The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1903-10-08

pledged by. platform to raise the
railroad assessment to at least forty
millions, If they should be elected TO
Office. Careful figuring had shown this
to be about the proper amount for the
railroad assessment, based on the as
sessed valuation of other property. Ac-
Cording to the figures presented by Ed
ward Rosewater of the Omaha Bee,
such proposed railroad assessment was
i. anything too low; but it promised
all increase of about so per cent in
railroad taxes. without increasing the
taxes Of other property owners fwho
were then and are now paying more
than their share).
1t was not at all strange that the
railroads by their managers, did all
In their power to defeat the populist
ticket. That was to be expected. They
unaeratoud perfectly that an increase
la their taxes, such as was proposed
Oy the pcpulist platform, could not be
shifted y raise in freight rates, be-
cause they were then taking all that
the traffic would bear and bring in the
greatest net returns; and they knew
thai the proposed increase in railroad
taxes raust come out OF the pockets of
railroad stockholders, in the way of
smaller dividends on stock.
They also understood perfectly all
the political tricks necessary to hood
wink the farmers and other small
property owners who pay the bulk Of
all taxes. Many populists shook their
heads obviously and said, You can't
tax a railroad; it will simply recOup
itself by raising rates." And thou
sands Of them stayed in the cornfelds
election day. In great measure all this
was the result of the expert political
tactics of the railroads, the managers
of which spent money freely to elect
"Our Man Mickey and his colleagues,
who had been selected at conference
of railroad leaders in which John N.
Baldwin of Iowa was the leading spir-
it, some days before the republican
state convention. 1t was not surpris-
ing that the republicans won; in fact,
the wonder is that they didn't win by
bigger majOrities, in view OF the
apathy which prevailed among the
populists and democrats of the state.
Scarcely was the election over than
the astute railroad managers began to
cry, look at the i.--mense debt; 1t is
caused by the failure Of farmers to pay
their taxes: We must have new rev.
enue law" And, having brutal rail-
road dominated republican majority in
10th house and senate, they passed
their new revenue law.
A careful study of this law will show
v~.ov hint tryho
press. the careful student is the fact
which Is apparent on nearly every
page-that the state must have great
er revenues, and that the increase
must come out of the farmers and
small business men. No intimation is
given flat the railroads should bear
their just share of the taxes. The
county assessor Is required to value
property at it's actual cash value and
list it for taxation at one-fifth of that
amount; but the state board is given a
free hand-it is not required to assess
the railroads at one-ffth OF their act
ual cash value.
The hubbub raised over the ''enOr-
nous state debt" and the efforts to en-
act a new revenue law had their effect
upon the precinct assessors in 1908,
to the end that the property assessed
nv them was increased over the fig
ures for 1902 by the sum Of nearly
eight million dollars, while the state
board let the railroads off with a raise
of about half million. The actual
increases In dollars and percentages
are as follows:
Assessment n q.
Increase, 1903, in other
property .......... ,857 ,216.81 81
Increase, 1903, In rail-
road property $3.50. 509,9b0.63 L.
Thus while the assessors increased
the assessed valuation OF other prop
erty more than per cent over the
valuation Of 1902, the state board in
creased the railroad assessment less
than per cent.
How this has worked out in the var
ious counties, The Independent will
take up In detail in series of other
articles. How it has worked out as
| to the state as a whole is told in the
| following tables:
State taxes levied. 1903. 81 ,523, 316.3S
State taxes levied, 1902. 1,131, 124.61
ono m