Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-07-10
RAILROAD ASSESSMENT Up
Executive Council Has It's First Session
with Roads Representative,
PLEA FARM LANDS ARE VALUED TOO LOW
Railroad Representative Alleges Ver-
diet of Board Is Already Made
ID and l. Taken TO Task by
Governor Cummins.
tFrom a stan Correspondent


DIES MONIES July Especial The
more than an hour today when politics en-
tered into the discussion Of fixing the rail-
road assessment. Attorney J. e. Davis for
the Northwestern made the assertion that
the public agitation that is going on at this
time has injured the railroads, and he made
this further excuse for something that
he said to the executive council. He as
serted that 1t is not true that the value
of farm lands and other property in the
state has been raised more Of late years
than has that of railroad property. He
showed that while farm lands had been
increased from $40 an acre, making the
valuation $40 % an additional acre, the rail-
roads had been increased from $40, les a mile
to S23.74S or an increase Of IL per cent for
the farm land and q per cent for railroads.
He asserted that farm land ought to be
assessed at about $50 an acre.
Mr.. Cranden of the Northwestern's tax
department asserted that since he reached
the city he had heard 1t stated several
times that the executive council has al
ready decided to add a very substantial in
crease to the railroad assessment. Before
he could finish saying that he did not be-
lleve this to be the case. Governor Cummlns
had interrupted him to say that this was
not true and he called Mr.. Cranden to task
for making the assertion since the council
met today for the first time this year on the
proposition. Mr.. Cranden reiterated the
statement that he had heard 1t several
times and gave as one source a local news
paper. Governor Cummns told him: IF
those statements have been made they have
possibly arisen from the fact that we have
been damned from one end OF this state
to the other for not raising the railroad
assessment more"
III that is the case want TO take part of
the burden of the damnirg," said Mr..
Cranden who appears annually and argues
for a low Assessment.
II have thought" continued the governor,
that some who have so persistently said
we had not done our duty should appear
here now and make good"
For the most part the representatives OF
railroads. who were the only persons pres
ent, argued today on what should be the
basis for making railroad assessments and
no arguments were introduced that have
not been thoroughly discussed in other
years. The chief discussion centered on
whether the valuation of land is fixed high
enough. The attorneys who spoke today
maintained that Iowa farm land ought to
be valued at nearer SEQ than $40 an acre.
The executive council has gone on the
theory that the average value Of land in
Iowa is about $50 an acre and that the
valuation for taxation purposes being four
fifths of the real value the railroads should
be taxed on the same basis. Governor
Cummins read from a government report
on railroad valuation which fixes Iowa rail-
roads Al sS5, 900 a mile the real CONNER
cial value. On this basis the executive
council would have to add about $45 900, COZ
to the valuation in Iowa.