The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-05-11
NO MILLION
Valuation Of Standard Oil in
Kansas.
This Is just Figure Returned
by the Company.

On Wednesday the state board Of rail-
road assessors completed their work
and adjourned sine die.
1t was decided to assess the property
Of the Standard Oil company 81, 158, 1855.
This includes the pipe lines and pump
ing stations but does not include the
Neodesha refinery, the Sugar Creek re-
fitsry or the tank cars. The tank cars
and Neodesha refinery are owned by
different companies, and the sugar
creek refinery is in Missouri. The value
Of $2.15S. 785 is just the amount which
the Standard Oil people themselves re-
turned.
Not long ago the Standard people in
one of their legal documents made the
statement that &1eir Kansas property
IS worth $14 200. When Z came TO
returning their property for assessment
however, they claimed that the $4,000
600 included all the improvements in
Oklahoma and the territory, the two
redneries and the pipe line which is
being built at Whiting, Ind. They said
that all these improvements were credit
ed TO the Kansas field. On basis of
Sne-third valuation the assessaDle
property of the Standard in the state
some portions of the Standard Oil
pipe lines and the gas mains of the
Kansas Natural Gas company mad been
assessed by the various county boards
a y
authority to do this, and the state
board slapped another assessment down
on top Of the county assessment Inc
companies win pay the state assess
ment, and the counties will probably
Eecede from their position
The assessed valuation of the property
Df the Kansas Natural Gas company
WAS fixed at s181 473. she company esti-
mated its property to be worth $157, $50.
The Keller Gas company, a uIIle
concern which supplies Yates Center
with gas, but gets the gas in Wilson
bounty. was assessed at $7,125-
One Of the big tangles was in re-
yard to the assessment of the private
car lines. The law required car lines
30 report the average number of cars
Ehey have in the state The companies
claimed it was impossible to furnish
this Information. The best they could
do was to give the number of miles
their cars Travelled in the state, which
they did. The railroads hauling the
cars also declared it impossible to give
the number of "car days of each car
line So the board got at the matter
by dividing the mileage reported by
d50, representing the number of miles
a car should move day. and reached
che car days" in that way. This gave
$50 cars in the state on an average the
year around, and they were assessed
at $500 for refrigerator and stock cars
and $500 for tank cars. The total as
Bessment will aggregate about SIS, 900.
4n9 DOaIQ QGGluGQ LIldL II was lIllDIdC-
Hcable to distribute the tax on this
amount throughout the state, as the
law provided, so it adopted a resolu-
ton fixing s4.3S per 500 as the tax
levy and ordered the car companies to
pay the tax directly to the state treas
urer. This will net the state about
$500. The counties and townships
win get nothing from the assessm ent.
The board assessed the Pullman COM
pany 5000, 900 on it's cars in Kansas.
This was on AZ standard cars at So, 600
each, and 13 tourists sleepers at $1,000
each. This is an increase Of 81, 900 over
last year.
If the private car companies were
disposed to resist the payment Of the
tax which the board imposed upon
them, it would be impossible for the
state to collect it, as there Is no shadow
of law for such a course of procedure.
The private car companies. however,
have expressed to the board a willing
ness to pay a reasonable tax, and it is
believed that they will be satisfied with
what the board has done.
The next legislature will probably
enact a new law to replace the imprac-
teal one passed at the last session.
Under q good law, it is estimated that
about $3.50. 900 to 100000 worth of tax
able property could be added to the
rolls of the state.