Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-16

Of their value IL the men who make the
assessment do not know its value7 II the
mel who make the assessment will not
inquire about the value? If the men who
make the assessment purposely avoid find
ing out the value Of It? If the men who
make the assessment simply defy the re-
quest that they find the value? II they
refuse to make & record of their failure
to do these things? What stronger proof
Is needed Of fraud and collision between
them and the transportation company
whose property they have exempted simply
because they have refused to ind the
value3
want to say to the court that the first
thing and the most important thing. in my
judgment, that should be contained In this
writ, II your honors should conclude to
grant II, Is this: First, that the board AK
the value per mile Of every railroad In
Nebraska. That is the first proposition.
You never will get q Just assessment in
this state until the state board first hxes
the value per mile. After that they can
e~quallze It in the same ratio as other
property Is assessed in the state. But the
first basis, the first thing and the first
prerequisite to be exercised by an intelli-
gent Judgment In the matter Of an assess
menI IL 10 1oCoTIdhn u oAo y"
of every railroad in the state.
The Missouri Pacific, in the same way, is
worth at least $50, 900 a mile. The Rock
Island can be sold in the market for 5000.
a mile. Yet both Of these roads are as
sessed at less than 10 per cent OF their
value. The Omaha is earning interest upon
more than $50, 900 per mile. The preliminary
reports for this year. ending on June 80,
Indicate that It is worth $50, 900 a mile. Yet
1t Is assessed for IS, 200 a mile. The entire
purpose from beginning to end has been
simply to let these people practically nx
their own assessment without reference to
their value, without any consideration for
what the value Of the property was, because
this board now admits that It does not
know. that It never did know, that It never
tried to know what these railroads were
worth per mile. That Is the kind Of a State
Board Of Equalization that will satisfy these
transportation corporations. The kind or a
man they want is a man who doesn't know
and doesn't want to know. And that is the
kind of a board we are arraigning here.
What / have said Of these roads applies
also, though with less force. to the smaller
roads. Because there is no question even
when you get among railroads that the big
ger the road the bigger the sinner. Now
you take the Burlington. They have ar
ranged this thing in such Q way that II a
man didn't want to know he easily couldn't
know the earnings that they have made.
The only earnings Of the Burlington that We
had were the earnings back a couple OF
years ago when they separated the B. d
NJ. from Kearney down to Plattsmouth from
the balance of the road. Now do you know
how they fixed that In order to get these
valuations2 Why they showed that the
road from Kearney down earned $4,000 3
mile net each year. Why did they do that?
They knew there wasn't much danger that
any railroad In Nebraska would be assessed
for more than $40. 900 a mile, they we're not
afraid It would be pushed up higher II any.
than the Union Pacific, so they practically
showed the whole earnings Of the state into
that 1s1 miles from Kearney to Plattsmouth
and said II they co stick us up there a
thousand or two we will get on for three
or four thousand a mile for every other mile
Of the 2,400. We can stand that on 191
miles II the other mileage can be assessed
on the theory that 1t doesn't earn any
money. And you take It right through. that
is what It shows. Why you would almost
have sympathy for these railroads IL you
would read that report and you would Won
der what jealousy there must be in order
to let this road earn over s1s, 900 a mile,
while the balance OF the system ID the state
was practically bankrupt.
There was a purpose in that, and the
purpose was to evade taxation. And 30
they have taken in the Chicago, Burlington
q Quincy, which earns all Of this money,
whose treasury It finally reaches, whose
stockholders finally get the dividends and
who make the profit upon the read; It's
franchise tina collects this tribute and
tolls from the people, Its franchise is not
assessed, its property is not assessed. II Is
simply fifteen dead corporations that not
one man out OF fifty In Nebraska ever
heard of one OF them except the b. & NJ.
Who knows where the oxford & Kansas is2
Why. of these corporations assessed here
nobody knows anything about them. They
have no railroad. they run no railroad.
they exercise no franchise. they couldn't
assess the franchise Of these fifteen corpo-
rations because they are dead. They are
in the same condition that the old Union
Pacific was-they have passed out Of ex-
~istence, and that Is why their franchise was
was not assessed-beeause there Is none
there to assess. They have ceased to ex-
ercise their franchise In this state. These
hftesn subsidiary corporations organized
merely to exercise the light Of eminent do
main In this state. have been turned over,
as the Burlington report says, TO the great
parent corporation. the Chicago, Buriing-
ton a Quincy. and that Is the road whose
franchise should have been assessed, and
not one dollar Of property. franchise. tan