Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-11

former failed to deliver to Its successors
any of its records or plats. AS a conse-
quence, when the present form of govern
ment was installed it was wholly unprov1d-
ed with plats of county property.
THE first plats of unsubdivided land In
the possession of this office, consisting or
thirty plats, 26x2O inches, were made by
B. D. Carpenter in 1881, by authority of
the act Of Congress, approved June 4. 1880.
AT that time these plats were thought to
be adequate for assessment purposes, but as
they do not give property by metes and
bounds, they are no longer of service. In
1892 plats were made by D. J. Howell, by
authority of the act of Congress, approved
January "a, 1891. These have been found
insufficient for purposes of assessment be-
cause Of their general plan, and the fact
that they were intended to give merely the
deed lines, acreage and names of persons
t, whom the property was assessed.
In 1873, at the time the control of tax
matters in the county was taken over by
the board Of public works. the assessed
value of the property in this portion of the
District was sS,623.O56. For the tax year
1908 the assessed valuation of property In
the county is $40 1881, which fact in IT.
self demonstrates the absolute necessity for
plats showing accurately all parcels of land
embraced therein.
Plats Of the County.
'Plats covering most of the county have
been prepared under the direction Of the
Engineer Commissioner as an incident to
the completion of the permanent system of
highway plans which are now of record in
the office of the surveyor. and are consid-
cred far superior to any other plats in ex-
ls,ence. rms plating was based on
extensive system of measurements and tri-
angulation made by the engineer depart
ment, and consists of 16O sheets, 24x32
inches. drawn to scale of one inch to 100
feet. If they We're extended to cover the en-
tire county they would consist of 26O sheets.
Very little plating would be required to
finish the set, as the plats which are lacking
would include unsubdivided tracts, and
would have very few lines upon them These
plats are the only ones of the county drawn
on so large scale, and in a form conven-
lent for ready reference. Very constant use
by the various departments is tending to
their destruction. About half of them have
been Autograph but no funds are avail
able for copying the others. 1t is estimated
that $4,000 will be required to complete the
set, and Autograph the same, and 5000 to
change the records of the assessors office to
conform Herewith.
1T is believed that If the bill mentioned
is passed. the plats provided and the sys-
tenn put into operation, whereby a separate
number is given to each block square lot or
parcel of land avoiding the confusing SINH
larity of names of the county subdivisions
and the duplication of lot numbers, the
changes resulting will be of incalculable
benefit both to the owners of real estate in
the county and to the District government
Il urgently recommend that steps be
taken at the ensuing session of Congress
to have passed a bill embodying the feat
ures of the heretofore mentioned BILL
Notification of Delinquents.
Strenuous efforts have been made during
the past year, the assessor says, to notify
all delinquents as to the arrears of taxes,
both real and personal, with the result that
there are unpaid at this date much small
er aggregate of taxes than at any other
period in the history of the office.
T., 10 ffn-a 4 go
port states, 1.-The law was radically changed
beginning with the fiscal year 1903, and un-
der the new law there have been but two
levies: Those for the fiscal years 1903 and
1904. 1t Is safe estimate that at least 80
per cent of these levies have been collected
with respect to the arrears of real es-
tate taxes, the system of mailing notices
before sale, and in other ways reminding
property ownerS-of their delinquency has
resulted not only in reducing to an unpre-
cedented minimum the arrears of current
taxes, but In the payment Of a majority of
the arrears which have been standing on
the books for years..
Estimate of Revenues.
In the report is included the estimated
revenues of the District, exclusive of the
water department, for the fiscal year end
| ing June 3d. 1906 The total estimated
revenues are placed at $685. 1926, from
which $700 GOO is deducted for policemen and
| fremen's pension funds, ETC., leaving $5.-
462 1876 available.
During the fiscal year the assessors Of
flee issued 1918 licenses, including 600 bar