Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-05-12
THE INTER U RBAN
AN EXPLANATION OF THE PROP.
5 osITloN SUBMITTED TO THE
PEOPLE OF oTTUMWA
No Money to Be Paid Until the Road
Is In operation-Every Tax Payer
Entitled to Stock for the Amount
Paid In Taxes.

Paid In Taxes.
Editor Courier: Permit me to use
your columns to briefly summarize the
points of the interurban proposition
now being considered by the citizens
OF Ottumwa. THIS for the purpose Of
saving the time of individual discus
sion while election petitions are be.
Ing circulated.
Every agreement of the petition for
election must be faithfully kept and
all agreements therein are conditions
precedent, every one of which must
be carried out before single dollar
Of tax becomes payable. Keeping this
In mind what is the. proposition as
recommended by the committee of the
Commercial club and Retail Mer
chants association?
LA tax Of per cent upon the as
sessed value Of the taxable property.
Cribs means q tax upon one-fourth of
the market or real value.)
2. Two per cent of this tax to be
paid when the road is COM
pleted with at least 70 pound rails,
standard guage and best construction,
with its cars running thereon between
Ottumwa and Buxton. No tax can be
collected before this completion. The
last two per cent is payable one year
after Its completion.
8. All of the promotion work, such
as procuring right Of way, franchises,
surveying, etc, must be completed
and the actual construction Of the
road begun In eight months from the
date of voting the tax in Ottumwa
and the entire road completed and
cars running over its entire length
within two, years.
a. It must connect with the Iowa
Central railway and give Ottumwa &C
cess to all its territory.
Every one Of the conditions above
must be fully carried out, or not one
cent Of the tax Is payable, but the
election becomes void and of no avail
Next, many people have the idea that
the citizens of Ottumwa are asked to
make a gift Of something to this inter-
urban company. This is in no sense
true. This company intends to build
line to Des Moines, the first section
to be built from Ottumwa to Buxton
1S SthCOu oUOtSs Ills lASSiNOo oAA Va
penditure from the company's head
quarters in Ottumwa Of in the neigh
borhood of $2,500,000, and the tax
payers Of Ottumwa are asked to take
stock to the extent of the amount Of
their taxes, or in the aggregate about
100000, in the enterprise. Under the
provisions OF the Iowa statutes each
Ia ~receaves Stock to the amount
of his taxes paid. There is only one
kind of stock possible under the Iowa
laws and every taxpayer will have ex-
actly the same legal rights with his
stock that every other stakeholder in
the company will have. His stock may
be bought and sold on the market,
transferred on the books Of the COM
pany, and he is possessed of every le-
gal right in the transaction of the COM
pany's business that any other holder
Of stock possesses.
In short, there can be no stocking
Cling. II the road pays it's operating
expenses and fixed charges land I do
with good management it will do this)
the taxpayers stock will receive ex-
Rctly the same dividends paid any 9th
er.
The above refers to legal rights OF
the taxpayers of Ottumwa, but every
citizen should remember that this road
must always be operated. The courts
will compel it. There are
dividends they will receive in the con-
slant benefits conferred upon the
town. Each time a citizen makes a
necessary trip over the line at half or
less than one-half the steam road fare
he is receiving dividend Every ad-
ditional dollar Of value added to the
real estate Of Ottumwa is the payment
Of a dividend. Every additional pas.
senger put on the streets of Ottumwa
will leave dividends with the mer.
chants The expenditure of over So.
100000 from the Ottumwa office, very
largely with Ottumwa graders, labor
ers, ironwork and bridge builders
stone men and supply men, will pay
the citizens Of this community very
handsome dividend before one dollar
Of tax has been collected.
c. A. Walsh.