The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-03-08

ginian
"a brIef, which 1 have hled with the
aBoard OF Public Works" on the cues:
ton Of equalization Of taxation in
west Virginia contains statements
and fgures as to how the Pitaburg Or
connelIsyille vein Of coal - assessed
IN Marion county TO various corpora;
tons, trusts and individuals, q
BY examining the brief you viii
see that the deputy clerk Of the coun:
ty Court Of Marion county states that
the st. Louis Union Trust Company,
Of st. Louis, Mo. owns and Is assess
led In Warrington district on one Of
the main tributaries Of the Mononga-
Iheia River, with 1880 acres Of the
said Pittsburg or Conuellsyllle vein
Of coal. The Clerk states that said i'm
mense body Of coal was purchased
ana the deeds recorded IN 1903, at
$3.50 an acre. he also states that
| ii Is assessed by Mr.. Lyman, the
Commissioner Of Marion county, at
$4,000 an acre or 1t is assessed at
$3.50 less than what the deeds Of
the said Trust Company show was
paid for the coal; or considerably less
| than one.half the value Of the coal
three years ago. according to the CON
yeyances made to the Trust Company,
and Of course, the Trust Company
must be bound by their own convey
ances when they admit they paid
$3.50 an acre for It.
The County Court Of Marion county
has recommended, through It's coun.
sell. to the. Board of Public Works
THAT the valuation on the Pittsburg
or Connellsyllle vein of coal be raised
40 per cent and the Fairmont pafers.
fighting for the corporations instead
Of for the farmers and home owners,
think that the coal companies are as
sessing too high.
The figures on this immense body
Of coal prove to the contrary, because
40 Der cent on S22.0O is $3.50. which
added to $1,000 per acre would only
raise the st, Louis Trust Company's
coal land to sS0.So an acre when they
paid $3.50 for IT. Hence even in
creasing 1t 40 per cent, which makes
$1,000 an acre, deducted from $3.50
sim leaves It short $3.50 Of the price
forswhich they purchased the coal
three years ago.
This purchase was MADE, as shown,
by their deeds, two years before the
new law took effect and at this time
that splendid body Of coal could not
be bought for $3.50 an acre. When we
contemplate the immense amount Of
coal owned by this st. Louis Trust
Company in Marion county, and the
immense wealth it has stored, taxed
up at the mere song Of $1,000 an acre,
it is startling to an average citizen.
What does Il mean when their records
show that 1t owns S3,52O acres Of coal
in Marion county? This means. disid.
ing the number Of acres by GAO acres,
(which represents. a square mile),
that this Trust Company alone owns
over SO square miles Of solid coal, 8
feet thick, in our sister county Of
Marion. In other words, It is 100
miles around it when laid on by the
square mile. If 1t were laid on top
Of the ground IT would be 0 feet thick
and would take a man with a good
team, driving ffty-three miles a day,
two days to drive around this body Of
coal and yet It is assessed at the
mere pittance of $4,000 an acre.
Hon. Mark M. Cochran, who plr-
chased some $4,000 acres in Mononga-
liza county, ID Cass and Clay districts
and who Is one of the largest coke
and coal producers in the United
States, said to me, when coming up
on the train this last fall, that an
acre Of Pittsburg or Connelsyille coal
viii produce between nine and ten
thousand tons on an average, and at
the price ofS0 cents a ton for coal
Cooke sells for $1.60 q toni for 5000
tons per aere Il amounts 70 10000.
THAT is what the coal would bring in
the market per acre including the la.
Dor Of digging ana delivering. But
there are 6t0 acres in each square
mile, which, multiplied by $4,000
shows that the selling value Of coal,
per square mile, Of the Plttsburg or
Copnellsyille vein Is $4,eOs00o. And
when We remember that the st. Louis
Trust Company owns 50 square miles
in Marion county Of the said coal, atty.
two times four million six hundred and
eight thousand dollars "a, In round
numbers. two hundred and forty Nil.