Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1903-10-29
DEMOCRATIC PRE-ELEcT o
STATEMENTS ANsWERE ?
sl.. FALSlTY SHOWN.
THE USUAL TACTICS
Democratic State Committee Pursuing
That Partys Time Honored Plan is
], Circulating Misleading Circulars Re
sardins Railway Taxation.

garding Railway IaHalion'
Des Moines, Oct. 2S.-(SpeciaD II
The managers of the democratic state
committee are pursuing their usual tae-
tics, and at the last hour of the CAM
paign are circulating false and mislead-
ing circulars relative to the railroad
assessment They are flooding thei
stat with these circulars, to be used
sf their workers just before election
1 N election day In this way they hope
to deceive the voters by figures manip-I
IL. 81 SO as to conceal the real facts
about the railroad assessments and the
acts OF the executive council. These
tactics are well understood by the vor-
ers of Iowa. for they have been prac-
ticed year after year and in campaign
after campaign. Heretofore they have
had no effect and it is practically GER
tain they will have no influence on the
outcome this fall
Figures Are Juggled.
The truth of the matter is that the
democrats have been SO badly worsted
in their free trade arguments that they
are making a wild scramble for new
issues, and in their efforts in this di-
fection they have seized upon railroad
assessments. They have manipulatedl
Z figures in various ways in their attemptl
to make it appear that the railroads
of this state are not assessed as high |
as they ought to be. They fail TO call
attention to the fact that when Govern
or Boies was in Office the executive
council over which he presided assess
ed the railroads at practically the same
figures that preceding councils had as
sessed them They also fail to point
our the fact that railroad assessment
has been increased practically every
year, since Bcies was governor.
Misleading Statements.
Among the statements the democrats
are circulating is one to the effect that
the railroads in Iowa will pay about
slO9 626. sn average of S1,10S to each
county. less taxes under this years as
sessm ent than they paid under the as
sessment of one year ago. Ihls state
ment conveys a very wrong impression
The fact is that the assessed value OF
the railroads OF the state this year is
e.. .233. .563 higher than last but on ac-
count of the reduction Of the state levy
from three and one-half mills to three
mills the amount the railroads will pay
for general state expenses VIII pc
about s9.966 less in the aggregate than
II was last year. To say they will pay
s1O6.626 less is to assume that all the
local leyies in every county Will be re-
duced in the same proportion as the
state levy. AS a matter of fact, there
is no indication that there will be any
annreciabe reduction in the local lev
les.
Therefore the only reduction in the
amount of taxes paid by the railroads
will be the slight reduction in the
amount they pay on the state levy. 1t
must be remembered that the taxes
paid on the state levy will be reduced
ON all other property, as well as upon
the railroads
Tax on Real Estate.
The taxable value of all real estate
in Iowa according to the assessment
Of 1903 is S466, ,597 ,61O. The three mill
levy on this valuation will yield 81,
400 1872 for general state revenue. The
levy of three and one-half mills or
that assessment yields $1435,664 fol-
state purposes A comparison of the
tieures for the two years shows thai
Iowa real estate paid SS5,S72 more
y
assessment than it will on the assess
ment this year However, as the as
sessment of real estate is made only
once in two years, the assessment o
railroads should be compared with i
for the same period of time. In 1870.
the total taxable value of all real es
fare in Iowa was S405,541,075 and th,
levy this year for general state reyen
sd 1inp.tantbC mill
which yielded $1,176069 for that pui
pose.
In 1903 the total taxable value of al
real estate was fixed at $466,5 597,S1t
On it the levy is three mills for stat
purposes which will yield $1,399,79
or an increase of $223,723 over 1901
Increase in Railway Faxes.
In 1901 the railroads paid SlS6,50
for state purposes under the two an
nine-tenths mills levy. This year the
will pay $169,611 under a three mi
levy or an increase of S33, ,105
a Ridiculous Claim.
The democrats state in their circl
lar that during the past two years tn
executive council lowered the asses
ed value of sleeping cars S215,20
This statement is ridiculous,for if thu
were true, the assessment would hay
been lowered more than their actu;
taxable value The report of The a
sessed valuation of the railroad pro
erty in the state of Iowa for 19(
shows that the total assessed value
sleeping car lines in the state is $26'
TIT. Instead of there being a redll
ton of s215,200 there is only a .vel
slight decrease, which is the resu
of the decrease iii value OF the ca
that are in constant usage. lae sta