Omaha daily bee., 1902-12-14

About a Hundred Wilton.

In the aggregate the total, exclusive of
the railroad property, will not be ma
terially affected by the revisions OF the
Board Of Review and will certainly not be
reduced and there will, therefore, be close
to 800, 900, 900 Of property to be assessed
without including the railroads.
George d. Patterson appeared before the
board yesterday as the representative
Of the Pacific Express company, which cor
p%oration the board had been asked by the
Real Estate exchange to assess at S12, 000,-
600 upon its capital stock of IS, 900, 900. Mr..
Patterson said that his company Is cap
tailed for &c. 900, 900 and is owned by
the railroad companies, as had been rep
resented. The stock, he said, had averaged
less than 6 per cent per year earnings for
many years past. Other states had taxed
the company on it's earnings and some on
It's mileage and some on its property. He
called attention to the fact that It was pro-
posed to place an assessment upon the
company in this city which would mean
5000 Of taxes, and then stated that the
local business Of the company in Nebraska
was but $4,000 a year and the interstate
business originating in Nebraska $50, 900
per year, making a total of $50, 900 in this
state. He said that the average Of the
earnings Of the company in the United
States had been SAC per mile and the aver
age in Nebraska $5S per mile. In Colo
RADIO the company was assessed at the rate
of $55 per mile.
Mr.. Patterson declared that he consid-
cred the only fair method Of taxation of
his company would be on its mileage. Tho
case was taken under advisement.
Appears for the EIkhorn.
J. B. Sheean appeared on behalf of the
Chi0a0a CT ponI Ntn1aapIta OraaAa
and the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri VAL
ley railroad companies, but merely in a
special way, to file protests against the
jurisdiction of the tax commissioner and
Board of Review, as had been done in the
cases of the other railroad companies
cited.
The documents filed by Mr.. Sheean were
in comparison with those previously filed
remarkable for their brevity and, as he
explained, not intended to educate the
board on the general subject Of railroad
taxation or political economy, but TO apply
to the present case and situation. They
we're in a general way alike and merely
set forth the fact that the respective rail-
road companies in question have been
assessed on their properties through the
action of the State Board of Equalization,
with a protest against any assessment on
IA "a Va ~ q VI II az
ceptance of any such assessment by the
Board of Review.
Mr.. Sheean stated briefly, in presenting
the protests, that 1t appeared to the off,
GERS Of the Elkhorn company that the as
sessment OF $3.50, 900 per mile placed upon
the road by the tax commissioner was I'M
Justly high. The company had but three
miles of road within the city limits and
that road could be replaced at a cost OF
from $4,000 to $4,000 per mile. The
earnings OF the road last year. he said,
were but S2S5 900, which would make the
proportion to be credited to the three miles
in Omaha about s615 per mile. This part
of the Elkhorn road, he said, was only a
branch line anyway and the main line was
from Missouri Valley to the Black Hills,
The affairs Of the Chicago. St. Paul
Minneapolis & Omaha road were not dis
cussed in detail by Mr.. Sheean, except as
to the present value of its terminals as
compared TO their value in years past.
Mcintosh Questions sheean.
]. H. Mcintosh. representing the Rea'
Estate exchange, asked Mr.. sheean II the