Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-09-15

CITIES GET THE LITTLE END
Overwhelming Portion of the Railroad
Property Situated in Cities and
Given Benefit of City Utilities With
out Contributing to Their Mainten-
anee-An Interesting Debate.
Special to Tunes Republican

! Special to Tunes Republican
| Burlington, Sept. 15.-The conven-
| ton of the Iowa League of Municipali-
! ties yesterday went on record in favor
of change in the method of taxing
railways in Iowa and demanding a
method of taxation that will give cities
and towns their just proportion of
taxes on railway property The fol-
flowing resolutions were adopted:
THAT, whereas, the present method
of assessing the property of railways,
| telephone, telegraph and express COM
panies, by the executive council of the
state is unsatisfactory and inequitable,
and does not permit of cities and
| towns collecting their due proportion
of the tax on such property.
BE it resolved, that the general as
sembly of the state of Iowa be re-
spectfully petitioned as follows:
"That the laws in relation to the as
sessment of railways, telephones, tele-
| RraDH anu express SO1Lpcll1Co Ny SAAS
executive council of the state be
amended in such way that the prop
erty of such companies lying within
| the corporate limits Of the cities and
towns of Iowa shall be assessed in
proportion to the value of such prop
erty lying within such limits"
The question of taxation of railways
| In cities and towns proved to be the
most important one that came before
| the convention if the Interest
aroused is criterion. The ques-
ton came before the convention some
| what in the form of a joint debate be-
tween City Attorney j. N. Hughes, of
! Cedar Rapids, who addressed the con-
syention on the subject, Municipal
4 Taxation of Railways" His address
was of unusual interest and attracted
much attention and favorable COM
ment. Mr. Hughes described the
| method of making assessments by the
state executive council and said:
| "The valuation of the depots, shops,
wards and tracks, at Clinton, Cedar
Rapids, Marshalltown and Council
Bluffs is added together and divided
by the number of miles of main line,
and that is taken as the valuation per
miie throughout the state, and each
taxing district is allowed to assess on
that valuation plus ><the number OF
miles of main line there is within that
district. If the valuation is $4,000 per
mile and Clinton has four miles of
main line, it would have right to tax
on the valuation Of 100000. Or, IN
other words, the property owned by
| the railway on the entire line and used
| for railway purposes is all placed to-
gether as one item, is then { divided
upon the basis of the number of miles
of main line and each city or town Is
required to make its levy upon the
number of miles of main line within
the city or town limits.
"Now it is plain to be seen that only
very small part of the mileage of the
main lines Of railways, express compa-
nies and telephone companies is with
in the corporate limits of cities and
towns. while the greater part of their
property is located there, and a large
part of their business is done in the
cities and larger towns. The result is
that all the mileage outside the cor
porate limits, escapes all municipal
taxation"
am sure IlldL III Iilcy OC SoiSA, oAAO
| it is the contention of the railway and
telephone companies that the valuation
as fixed by the executive council Is
| largely fixed as a capitalization OF the
earnings of the company and not on
| the value of physical property. Be this
as it may, it does not change the Cir
cumstances' with reference to property
! in cities. And the argument that the
railway property here in Burlington
belongs as much to Cedar Rapids as 1t
does in Burlington is wholly unsound.
It is lust as much local property as any
property of private citizens and should
be treated so far as municipal taxation
| is concerned in the same manner. Is
| it not lit by the same lights? protected
by the same fire department? watched
over by the same police department?
and approached by the same paved
streets as private property? Do not
the same storm sewers drain its eve
troughs? the same sanitary sewers
| carry off its sewerage? the same water
mains supply it with water, as do
private property?
eff a private person desires to have
a shop for the repair of his wagons, or
merchant desires waiting room for
| his customers, is he not required to
pay taxes on the property used for
that purpose? Why is it that the
railway property is different from otner
property, and why does any property
pay city or municipal tax except on
! the theory that it is specially bene-
fitted by such things as light, water,
sewerage, fire and police protection?
And is not railway property peculiarly
benefited by these?
"The Rock Island railway has shops,
yards, lands and buildings In Cedar
Rapids today that are worth more
than s3,00O000 every dollar of which
receives peculiar and special benefit
from all the departments of the city
government, and yet under the present
method of assessing we can levy tax
on less than s2S, 900 valuation
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