The San Francisco call., 1904-07-17
RICH MEN ASK
FOR REDUCTIONS
Supervisors Hear Complaints
of Realty Owners Against
the Assessors Valuations
PLEA OF WELLS-FARGO
Express Company Objects to
High Taxation and Bare
ly Escapes an Increase
PLEA OF WELLS-FARGO

Two sessions of the Board of Equali
zation were held yesterday at the City
Hall, one at $3.50 o'clock in the morning
and the other in the afternoon at 2:30.
The complaints against high assess
nents this year have exceeded those
or the last year and the board still has
over 500 applications to hear. This
must be done before noon on Monday,
as that is the time limit allowed by law
for the board to act upon the applica
tions.
The morning meeting was devoted
Chiefly to the hearing of the complaint
OF the Wells-Fargo Express Company
against the assessment of their prop
erty at Mission and Second streets.
Ihls led to a lengthy discussion be-
tween Supervisors Alpers and the COM
pany attorney, Alfred Sutro. The
company asked that this years as
sessment of $417, 900 might be reduced
to last years figure, $tS1,0 Super
visor Aloers inquired if this included
the franchise. Sutro answered that it
did not. He then went on to explain
that the franchise had originally been
assessed at $500, ,O0O but was reduced
last year to $4,000 and this year to
$3.50 900.
Sutro said no local body or board had
given the company any franchise. The
WellsFargo Company obtained it's
right to do business from Colorado,
and could not be charged for the right
to do business by California. Assessor
| Dodge asked If it was not fact that
the company was doing a banking
business as well as express. If such
was the case every bank in San Fran
cisco, whether foreign or not. had to
submit to taxation on it's franchise.
After the attorney had left the room
AlperS moved that the assessment on
the franchise be raised to 100000. The
Assessor replied that this could not be
done without citing the Wells-Fargo
Company to appear and that the
property was assessed proportionately
to the actual increase in real estate.
The comDanys application for reduc-
ton of the assessment was denied.
Herbert E. Law, who owns property
to the value of $1,000 900, said that he
had no protest to make on any of his
| assessments with the exception of a
lot at Pierce and Lombard streets,
which was ten feet below grade. The
board reduced his assessment from
$7460 to $500.
At the afternoon meeting the an
nouncement was made that nearly all
of the property south of Golden Gate
Park had been assessed too high and
that the Assessor was working on q
wholesale reduction of assessments in
that locality. A petition from property
holders on Hayes street near Octavia
stating that property on Hayes street
had not increased in value was read
and referred to the Assessor. The
board adjourned until a. m. Monday
The applications of the following
owners were referred to the Assessor
for reconsideration: Charles L. Acker-
man, joseph Pilger, Edward Harrison
Frederick Baruch, E. D. McCreery
Amelia Haarz, estate of George t.
Reynolds, Samuel Knight, Charles n.
Champion, A B. Villain. City Realty
Company, Margaret c. Feehan, Meal
lister Estate Company, Mrs. E. S. Har-
bach, g. H. Hinlkle, Walter E. Dean
Bertha Roth, McEwen Brothers, Anne
liza Haas, r. W. Mastick, George d.
Katz, G. p. Allen, B. Schweitzer, c.
Meyer Estate Company, Edwin Good
all, Daniel O'Connor, G. C. Randolph
Joseph Wannenmacher, j. D. Field
busch Harry Mortensen, B. H. LIGHT
enstein, Frank NJ. Todd, c. G. Mini
fee, Nathaniel Hallman, Mary L. Zim-
norman, William J. Gardner, William
Monaghan and Thomas Mahoney.