Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-18
TAX SHIRKERS PROTECTED
State Board of Equalization Seems Certain
Not to Raise Assessments
JUDICIAL FIGHT GROWS LIVELY ONE
Republican Machine splits, Two Sec
tiOns Being Reported Ready TO
sacrince Anything to Keep
Judge Frost at Home.
From a stan Correspondent.

from StdH Correspondent
LINCOLN, May 17.-(Special )-According
to statements made by visitors 20 the cap
ital from out in the state, the political
lives of three men are hanging in the bal
ance and before the week has ended they
will either have made themselves or ruined
themselves in Nebraska politics They are
Governor Mickey, Auditor Weston and
Treasurer Mortensen, composing the State
Board of Equalization. These three are
now sitting as a board of assessment and
fixing the valuation OF railroad property
for assessment purposes. The eyes of the
state are upon them and their report is
being awaited with more interest than has
ever before been shown in the report OF
state board of assessment.
Equal taxation is the cry all over the
state and Il is the greatest factor in Ne
braska politics today. This is true not
only as regards the state, but in city and
county politics Never before has the fact
that the railroads have been shirking 50
much of their taxes been so widely ex-
plotted, and never before have so many
persons been active in having the rail-
roads and corporations brought to terms.
Railroads Blind Citisens.
BY misleading statements made by rail-
road attorneys, by minds easily be-
foggled, by eyes easily blinded and by
other means the railroads were able to
prevent the passage of laws by the late
legislature to compel them to pay a just
proportion Of the burdens of the state. Fol
the same reasons the legislature prevented
| the passage Of an amendment to the rev.
enue bill that would direct the State Boart
| Of Equalization how to assess franchises
| The opponents of the amendment insisted
that this should be left to the judgment
honesty and integrity of the State Boart
| of Equalization, and to dictate to tn,
board would be to impugn the judgmen
of the board members.
This was debated for FIVE days in tn
legislature and the present members Of tn
board knew what was going on. Discre
tlonary powers were left in its hands, an,
1t is up to the board to use the power giveI
it. The board is supreme and It is tn
fault of the members II the railroad as
sessment is not increased.
The members know that railroad prop
erty has been assessed too low and the
do not dispute it. During the hearing the
have repeatedly claimed that land was as
sessed too low-assessed at even a lowe
per cent of its value than are the railroads
This claim has been refuted and prove
in Lincoln aud who are closely folIowin
the work of the board claim that 1t wi
either have to assess railroad property a
much higher value or offer better ex
cuse than has been given out to the tax
payers
Little Increase Expected.
! The board has not yet made any figure
public but from the values fixed tempo
rarily there will be little IL any increas
in the aggregate valuation Of the railroa
property, For every road that is slight
increased some other branch. it is safe [
predict will be decreased in proportion
/ And all this in spite OF the statement
Governor Mickey that he intended to 70
l low the constitution; in spite of Mr.. Mo
: tensen's statement that he was in favor
: a higher assessment; in spite of Mr.. We
r toms statement that he never contende
4, that railroads were not assessed too Low
: in spite of the preponderance of evidenC
: that the railroads have been for yeai
: assessed at ridiculously low figures;
: spite Of the fact that the assessed valui
: tion per mile Is less than 1t was in 1856
d when the railroads were as nothing as con
= pared to today; in spite of the many in
: provements and in spite OF the valuab
: terminals erected in Omaha.
d The excuse offered that the board NEE
= ing in September. when a readjustment WI
s occur because of the new revenue LAY
;. should make the precedent OF equal tax
: ton, instead of this board, will do Il
4 members OF this board no good, IL tn,
persist in doing what IL Is evidently the
intention to do-make no increase in Il
assessment. Even II the September boa
doubles the assessment of railroads, II W
l. not help the members OF this board. vi
= itors to the state capital say now is Il
n time for this board to act The Septemb
= board will be increased by the additi
y of two members, and what that boa
!. does will not necessarily be the confirm
"a ton of the ideas OF this one.
r, People from various sections OF the sta
have been in Lincoln during the last tv
weeks and It is the general impressi
among them that the next legislature W
= be elected upon a platform that calls I
l. the equal payment OF taxes. Upon such
T. issue there is no doubt who would W
9. The recent Omaha city election demo
d. strated that, when the people overrode I
r corporation interests and elected a ch
&c executive who had proved himself in fax
n, of all corporations paying their fair shs
e. OF taxes.
El8nN VNeE convention DAtGs
Tomorrow the republican county cent
e. committee will meet to fxJ the date
IN the county convention, and lmmediat
,eI after will be resumed a most Interest,"
en- and a much more complicated hght
he nominations, for republican nominat
Us In Lancaster county is equivalent to
lie election. Just now the committee is mi
divided on the date the convention sho
be called, judicial candidates PREFER
that 1t be postponed till July, when tn
,e- labors will have ended for the SUNNI
op and the other candidates wanting It dur
,r- the second or third week in June :
he committee Is composed of twenty city d.
ed gates and thirty-two from the coun
M precincts. 1t is believed the country ms
tut bers prefer the early convention, and
early convention will likely win. out.
The men to be nominated by the conv
~ ton are three district judges, sheriff.
trict clerk. surveyor, commissioner. SUI
IN intendent, county Judge. treasurer. corol
county clerk and assessor, the latter un
the new revenue law.
The present district judges are all cal
dates for denomination. Judge Frost