Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-28
REDUCE The ASSESSMENTS
Board Of Review Takes Of About All it
Added at Previous Meeting.
WATER WORKS COMPANY NOT so LUCKY
In Case of n Number of Business
Firms n Compromise Is Reached
Between the Two Sets of
Figures.

The aldermen, holding their final session
yesterday as a Board Of Review. decided
that their previous action in raising the
assessments Of the corporations and sew
eral OF the larger Wholesale and retail
business firms was all a blum except in the
case OF the city w~aterworks company. The
board arrived at the conclusion that Il had
no authority to assess the Nebraska Tele-
phone company and that the right was
vested solely in the state executive coun-
Gil. II also decided that II had made a mis-
take in increasing the assessment Of the
Citizens Gas and Electric Light company
from S140, 900 as returned by City Assessor
Everest, to $3.50, 900 and Topped of the ad-
ditional $40, 900 It had put on. In the case
Of the city waterworks company, however,
the aldermen stood pat and decided that
the increase Of $4,000 on its assessment
Of $40, 900 as returned by the assessor,
should stand. This action Of the board in
the case of the w~aterworks company will
not benefit the city directly as the com
pany under it's charter is absolved from
paying municipal taxes in return for provid-
ing free water for the public schools, city
buildings, including the fire houses and
the public fountains in the streets and
parks.
r. ~ WASH VI OIl0haf Az NhC SOAAPoA .
local attorney appeared before the board
for the Citizens Gas and Electric Light COM
pany and protested against the increase in
the assessment. They won their point, AL
dermen Huber, Casper and Lougee alone
voting against taking of the increase.
Reads Law on Telephones.
Alderman Lougee read the statute gov
erning tho assessing of telephone COM
panies to his conferees on the board and at
/ his suggestion 1t unanimously voted to re-
scind its former action in placing an as
m Of $40, 900 on the eompany's fran
chise.
Alderman Olson was in favor OF placing
the assessment of the city waterworks
company back to the figures returned by the
city assessor and in this was supported by
Aldermen Lovett and Mcdonald. but AL
dermen Casper, Huber, Lougee and FINLEY
thought differently and owing to the alb
sence of Alderman Fleming they were in
' the majority and the assessment stood.
The Harle-Haas Drug company, whose
assessment had been raised by the board
from $4,000 to $50. 900, entered no pro-
test and consequently the increased as
sessment was allowed to stand. The as
sossment of the Keller-Farnsworth Furni-
ture company, which had been raised from
I SO, 200 to $12, 900. was placed back at $1,000
In the case OF the Iowa Furniture company
whose assessment had been raised from
$4,000 to $1,000, a compromise was effected
by placing 1t at $4,000. The Ohio Cultivatcl
company, which had been raised from $1,000
to $4,000, was cut down to $1,000. Swain'
q Mauer, hardware, which had been In
creased from $1,000 to $40, 900, were re-
duced to So, 800 and P. G. DeVol, hardware
which had been increased from 1920 Il
sl2, 900, was cut down to $4,000, this being
$500 under the figures OF the assessor. Cole
Brelstord Hardware company, which hat
been raised from $40, 900 to $4,000. wal
lowered to $4,000, being $1,000 below the
original assessment. The Empkie-Shugar
g. Hill company protested against its as
sessment being raised from $4,000 to 500,
900, and the aldermen decided they ha'
evidently been in error and placed the as
sessment back to sS5. 900. Wallace & Grout
Of the Bluff City Laundry. had been raise'
from $500 to $500 and the Evans Laundr!
company from $500 to 5000. but in fac
OF their protests the board decided to as
sess them equally at $500.
The board also made a few unimportan
changes In several Of the minor assessment
and this completed its work for this year