Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-07-26
NEW P|AN WORKS WELL
Scheme Of Making Assessments
and Equalization at One
Time Successful.
Taxable Value Of Iowa Property
Increased sl,5Oo.ooO Over
Last Year.
Attorneys Claim Injustice in the
Kuhn Case 50. Jim Brenton
Out for Mayor.
Special TO Times Republican.


Special 10 Times Republican.
Des Moines. July 26.-The executive
council is working away on assess
ments and equalization, alternately
nents and to that of Il board of review.
The plan of the last legislature iii hav-
ing both things done at one time SO
that the members of the council would
be able to compare all forms of prop
erty one With another and to determine
joriginal assessments and the relative
fairness of assessments and the tax
|levy question all at once. is found to
work admirably. The members OF the
council believe they will get good re-
suits from this procedure. The entire
matter will be disposed of AT once. The
final act will be that of making the
tax levy for the year. Present lndlca-
tions are that it Will be fixed at about
mills The final figures on assess
ment will be waited with considerable
interest, but they will not be given out
until the council is all thru with every
thing. Ii begins to look like the taxable
value of Iowa property. on which the
state tax levy will be based will be not
less than $5I5.000,00O. Following is a
preliminary estimate:
Realty and buildings ,o3o
Personal property lo9, ,l2o,SE2
Railroad property 5o,ooo,o0o
Telephones and telegraphs. 1,5O0.oO0
Express companies .. 80. 100000
s575,102.s5S
In the first two figures given is in
cluded the taxable values in Linn coun-
ty rs reported last year. the report for
this year not being in. Doubtless ,here
will be a slight increase in Linn coun-
ty which would increase the totals Civ
en-. The third item is Il guess. The
railroad valuation for taxing purposes
last year was about S41,000.000. An in
crease of S3.000,000 which would be
easily made On the branch lines alone,
would make it $4,000, 600. 1t may be
more than this. but not Il member OF
the executive council has Whispered as
to vhat it is likely to be- The assess
.ncnt tf telephones and telegraphs is in
progress and it will be increased TO ut
least $1.500,0O0 and express companies
will pay ON about 100000. This places
the total taxable value of Iowa prop
erty at a figure not less than $l5O0O,O00
more than last year. If there is an in
crease in railroad assessment running
to S55,000,000 as some are guessing the
total will be correspondingly increased
If the taxable value of the entire
of the state should be $575,-
600. 600. then the executive council
state purposes to raise the sum re-
quired by law for general revenue pur-
poses. The legislature directed that
the council should make a levy that
would yield for general state purposes
approximately $4,000 The only rea
son that the legislature failed TO fix the
levy itself was that the total .'alue
could not then be known If the assess
nent foots up more than the sum nam
ed the levy will fall below the 4mill
mark which was the estimate made by
legislators at the close of the last ses-
sion. Incidentally the assessment in
crease will help out the state univer-
sity,, State College and State Normal
schools. their aggregate revenues from
.he special levies being between $2S7,
200 and 100000 a year. This is in adj
lition to the appropriations to come
out of the general fund of the state.
A controversy which has been going
IN for some time as to who should be
~ f<,,, ~
port of an insane patient at Clarinda |
hospital has been disposed of by the |
leath of the patient, Guy r. Inman |
lie was sent to the state hospital from |
county. but the authorities
If that county claimed to have dis
covered that he properly belonged in
Monona county. They insisted that
he cost of maintenance should be I
'harged up to Monona county. A great |
many such controversies arise at the
tate hospitals and the board of control
las little power to investigate and
them. In this case the investi
cation had not proceeded very far |
when the superintendent at Clarinda
,ave notice of the death of the patient
md neither county will be burdened
With his support. Another similar case
INVOLVING Woodbury. and O'Brien coun-
les has been pending in the courts
or q long time and on the books of
he state it is shown that the bills
or his support are not paid at all and
ave not been for several years.
The expected application for rehear
ng in the Sarah Kuhn case from keo-
uk county has been made. and the
ttorneys call attention to their belief
hat the decision of the court is both
legal and Illogical and that q great
niustice has been done the 1S-year- old
.idow of the crippled shoemaker of
Delta. This is the case in which jus
ice Weaver of the supreme court filed
dissenting opinion i'll which he as
allied vigorously the majority opinion
repaired by Justice Waterman. The
issenling opinion. as printed in the {