Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-11
NEBRASKA PRESS COMMENTS
What the Papers Say Regarding Railroad
Taxation Question.
WORTH HEADING, WORTH RtnE1stRNe
InterestinG Extracts From PnPer
RePresentinE h DIf-
ferent Political
Parties.

ISSUED Under Authority of the Railroads
OF Nebraska.)
Numerous m have been made by
the press Of Nebraska over the question Of
taxation. which has been agitated the last
few months by some parties Of this state.
In the matter of the payment OF taxes, u
must be considered that this Is q form OF
sacrifice which Is made for the public good.
and II is evident that corporations having
property that Is known and whose value
is easily ascertained. are naturally the first
class OF property which attracts attention
In such Instances.
We give below some extracts from news
papers Of different political complexion.
showing their view of the question which
has been presented.
The following from the Clay County
Patriot:
THE just taxation OF corporation prop
erty is the paramount issue in the state
election this year. the republicans generally
contending that railroad and other corpora
tion assessments are now high enough or
too high, while the fuslonists demand a
higher valuation OF this class Of property.
The discussion so far has been confined
chiefly to this phase Of the question, but
gradually II will broaden out until the
whole problem OF taxation OF oil property
will be considered.
This important matter should receive
the undivided attention Of the people Of
the state and OF the next legislature until
II is adjusted in an equitable manner. The
railroads are not the only tax dodgers by
any means. In this county. and probably
In others as well, there are men who spend
their entire time at leisure and at ease,
never working q day so far as anybody
knows, and are reputed to have Thousands
OF dollars In bank and at interest, yet their
assessment schedules show them to be
worth only s12 to SIS. and that invested in
household furniture. What these teaches
live on is a deep mystery. but perhaps
the balmy air OF Nebraska or the feast OF
glory from past honors is sufficient to keep
them and their families alive.
The taxation question should be care
fully studied by all. Those who pay the
most taxes are the ones who should be most
deeply interested, as an equitable. taxation
of all property will result In lessening the
taxes OF those who already give a full and
complete report Of their property to the
assessors"
The Minden Gazette publishes the fol-
lowing: "a
The disturbance being created by The
Omaha Bee over the assessment OF rail-
roads In Nebraska is, in the opinion OF
the Gazette, something OF a grandstand
play, but It has been the means Of some in
vestigations as to the assessment In our
own county. People kick. or some OF them
do, about the assessment OF the railroads.
yet the railroads are prompt in the pay
ment Of their taxes and we know OF In
stances in this county where school dis
tricts have had to wait until the railroads
paid their taxes before the district could
pay their bills or have school. THIS is
ANA "a AnV
take the assessment for this year on
the farms OF Kearney county. The highest
assessments on lands is in Mirage ard
Hayes townships, at s2.75 per acre. On
March IS the assessors, and all but one or
two of them are farmers, met and fixed a
basis OF values for real and personal prop
erty. Land in Hayes and Mirage town
ships was fixed at 50 per acre. Personal
property, outside Of grain and certain kinds
Of live stock, was to be assessed at one
fourth value. The county board changed
some OF this. Now does any sensible man
think that $2.75 per acre for farms in
Mirage or Hayes townships represents one
fourth, one-sixth or one-tenth even OF the
value Of almost any farm in either of those
tOvnshipsi IL there a farmer in either OF
them or in any other township in the
county who will come in and say that he
hasn't been assessed high enough? Would
any farmer In the county sell his farm for
four, six or ten times per acre what It
has been assessed for?
THE railroad assessment per mile has
been fixed at $4,679. Now as compared
with the assessment of farm lands in
Kearney county. and Of personal property
too, isn't the thing about as near equit-
able as you could get It under the present
laws? You couldn't buy the Bee property
nor the railroad property, nor the property
OF the people OF Kearney county at four,
elk or ten times the assessed valuation Of
IT, and all this stir OF the Omaha Bee is
simply a piece of buncombe on the part Of
Mr.. Rosewater to pose before the people
as their champion, when, as a matter OF
fact, II is simply done to further the poiit-
ical interests OF the same Rosewater.
There Is absolutely nothing in It further
than the cold FLOODED. selfish ambition OF
the man, and the motive is so plain that
the duilest man outside OF an asylum for
the weak minded ought to see and under
stand It,"
From the Nebraska State Journal Of Au-
gust gath:
The Omaha World Herald is trying 10
rattle the farming community by showing
from the records of far western counties
that during the past ten years or so the
assessments of farm and other property
have increased, while the assessments on
railroads have decreased. This is natural
enough. Notwithstanding the increase in
the value OF the real estate and other
property in Nebraska by almost 100 per
cent during the last ten years, as shown
in the census reports. the assessed value
has actually decreased. However. In the
counties in the west where there was moth
} ing particularly to assess because the
lands had not been taken up or improved
ten years ago the increase in the value
has been so great that the assessments
aggregate more than they did then. but
|, the basis of the assessment has been low
cred there the same as In the older coun-
|, ties. The phenomenon to
which the world-Herald calls attention
with 80 much loudness is very common
place. The basis OF assess
|, ment Of other property established last
year by the county assessors 10 lower
than that established for railroad property
by the State Board OF Equalization. as Ia
eoncluslVely shown. Nc
matter how II is figured. the result Ia
about the same providing the census re-
Marta are IN h taksn a. annroxlurataI Ala