The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-09-25
MERCHANDISE GETS
TEN PER CENT RAISE
EquaIlzers Apply the Level
Rate to This Class of
Property.

Goods and merchandise of merchants
constituted the class of personal prop
erty to which the state board of equal
ization chiefly devoted it's labors yes
terday. And although the members
gave keen attention to the work and
spent almost, the entire day upon this
one division of the schedule, it was not
completed at the hour of adjournment.
In the list of counties alphabetically
arranged Red Lake was the last one
acted upon.
This class is always regarded as one
of the most important in the schedule.
1t is in total valuation one Of the
largest classes, and besides that, it af-
fords the representatives of the coun-
try districts broad opportunities for
i, increasing the. proportion of taxation
TO be paid by the cities.
This year the returns afforded but
little incentive to make any radical
increasesin the assessments of the larg-
er cities, or, in fact, throughout the
state generally, for in this class nearly
every county showed a substantial adj
vance from the figures of last year,
which appears to be the chief deSid-
eratum in the eyes of the board. I'm
like many Of the other classes, the ag-
gregate assessment for the state show
ed an increase over last year, the re-
turns for this year being $24, 342,859,
and the assessment of last year was
$23,531 asa general raise of $811.571.
The board determined, as in other
classes generally, to advance the re-
| turns of this year to an extent that
| would effect an increase of 10 per cent
| over the assessment of last year. AS
| this object had been more than half
| achieved in the returns for this year,
| but little remained for the board to do
except to place small percentage of
increase upon those counties that had
| not voluntarily assumed an advanced
valuation.
Ramsey Raised but Per Cent.
When Ramsey county was taken up,
Mr.. McKibbin, the member from this
city, laid before the board some figures
which he had taken from the schedules
of last year and this year. He argued
that the class under consideration, and
class IL, which consists of material
and manufactured articles of manu-
| facturers, should, in dealing with st.
Paul, be considered together, for the
reason that the manufactures of this
| city are almost entirely those of the
wholesale firms. For this reason he
said the two columns of the schedule
were interchangeable BILE as far as the re-
/ turns Of this city are concerned. His
! figures showed that in division 16, of
! the schedule-the class under consid-
! erat1on-Ramsey county returned $4,-
| 545,956 for last year, and the board
| raised that to $5,001, 1922; and for Glass
II the county returned $585,765, which
was accepted, making the total assess
ment in the two classes for last year
$5,587, 4S7. That total increased by 10
per cent, as required by the agree
ment of the board, would be $6,146,235.
The returns for this year in class 16
showed $5,21S, S91, and in class II, $685.
which, increased by per cent, would
amount to $6,168,110, or $21,874 more
than the 10 per cent increase demanded
by the board.
On this showing Mr.. McKibbin's mo-
ton that Ramsey. county be increased
only per cent, was adopted without
protest.
Hennepin county showed returns of
$5,S12,239 for this year, as against an
assessment of $5,191 ,6S7 last year, and
the figures as returned were accepted
without change.
St Louis county, with returns Of
$1,629,992 for this year, as compared
with an assessment of $1,928,197, is on
the portion of the list not yet reached
by the board, but on its showing stands
to receive some attention in the way of
a raise of from 80 to 33 1-3 per cent.
The largest percentage of increase
thus far is 25 per cent, and Mower
county is the only one that has been
raised to that extent, most of the raises
being or 10 per cent.
Freight Companies Do Not Appear.
Yesterday was the time set for the
representatives of the fast freight lines
to appear, but as hearing the affair
| amounted to nothing, as only two lines
were heard from. Therefore the report
| of the special committee on freight
| lines was adopted as presented some
| days ago, and the different lines were
| assessed under the new law of last
winter according to the report, in which
tWenty-nine companies were fixed at
amounts aggregating $81,150.
Sixteen Of the companies had made
returns to the state auditor under the
new law, and the recommendation Of
the committee was that their assess
| ments be fixed as returned. They were
| as follows:
Swift Refrigerator Transporta-
ton company ................. S., $50 90
Arms Palace Horse Car company 400. 90
Merchants Despatch Transports
ton company ................ $500 90
lines II, 700 90
company ....:................ $500. 90
Cudahy Milwaukee Refrigerator
line .................. 500. 90
pany -. ............-....... 100 90
| National Car company .......... 400. 90
st. Louis Refrigerator Car COM
pany ;. ............... 400. 90
| National Car Line company 400. 90
| Provision Dealers Despatch -. 100 90
Upton Car lines .............. 400. 90
! Chicago New York and Boston
Refrigerator company -. /, 400. 90
Cudahy Packing company $500. 1900 90
/ Armour Car line ................ 900 90