Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-17
REDUCE THREE ASSESSMENTS
Board of Equalization Accepts Sworn State
ments Of Firm Members.
RAILROAD CASES ARE CARRIED OVER
Attorneys for Companies Are Not
Ready and Board Also wants
Opinion of city Attorney
on the Subject.


of the city. They were those of Paxton &
Gallagher, NJ. E. Smith & Co. and the Lee
lass-Andreesen company. The reduction
was made on the strength of sworn state
ments Of representatives of the firms as to
the value OF the company property. -
Because the railroad attorneys were not
ready yesterday, and the city attorney
had not been able to complete the legal
opinion requested OF him the hearing Of the
railroad assessment cases before the Board
OF Equalization has been passed until this
morning at 10 O'Clock.
When the hour set for the hearing ar
rived Councilmen Burkley, Zimman, White
horn, Trostler and Hascall were present,
and later Messrs. Lobeck and Karr dropped
in. On motion Of Mr.. Hasceil It was agreed
that the question of jurisdiction should
first be taken up for argument.
J. II. Mcintosh, representing the protest
ant, George 7. Morton, was on hand and
ready to proceed with any of the railroad
cases, and he suggested that the Union Pa
ciic case be first taken up. Mr.. Rich, ap-
pearing for that company, said ne was not
ready and asked that the case be passed TO
the early part of next week, but said he
could be ready II necessary Saturday morn
ing. The case of the Burlington road was
that 1t also be passed, as Mr.. Greene, who
had charge OF the case. had been engaged
on another matter in the federal court and
had not been able to get his mind on this
case in so short time.
LObeck Objects to Delay.
Mr.. Lobeck and several OF the other
members of the board objected to the delay
on the ground that the companies had been
given ample notice and must be as well
prepared at this time as they would be one
day later.
Mr.. Mcintosh argued that fair notice had
been given the railroads and that delay was
unnecessary. He said he could not agree
with the railroad attorneys and Councilman
Hascall that there was any question of
Jurisdiction at issue before this board. This
board, he said need find no necessity to
settle the question of its jurisdiction or to
construe constitutional questions of any
sort but should take the record 1t finds
it. The duty Of the Board of Equalization.
az defined by law, he said, was not to as
sess property, or to overrule assessments
that had been made, but to take the assess
ment rolls as they were and bring all prop
erty to the same standard of value. He did
not believe that this board would take upon
itself 20 assess property or TO refuse to
equalize, or yet to repudiate the work OF
the tax commissioner and the Board Of Re-
view, and therefore he did not see that
there was any question of Jurisdiction.
Duty of Board to EquaIiEe.
1t did not devolve upon the Board of
| Equalization, he said. to construe the con-
! stitutioD or the charter for the tax COM
missioner and Board Of Review, or to de-
! termine whether their work had been per-
I formed in a legal manner. The assessment
! rolls had been certified to this board and
! It was now the duty of this board to
| equalize the assessment.
! 1t was found that Mr.. Connell could not
be ready to submit the opinion which the
/ board had requested as to jurisdiction be-
! fore the afternoon and the cases we're
| passed until Saturday morning. All of the
witnesses who had been subpoenaed for
! Friday were notified to be on hand Satur-
! day morning.
/ An application from E. L. Stone for re-
duction Of the assessments on a number OF
/ lots owned by the Dewey G. Stone Furniture
company was returned by the tax commits
( sioner with reductions recommended to
7 the total amount of s11,s25. The recon-
mendation OF the tax commissioner was
adopted
company made application for a reduction
of the assessment upon the two lots at
the corner of Seventeenth and Harney
streets and just opposite the Boyd theater
The corner lot hau been assessed at S35 00(
and the other one at S27 ,50C, and the re-
quest was that they be reduced to $685. 900
and $50, 900 respectively After some dis
cussion a reduction of $1,000 was made in
the valuation placed upon the corner lot
and the. other was left as it was.
JObbers Get Reductions.
In the course of the afternoon session
the board made reductions in the assess
ments of three Of the larger jobbing houses
aggregating Sl39 500. The Paxton Gallagher
company was reduced from S267, 500 to $685.
900; NJ. Z. Smith & Co. from $4,000 tC
$24O 900, and the Lee Glass -Andreesen com
pany from $685. 900 to 100000. The assess,
ment of the last named firm was reduced
by the Board Of Review from S250,O0O tC
1925, 900. In each of these three cases the
chief basis of the petition for reduction
was that the applicant had been assessed
higher in proportion than other houses IL
the same line OF business. The Paxton
Gallagher company was represented b!
Charles H. Pickens, f. II. Smith & Co. b!
Arthur c. Smith and the Lee Glass -Andree
sen company by E. NJ. Andreesen. Tn,
gentlemen all arrived at the council cham
ber together and were heard by the boar,
in the order named, each in turn making
a statement under oath.
Mr.. Pickens said that last year his frn
had paid upon a valuation of $50 O0O which
on the 40 per cent basis Of that assessment
represented 5000, 900 Of property. This yea
the assessment had been fixed at S267, so
and his firm considered that excessive ant
unsair. He thought the assessment shoult
not be more than $225, 900. He stated tha
his company was capitalized for $500, 600
which included real estate and building
OF the value OF S1OS 900, occupied by tn
firm, and $4,000 Of other property outsid
OF the city OF Omaha. Among other fact
concerning the business he mentioned tha
a considerable amount Of the goods handlet
by his firm never cams 10 Omaha, bu
were shipped direct from the factory TO tn
retail dealer. Mr.. Pickens said that be
tween September 10 and November IS, tn
period OF assessment. his companys stocl
, was heavier than at any other time In tn
year by reason OF large consignments 0
canned goods shipped In during the summe
months and not distributed until late Il
the fall. During that term the value OF tn
stock would range. he though, from $3.50,
600 10 $685. 600.
4 Il