that the public service corporations Of the
city had offered to donate $50, 600 to the
Omaha Auditorium company provided the
tax suit now pending IN the supreme court
be dropped. When the matter was called
to the attention of members OF the Real Es-
tate exchange they unanimously expressed
the intention of having nothing to do with
any compromise short Of a decision Of the
court upon the matters at issue.
W. H.. Shriver, one of the compliments
In the case, said: II do not think there
will be any compromise considered, at least
not by me. l am in the fight to ascertain
the rights of the taxpayers and Of the cor
porations and l would rather see Omaha go
without an auditorium than to see the de-
cision of the question lost. The Omaha au-
ditorium project is a worthy one, but our
contest is a just one. Between the two my
interest is with the question OF taxation"
w. II. Green, president of the Real Es-
tate exchange, said: "If the public service
corporations were to donate all the money
needed to complete the auditorium and
then bear the expense of maintaining 1T l
would never consent to abandon the con-
test. 1t has reached a point where we
must know the rights of the people who pay
taxes and the rights Of the public service
corporations. The case may go against us,
but the knowledge we will thus gain Of the
condition of our laws will be worth all 1t
costs us, and we will be standing upon the
solid ground of knowledge from which we
can move to a more desirable state OF az
fairs. The matter has never been brought
to my attention before, but this is the
answer l would make should the PROPOSE
ton be submitted"
Cannot Buy on Prosecution.
C. F. Harrison, member Of the tax COM
mittee, said: IF the public service cor
porations have any money to give to the
auditorium project l am well satisfied, for
this is a worthy project, but how they are
to buy off the present l~itigants by such a
donation l cannot see. If we are right, the
corporations owe the city several thou
sands of dollars. Can the payment Of that
amount to the Auditorium company cancel
the debt to the city? If it can, l have
studied for naught. So far as l am con-
cerned, l am in the fight to stay until JUS
tice is done all parties"
f. E. Sanborn, president Of the Audi
forum company, said: while no such a
proposition has been made to me. I think
that such a compromise is one much to be
desired. If the corporations are wrong in
their contention they will owe the city
about $1,000 in taxes. If they could be
induced to put this amount of money in the
Auditorium company the city would get the
benefit of it as much as though it would
go to the city treasury and the unpleasant
litigation would be stopped. The persons
responsible for the present suit evidently
do not take into consideration the fact that
under existing conditions the public service
corporations pay one-fourth of all of the
personal taxes received by the city and
that taking the personal property schedule
as a basis of comparison they are taxed
heavily enough. II they thought OF this
they might be willing to come to a COM
promise upon some basis such as has been
suggested"