The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-06-17
DANVILLE HAS BEEN SLANDERED BY MACHINE WRITER.
IT'S "A VIDE AWAKE PROGRESSIVE AND PROSPEROUS TOWN

heavier rates than other inland towns
that are marked on the railway maps as
8non-competltive points. The competitive.
rate Is what Danville has been striving
for, and she has made vigorous fight
to secure It,. She has spent large sums
Z Of money, and is now paying interest on
q large bonded debt incurred for the 11ss-
pose Of assisting in the building of COM
pettive railways She did help to build
three railways, but In time they were
bought UP by the Richmond and Dam
vile Railway, which afterwards becam.
the Southern Railway. and now, while
the railways apread out from Danville
north cast. south and west, :ney are
all owned ytl,e Southern and are opera
ted as one system. and Ddnville no longer
enjoys the competitive rates that Lynch
bug, Richmond, Norfolk and some other
Virginia towns do enjoy.
$ Danvlle first Appealed to the railway
itself for relief and then 1t went before
the Interstate Commerce Commission and
there won its case but the Southern
ignored the order OF the Interstate Com
rnerce Commission and appealed to the
United States courts The courts de-
cided against Danvllle. against the COM
mission and In flavor of the railroad, and
there 1t would seam that the contest would n
end, but citizens OF Danville conceived the
idea Of appealing to Congress and o.
:further#figh was made when the ques-
ton OF placing rate making under the
control Of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission got before Congress.
Danyille Hustles.
In the meantime Danville business men. #
who have most commemorate pluck and
energy. pushed their bus!ncss in y spite
of the dra wbacks, such as are alluded
to above. and Notwithstanding the rate
discrimination complained OF. Dany:iiieTs
progress within the last ten years has
been wonderful, equally IS great as that
NC LynchbIrg Richmond, Norfolk. 81 or /.
any other town on the map, and yet this i
writer goes to Danville at the I
Invitation OF some ill-advised Danvllle |
men and writes q fifteen page article |
Astounding In misstntcments and false
hoods. which Is teing circulat ted all over
the country greatly to- DanSilles hurt.
& have nothing to say about 9Danv,lle's
fight against the railroad am not
hero to defend the railroad. Danvllle
has Just cause for complaint but u am |
hero TO deny that Danvllle is in state
Of ruin, and is on par with q Cold
smiths Deserted Village" and within
the last two days / have gathered q suffi-
cheney OF facts to abundantly5 dlsproYe /
this statement. Let the facts speak for
i5ss 85 M s53
Mr. Baker in his magazine articles al
hides to the fact that there has been
q decrease in the tax valuation of Dan
Vile real estate within the past fifteen
years. This is true in one sense, but
Is easily explained I'LL As Is well knoWn,Sl
the laws of Virginia qlire tina there
shall be new assessment OF real es-
tate and all other property for taxation
once in five years.
The Bowen Assessment.
4 IN 1885. Mr. F. F. Bowen was appointed
special assessor Danyille had Just been
On boom, and It is q notorious fact
hat Mr. Bowen was a trine too opti-
nistic. and over assessed all Danville
! subject Of general complaint on the
oart OF the citizens. and they appealed to
he courts for reassessment but were
lot sustained There was hue and +
Try for years against ''the Bowen assess +
nent,,' and In 1880, when the late, Frank I
3. Gravely was appointed special az.
,essor, there was universal demand that
10 should cut down the Bowen figures.
Again in 1896 and again in 1900 and then
n 1906, Mr.. Gravely was special assessor.
md in order to equalizs the Bowen as
;essment. each thine Mr. Gravely re-
luced the values IN certain perts OF the 4
own, but In 1905, while he continued to II
educe the valuations on lower Main
street, on account OF certain local causes, +
le did largely Increase valuations in the
esidence portion OF the town and In +
ONE parts OF the business section.
Thus it appears by the books that
alues on real estate are really marked
over than they were twenty years ago.
this the improvements
tut upon the real estate, the numerous
magnificent tobacco factories and ware
ouses, the enlargement and Improvement
( the cotton factories and the erection
q hundreds of splendid modern private
esidences have 80 Increased value that
he taxes OF this good year 1906. paid into
he treasury OF Danyille amounted to 50
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