Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-07-31
PROTEST ON OMAHA FILED
Lancaster County Assessor Says Merchants
Are Assessed Too Low.
FORMAL HEARING SET FOR WEDNESDAY
only Changes So Far made in the RE-
turns of the County Assessors
Has Been in Horses, Mules
and Cattle.

NFTom a btau correspondent
LINCOLN. July SO.-County Assessor
Miller Of Lancaster county, charged before
the State Board Of Equalization this after
noon that the wholesale merchants Of
Omaha had endeavored to get the whole
sale merchants of Lancaster county TO
enter into a combination to keep down as
sessment on this class OF property and he
also requested the board not only to in
vestigato the assessment OF wholesale
houses in Omaha, but in Lincoln as well.
charging that the Lincoln wholesale houses
were under assessed
Mr.. Miller was asked for the names Of
the Omaha merchants who had made a
proposition to the Lincoln merchants, but
he said he did not know. A letter con-
corning the combination, he said. had been
received by J. f. Miller.
In his talk to the board Mr.. Miller merely
ra'd Lincoln merchants had gone before the
county board here and asked for reductions
en- tho ground that omaha wholesale mer-
chants had been undervalued though he
himself did not know what the individual
assessments were in Omaha. At the re-
quest OF the board Mr.. Miller later in the
day made his complaint in writing. and
the board decided to summon Omaha wit
nesses and give them a hearing wedEes-
day.
Mr. Miller said the Lincoln Merchants
had figured the Omaha wholesale houses
were undervalued in comparison with Lam
caster merchants on the basis Of the
amount OF business done by tho different
INNS on this basis taking one-seventh
Of the sales as the value Miller said. Nc
Cord & Brady should have been assessed
Tor $4,000, whereas he thought, though ne
didn't know, the Arm was assessed for $780,,
COO
Ilr. Miller also brought out the inter-
estng fact that Raymond Bros. & Clark,
the firm that made the protest against
Douglas county, were assessed IN 1894,
g? 500; in 1905, $4,000. and in 1866 $500,
reduction Of about $4,000 in the last two
years Miller thought the firm was under
assessed
Il am satisfied" said Mr.. Miller. 1.-The
small merchants IN Omaha and Lincoln
are assessed all right. but the wholesale
houses are not high enough in either town
The l lincoln merchants in some way have
r'an1Eed to get the county board to make
reductions. and tho state board should do
something to bring them to time or we will
soon be beck to the same condition we
were in under the old assessment law. It
Is not the little fellows but the big fellows
who are escaping. When found the beard
vas going ~ reduce the big firms I called
On ]. z. Miller and told him he could get
= reduction the rest Of them were. Mr.
Miller however, refused to ask for the re-
duction and his assessment is about the
only one that is right among the big mer-
chants in this county"
MiIIer's Formal Protest.
Following is the formal protest filed by
Mr.. Miller:
To the Board Of Equalization and As
Fc~rn'ent-The undersigned assessor and a
tlTTayer 81 Lancaster county. Nebraska
'rsonaly and as county assessor OF said
] incaster county, Nehras- n, and In behalf
n Lancaster county. Nebrask ska and himself
] erery protests against the mercantile as
Eessnent OF Douglas county. Nebraska as
u~soe@ed In that county.
l-Pecause the same Is below its value
In the ordinary course OF trade.
2-Pccause II is not uniform as 10 value
ccnplfed with other portions OF the state
3-Eecause II tends TO benefit the mer-