The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-08-24
RAISES A STORM.
Riley County Protests Against
Taxation Move.
Claims State Board Treated the
County Unfairly.
FAVOR HOME COUNTIES
Members i'm Some Cases Had
Valuation Reduced.
Miami Newspaper Doesn't Like
the System.

Inc STATE nOdTQ OF etludilAhAttiis Nlii'tt
Is composed of Secretary Of State Bur
row, Auditor Wells and Treasurer Kel-
ly is coming in for considerable criti-
cism for its method of "equalizing."
The method brought about a considera-
BILE reduction in the state taxes of the
home counties of the members of the
board, and at the same time made a big
increase in some other counties.
Riley county was one Of those which
suffered a big increase. and the Manhat-
tan Nationalist. one Of the strongest Re
publican papers in the northern half Of
the state. makes a big protest It says:
In raising the valuation OF Riley
county over a million dollars, the So
called state board of equalization has
been guilty of gross injustice that can
not be borne in silence. In 1901 the val
uation was raised half a million dollars
and Riley county took her medicine
without a winner. The result seems
to have been been that she is regarded
as an easy mark by the fellows who
try to distribute the burden of taxation
SO as to take care of their friends at
the expense of the state at large. We
shall not make a statement that is not
justified by the records of the state
auditors office. We have no desire to
right. The gentlemen who compose the
state board received the hearty support
Of this paper during the campaign ana
were hOnored by a large majority vote
in this county But that is no reason
why official acts of rank injustice should
go unrebuked.
The state board of equalization has
three members; The auditor of state,
Seth Wells, of Neosho county; the sec
Ietary of state. J. r Burrow of Smith
county and the state treasurer, Tom
Kelly of Miami county. We spent
day in Topeka last week for the pur-
pose of learning from these gentlemen
the reason for raising Riley countys
valuation a million dollars. Mr.. Bur-
row and Mr.. Kelly were absent from
their offices. Mr.. Wells. however, stated
the boards side of the case with re-
freshing frankness. When asked what
system the board used in fixing the val
uatlon of the property Of a county, he
stated that there was not really much
of a system beyond a mere general COM
parisOn of one county with another.
When asked if the board was familiar
with the character of the land in Riley
county. he replied that Mr. Burrow ana
Mr.. Kelly were well acquainted with the
north half of the state and that AttOr-
ney General Coleman had been called
in TO help swell the fund of information,
and incidentally, we suppose, TO helf
swell the valuation of Riley county
Somehow the fact that Mr.. Coleman
had taken hand in the proceedings of
the state board of manipulation inter
ested US so much that we made inquiry
as to what the board had done to Clay
county. comparing the figures with
those of Riley county. This is what we
found The valuation of Clay county
was left exactly as returned by The
county clerk. the valua ton of land be
ing S4.65 per acre. Land in Riley cOun-
~ was returned at $4.66 an acre and
was raised by the state board of
manipulation to S6.15. What do you
IL ~4,-sT-
as a brilliant job of comparing one
county with another? Riley county is
all right and we shall be the last one
10 say anything derogatory of her But
everybody knows that when the AL
mighty made the strip of land between
the Kansas and Blue rivers he didn't
level 1t off for a croquet ground. but
left large portion of it tilted up edge
wise. Almost two-thirds of Riley coun-
~ is pasture land and only about a
third under cultivation. This is not true
of CLAY county. And yet Clay county,
with forty-three square miles more
area than Riley, pays $21,619 in state
taxes. while this county will pay S3l,-
233. or one-half more than its for
tunate neighbor. who has a represen-
tative in the state house at Topeka.
Assuredly it is an ambition that any
county may well cherish to have an
honorary member. as it were, the
state board of manipulation.
Land in Geary county was returned
at S4.09 per acre and raised to $500,
another case of fragrant failure to
equalize. The other counties adjoining
Riley were raised more nearly to a just
valuation, though none of them were
raised so large a per cent as was the
Easy Mark. The increase was in all
rases in real estate and was as follows
Washington. % per cent, to $685. per
acre: Marshall, 40 per cent, to $705
Pottawatomie, 10 per cent, to s6.23
Wabaunsee, % per cent. to $4.S5. Riley
was raised 81 per cent, to $616.
we cannot believe that the state
board of equalization even tried to
make a respectable guess at what would
be a fair and just valuation for Riley
county We can hardly believe that Mr.
Eurrow has ever been through Clay and
Riley counties, even on the railroads af-
ter dark with the blinds pulled down
in brief Riley county has kick COM
Ing and doesn't propose to keep the fact
a secret any longer.
In order to grow into a full apprecia-
tion of the gentle art of comparing one
county with another in which art the
state has three such amazing adopts, we
examined the state auditors report for
1912 and the later records in order TO
see how the board had dealt with Mi
ami, Smith and Neosho counties. which
happen to be the home counties of Kelly,
BurrOW and Wells. The results of the
Investigation were highly edifying We
never saw a finer display of practical
love of home and neighbors than was
manifested by the three manipulators-
N1-chief of the state house
We give the figures in round num-
bers. Miami county in 1901 returned a
valuation of s5,O9O.OOO. was raised by the
state board to S5.3S2.O0O. This year the
board, perhaps in Mr.. Kelly's absence
or at least over his protest, reduced the
returned valuation 10 per cent to S4-
100000 or S62, 900 below the amount last
year and $4241S4 below the county
clerks returns this year. Smith county
was returned in 1901 at s314OO0O and
Eaised to S3.356.OOO. This year the vniu-