Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-09
COMPARE RAILROAD RETURNS
State Board Finds Only Few Changes From
Ttose Of Last Year
REAL ESTATE EXCHANGE MAY Be LATE
Mutual Insurance Companies May
Not BENEFIT as Much ns They
Expected From the
New Law.
CFrom a STAFF Correspondent

LINCOLN. May s. - Especially - with
Treasurer Mortensen and Auditor Weston
present, the State Board Of Equalization,
sitting as a board of Assessment, held a
two hours session this afternoon, and ad-
journed until Tuesday morning. Governor
Mickey was absent in Omaha looking after
strike matters, and this forenoon Treasurer
Mortensen was in Nuckolls county with
Land Commissioner Folmer appraising
some school lands.
The two members present devoted their
time to a comparison of the returns made
by the railroads this year and that made
last year, with view to finding just where
the decrease and increase would be. Very
few changes were noticed. On the main
line the returns were almost the same.
though in some instances a slight increase
was shown. The Union Pacific returned
a half dozen new engines over its last
years report and some of the returns on
it's other rolling stock were also increased.
Owing to the absence of Governor Mickey,
nothing else was done, and the board took
an early adjournment.
In the meantime, II the Omaha Real
Estate exchange has an idea that 1t will
be able to come here along about four
weeks from now and appear before the
board the said exchange would better get
another notion. 1t is more than probable
that the board, as an assessment board,
will have completed its business, new
commissioner appointed on the Omaha Fire
and Police Board and many other inter-
esting things will have occurred within the
four weeks. Treasurer Mortensen said to-
day that he saw no reason why the board
would not complete its labors at very
early date. that is, as an assessment board.
In July the board again sits this time as
board of equalization, to act upon the
returns made by the county clerks and to
make up the grand assessment rolls. The
law requires the board to make its returns
to the county clerks on or before the 18th
day of April or as soon thereafter as the
board, or any two thereof, shall have made
or determined such valuation.
The board heard the railroad arguments
the first day and has records and figures
galore before it from which to make its
deductions, so there is very little excuse
for them waiting much longer than the
18th inst. before making the returns.
Though of course the two new members of
the board, with their very inquiring minds,
may prolong the deliberations in order to
get some facts upon which to work. There
is such thing as the Omaha Real Estate
exchange coming in too late to do any
effective arguing, or at least, it is liable
to wait until the board has about agreed
upon valuation, which would amount TO
the same thing as II the members of that
body had remained at home.
zone trouble with that Real Estate ex-
change" remarked a taxpayer from Omaha
today, 'is that its members splutter around
to beat the band. but they will allow a
delegation to come down here from Omaha
absolutely unpledged, and when It comes
to an election. instead of supporting that
class of men they know to be in favor OF
equal taxation, they do just the opposite.
They are too inconsistent They have been
working on this tax business for years
and they should have been prepared to
come here the day the railroads delivered
their arguments for a reduced assessment.
Why didn't they come and argue when II
would do good and why weren't they here
to call the turn on the railroads. They are
a peculiar lot, those boys are"