The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1904-02-23


three members of the state board of
equalization addressed the meeting of
assessors at the close of the first
days work and stated that the rail-
road assessment agreed upon by the
convention was not far from the
state boards idea upon the subject
This was prior to the increase of
more than two millions upon rolling
stock, SO it is fair to presume that
the state board will not feel called
upon to raise the adopted schedule.
"One of the most unfair features
of the Spokesman-Review and
Chronicles reports of the recent con-
vention was the repeated reference
to the IA members who voted against
reconsideration as the minority
These IA represented counties having
approximately four-fifths of the
wealth and population and two-thirds
of the railway mileage Of the state.
Cow1es' Assessment Raised.
"A number of persons and corpor-
ations-notably w. H. Cowles and the
railroad companies-have been more
or less successful in their efforts to
dodge certain proportion of their
rightful share of taxes. and it is
therefore easy for newspaper to
show that an assessor has not as
sessed this or that concern high
enough, but 1 ask the people to bear
these facts in mind: l have not low
cred a single assessment of conse-
quence; l have been instrumental in
placing a raise of between four and
five million dollars upon the railroads
of Washington. and some tens of
thousands upon Mr. Cowles' powerful
newspaper trust: I have not put
single dollars increase upon the
homes; except in a few cases where
swamps or tule lakes have been con-
verted into timothy meadows or
where orchards have come into bear
ing, I have not increased the figures
upon the farms.
Upon the other hand, when the
1904 work of this Office shall have
been completed this spring. I will
have lessened the unfair burden upon
the homes by having increased The
assessment of the railroads and other
corporations and wealthy individuals
including Millionaire w. H. Cowles
to the extent of several million dol
lars. or sufficient to provide enough
additional revenue in four years to
cover the original cost of our court
house. besides paying the annual sal
aries of the principal officials in
every department of that building.
Mr.. Cowles Wants Help.
my action can in no wise be con-
strued as an assault upon corpora
lions nor the wealthy classes. l have
simply readjusted the figures upon
some assessments that were appar-
emily too low, and many of those
whose assessments have been in
creased have admitted the fairness
few days since when he made a
personal canvass of some of these
concerns. pleading for aid to defeat
me for reelection.
Sundays Review as
serts that the railroads, working
through me, are responsible for the
increased assessment upon that paper.
presume the editor has forgotten
that the same newspaper a few
months since proved CD to it's own
satisfaction. and attempted to prove
to the public, that my chief deputy,
j. f. Leghorn, had induced me to
make that same raise because of
loo ha ha1 ainC
the paper! 1 am perfectly willing
that Mr. Cowles should have his own
way in placing this responsibility. In
the same issue are published figures
showing that the morning paper here
is assessed higher than are some
other papers in the northwestern
cities, notably the tIntelligencer
of Seattle. If the figures are correct,
the P-I is assessed much too low.
and this fact would tend to show that
other newspapers are more success
full than the Spokesman-Review has
been recently in it's attempt to bull
doze the assessor.
Tax Dodgers.
However. 1 have nothing whatever
to do with the assessment of the
P-I., and the figures given simply
show that Spokane county has more
equitable assessment Of personal
property than has King county. Mr..
Cowles' newspapers, including his As
ISOLATED Press franchise or contract,
are assessed at less than one-fifth of
their actual value, and, as predicted
in Sundays Spokesman-Review the
assessor of Spokane county is still
trying to devise ways and means to
compel them to pay their fair share
Of the taxes, to help relieve the enor-
nous and unjust burden of taxation
that the tax dodgers have placed upon
the homes of this county.
''rhe Spokesman-Review has false
ly published and caricatured me as
trying to assess the farmers growing
crop. don't know where nor how
they originated even foundation for
this most malicious untruth. There
never was a motion touching this
subject before the recent state meet
ing of assessors. and never discuss
ed nor mentioned such a thing to
anyone either before or during that
convention. The whole idea is ride
ulous In the extreme. for the reason
that all assessments are taken tech
nically on March /, and even when
made later are based on the value
at that date. and every school boy
knows that Spokane county farmers
f.ax