The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-12
'FOUAL|zERS RAISE
TOTAL VALUATION
State Board -Adjourns After In
creasing ReaFand Personal
Property Assessments


| er nearly five weeks, completed its
work and adjourned yesterday. The
netsresult of the boards work was to
raise the valuation of real property of
| the state more than $53,000,000 over the
figures of two years ago, and to in
| crease the valuation of personal prop
erty of. the state approximately $14,-
100000.
A total valuation of approximately
! $3.50, 100000 has been returned by the
board, but fully s27O0O,0OO must be
substracted from the total on account
! of the personal property exemption of
| 500 allowed each taxpayer.
Three changes in real estate valua-
| lions were made yesterday just before
the boards adjournment. The city Of
Mankato was exempted from 10 per
cent increase in the assessment of Blue
Earth county real estate, while Moor
head and GAINESVILLE cities were ex-
empted from a 40 per cent increase
given Clay county real estate, put sub
! jected to a 10 per cent increase.
A per cent increase on the essess
ment Of Minneapolis city property in
creased the valuation of that class of
real estate $4.SS8.249.
The total value of real estate in the
state, as equalized by the state board,
is SOL 066, III, as against a valuation
two years ago, when the assessment
was last made. of $647, ,261, an in
crease of $53,813,516.
The estimated value of personal
] property of the state, as equalized by
| the 1904 board, is $170,000,000 as
against $156, 729,996 in 1903, an increase
of approximately $14,000,000, in spite
| of the fact that the return by coun-
| ties this year showed a falling off Of
| some $6,000,000 from the valuations as
! equalized a year ago.
Total Valuation Is $3.50, 000, 600
The total valuation of all classes Of
property, as equalized, is $4,000, 900,
| but from this must be deducted $100
| each for the 268,201 persons who were
assessed for their exemptions. This will
| mean loss of nearly S27, 900, 600 to the
total, but, applying the tax levy to the
| valuations as finally returned, it is
expected that there will be a material
| increase in the state revenue fund. The
| increase Will not however, be more
than to care for the running expenses
of the state, as the fund has been hard
| pressed of late and loans of $500, 900
will have to be made to carry the fund
through to the May settlement of tax
collections
The assessment of the st. Paul Gas
company was raised from 100000 to
$1,025,0 and the Minneapolis Gas
cOmpany's assessment was raised from
100000 to $1.240,000. No change was
made in the assessment of the Twin
City Rapid Transit company, made
two weeks ago, which was $S250,000.
The board yesterday, at the request
l Of orr1ox d wv
Der of the board, reduced the assess
ment on silverware for Ramsey county
from 900 to 100 per cent.
On a statement of the Minneapolis
jobbers and retailers, goods and mer-
chandise was reduced per cent for
Hennepin county. The board had pre-
Viously raised the class in Hennepin
20 per cent and in Ramsey rs per cent.
The action yesterday leaves the raise
for Hennepin at 10 per cent. An at
tempt to secure a similar reduction for
Ramsey failed by vote of to IA.
Minneapolis Lumbern1en Wrathy
The board brought down on its head
the wrath of the Minneapolis lumber
men and their newspaper spokesman
yesterday by refusing to reduce the
raise on logs and lumber in Hennepin
county 25 per cent The board recently
had raised this class of property in
Hennepin county 20 per cent and re-
fused yesterday to recede from its posi-
ton.
In support of his position, Chairman
| Fred Greiner, of Chaska, of the COM
mittee to which was assigned logs and
lumber, made a report to the board
yesterday. Members of the board de-
clare that in fixing the value of logs
and lumber the report had no influence
The raise was made by the state board
prior to leaving on its trip to st. Louis
a week ago, while the report was made
! yesterday.
''The Minneapolis lumbermen have
no right to make this outcry," J. e
Cooley, the Duluth member of the
board, said last night eve were cited
to the Minneapolis Lumberman, which
| last January issued a statistical state
ment showing the stocks on hand.
The lSmbermen said its reports could
| be used as basis in making the equali-
| cation, but had we used this statement
| the Minneapolis lumbermen would
| have suffered badly. The assessment
made of their property is less than IL
per cent of the value as returned by
their trade organ"
Chairman Sprague added word
'"The lumbermen are making hue and
cry about nothing. We did not assess
! them as high as they really should
have been assessed he said:
There is talk in Minneapolis lumber
circles Of resisting in the courts the
collection of taxes under the state
boards equalization.
Nearly all the members of the board
left for their homes last night.
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