Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1906-10-18
Period
. Decrease.
RepubIlcanism VS.. Democracy.


It will be seen from the records that II
was under Governor Larrabee that the
railroad assessments received their first
big raise, and that with increase of ia
per cent in mileage they got an increase
Of 3S2 per cent in assessments.
Then came Governor Boies. who in four
years, with an increase of % per cent In
mileage. raised assessments only 81 per
cent
During the next two administrations
railroad building was at standstil and
values decreased, and the assessments
remained practically unchanged, the re-
adjustment making show OF very slight
reduction.
Then came an era of much railroad
building, and in the four years under
Governor Shaw SIS miles were added TO
the railroad property assessed. with
l01 per cent increase in mileage the In
crease In assessments was per cent
Larrabee and cummins.
Under the present republican admins
tration, Governor Cummins and his re-
publican associates on the executive coun-
Gil, upon a mileage which has increased
out So per cent, have increased the as
easements by 32.4 per cent.
The increase of assessed values under
minis s15,2 ,937. which increase is more
than as much as the total assessment
twenty-five years ago.
1t was a democratic governor of Iowa
who checked the tendency to increase
railroad assessments, which tendency had
been so marked during the Larrabee ad-
ministration, and 1t remained for Gov
ernor Cummins to have the patriotism
and the courage to again return to the
of Tar fnon
railroads to pay their fair share of the
taxes.
1t was a democratic governor who the
drst time he got a chance at the rail-
road assessment reduced it s25 a mile on
an average. who the next year raised 1t,
and again the third year he reduced 1t
and the fourth year he made still another
reduction in the average assessment per
mile. Under the republican administra-
zion while Cummins has been governor
the average per mile has been increased
every year, with a total increase of 1894
per mile for his term.
Increase In Railway Taxes.
The increase in taxes actually paid by
the railroads in the state Of Iowa is
equally marked. While the state execu-
tive council, an official assessing board
consisting of the governor, auditor. treas
urer and secretary of state, makes the
assessment Of value on railroad and cor
poration property, the actual taxing is
done by the local boards, the same as In
the case of other property. But by rea-
son of the increase of valuation of rail-
road property by the executive council
the railroads will pay, on the last assess
ment made, at least $2,244,129 in taxes,
more than 80 per cent of which Is In
county, town, bridge, road, school ana
other local taxes.
Under the last assessment OF the Boles
administration the railroads paid in taxes
in Iowa an aggregate of Sl,355625 an
nually. Under the last assessment be-
fore Governor Cummins took hold they
paid $1,623,496.
Under the five assessments by the
council over which Governor Cummins
presides, they have paid or will pay as
follows: 1902 $1,S74. 419; 1903, 81, 1863;
1904 $20S9, 351: 1906, $2,094S46; 1906, $2244l2s.
In other words, as the result OF the
determination of Governor Cummins and
his associates to make all kinds of prop
erty bear their fair share of the tax
burden, so far as 1t was possible to so
determine, the Iowa railroads are now
paving over 100000 annually more in
taxes in Iowa than they were when he
came into office. and three-quarters of a
million more annually than they were as
the only democratic governor we have
had In Iowa left them.
State Tax Levies.
The democratic campaigners would have
the voters believe that the tendency I'M
der republican rule in Iowa in the past
few years has been to enormously in