Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-09-25
n SPEECH.
State Auditor Replies To Por-
ter's Criticism of Railroad
Assessments
GIVES THE FACTS AND FIGURES
He Shows That An Increase of 80 Per
Cent Has Been Made by Present Ad-
ministration in Assessment of Rail-
roads and That Land Assessments
Have Been Merely Equalized.
Special to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
| Monterey, Sept 25.--Auditor Carol
delivered a political address here thi;
| afternoon in which he replied directly
| to Candidate Porter's charge against
the executive councils ass essment u
railway property. Mr.. Carroll has mo-
been identified with the Cummins fac
| Cummins in his address but he has
been a member of the executive council
and in entire sympathy with the as
sessments made He said:
| Railway Assessments.
The democratic candidate for COVER
nor in his opening speech at Ottumwa
attacked the republican party in its as
sessment of railway property in Iowa
| between the years 1880 ana 1904? he
| quoted figures in substantiation of the
/ statements made by him, but in doing
| so took his data from the thirty-third
| annual report of the assessed value OF
| nailways property in this state which
does not include the assessment for the
| last two years. Why he should have
done this / am not aware as the thir-
! ty-fourth annual report has been in
print for a full year and the figures
for the thirty-fifth report We're made
| public thru the press of the state Aug
and could have been had by him by
addressing a letter to the Secretary of
fj,,u tb.a
same. He quotes the assessed value
per mile of the railways of Iowa in
1880 and states that the Increase since
that date has been less than $1,000 per
mile when as matter of fact, the val
ue per mile for the year 1906 over that
of 1880 is more than $1,346, or q per
cent, Notwithstanding the fact that in
1880 property was supposed to be as
sessed at actual value while now the
law provides that 1t shall be assessed
at one-fourth of the actual value The
total assessed value of the railway
property. of the state for 1906 as COM
pared with that of 1880 shows AN in
crease of about 1856 per cent, while the
increase in mileage is only about 1O4
per cent.
He further quotes figures to show the
relation between assessments and gross
earnings of railways as follows: Per
cent of assessments to gross earnings
1SS0-1O3 per cent, 1S94--105 per cent,
1904-9S.5 per cent. The assessment per
mile for 1880 was $4,997, for 1s94-$5,-
292 and for 1904-s5,S71. 1t will be OBJ
ferred to, the assessment per mile was
greater than at the proceeding date 1t
therefore follows than any decrease in
the per cent of assessment to gross
earnings, as of the dates mentioned,
was due to an Increase In. earnings and
not to a decrease in assessments.
Would Mr.. Porter favor an increase or
decrease in assessment every time
there is slight change in gross earn
ings in order that the relation of as
sessment to earnings should always re-
main the same?
To give an illustration, using some
of the same figures he has used, let us
compare the years 1894 and 1895. In
1894 the assessed value per mile was
1922 and the assessment was 105 per
cent of the gross earnings. In 1895 the,
assessment was 1929 but was 124 per
cent of the gross earnings, being due to
the heavy, falling off in earnings. In
order to have maintained the same re-
lation between assessments and gross
earnings as existed the previous year
it would have been necessary to have
reduced the assessment to $4,441 pe,'
mile.
While in the main the figures quoted
by Mr.. Porter are correct, they are not
valuable for ehespurpose for which he
seeks to use them, and serve to con-
fuse rather than enlighten. How can
there be any constant or similar rela-
ton existing between assessment and
gross earnings Of railways unless the
assessment is reduced every time the
earnings fall off and is increased every
time the earnings increase?
AS to recent assessments of railway
property, permit me to say that in ten
years the assessed value of railway
property has been increased more than
40 per cent, and that the increase ex.
ceeds 80 per cent during the last five
years. Mr. Porter takes exception to
the method of assessing railway prop
erty The law provides that in determ.
lining the value of railway property the
executive council shall take into con-
sidera ton the gross earnings per mile
for the year ending January / preced-
ing, and any and all other matters nee
essary to enable said council to make
a just and equitable assessment" This
has been the law eveE since the code
of 1873, and is the law under which
every assessment since the days of
Carpenter and Kirkwood has been
r,p RI
the legislature for eight years. and +
am not aware that he ever made any
attempt to have the law repealed viii
he in the campaign announce the
specific rule or method by which he
would assess railway property, apply
the method to the Iowa roads and an
nounce the results? 1t will not answer
to say that he would provide for
commission. What method would he
have the commission fellow? If gross
earnings exclusively, or net earnings
exclusively, are 10 be taken as the bas-
is for assessment no commission or
even executive council is needed. A
mere figurer could determine the value
Assessment of Rea Property?
Much has been said concerning the
dSSeSSllleIi VI real property Oh llle state
especially as to the assessment of 1909.
The marked advance in the price Of
farm lands from 1901 TO 1908 caused a
considerable increase III the assessment
of the latter year. The average value
of the lands of the state as reported
by the various county boards of review
to the auditor of state for the year 1903
was s42o+ per acre. Il was apparent