Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-08
AFTER THE TAX DODCER
Wisconsin Officials Coming
East to Start Movement.
WILL VISIT WASHINGTON
Great Record for Ferreting Out Tax
able Property.
MILLIONS ADDED TO TAX ROLLS
To Agitate Organization of Tax Com
missioners and Assessors-Pres-
ent Methods Faulty.
WILL VISIT WASHINGTON
ADDED TO TAX ROLLS
srecIal nlsnatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star
MILWAUKEE, Wis. September Tax
Commissioner William F. Hooker and AS
SCISSOR William Bannen, an expert, will
leave Sunday on official trip through the
east with the dual purpose of starting a
movement for the organization OF a ma
tional association of tax commissioners and
assessors and of Investigating methods OF
taxation and ferreting out taxable prop
erty not on the assessment rolls. They will
visit New York. Boston Philadelphia,
Cleveland, Indianapolis Cincinnati. Balu-
more. Washington and possibly, Dayton,
Ohio. and several other cities.
Tax Commissioner Hooker has practically
promised the common council, which has
passed a special appropriation of $1,000 for
the trip, that It will result in the addition
of from eighteen to twenty million dollars
worth Of property. mostly bonds stocks
and mortgages, held outside the state, on
the tax rolls During the last year he
added S15.OcO,OO to the rolls, over one-haf
of ii being In personal property which had
hitherto escaped taxation altogether.
He has been absolutely fearless in his eff
forts TO ferret out tax dodgers, one OF his
most notable achievements being the plac-
Ing of John !. Beggs. manager of the Mil
waukee Electric Railway and Lighting Com
pany. the rolls. Mr. Beggs, who has
been In Milwaukee for ten years, is re-
he owns no real estate here. He has never
paid taxes and declined to do this year.
claiming New York as his home Mr..
Hooker wired to Lawson Purdy of New
York, and Mr.. Beggs did not appear before
the tax board at the time set for his hear
ing. The addition of his name alone more
than paid the tax commissioners salary
for the year.
Many Cities Interested.
Since the publication of the results of
Mr.. HOoker's campaign to discover taxable
property which is escaping taxation he has
received letters of inquiry from all parts of
the country from Portland Ore, to Man
chester. y. H.. assessing bodies asking for
information as to his methods. This has
given Mr. Hooker the idea that they should
be organized for mutual helpfuness.
"One of the principal objects of my trip
VIII he the agitation for a national aSso-
citation of tax commissioners and asses
sOrs, says Mr.. Hooker. IF l succeed in
interesting - .er men in this line of bust
ness. arrangements will be made for a
vention to be held in Milwaukee this win
ter, when an organization can be effected.
The object would be the mutual interchange
of information of benefit to the various
communities. 1t would mean an increase
of revenue to every community identified
with such a movement.
Under the present lack of uniform sys-
tenn whole fortunes are lost track of and
disappear from the tax rolls For instance,
man dies and his property is left to heirs
who reside in other cities. In the majority
OF instances the cities In which the heirs
live know nothing of the legacy. Under
plan such as l propose, if a man dies In
Milwaukee leaving stocks bonds or other
property to persons in other cities l would
sit down Immediately and send the facts to
those cities and the inheritance could be
put at once on their tax rolls.
A Notable Example.
Here is another example. A Milwau-
keean who lives part OF the year In Cali
fornia, and who is wealthy objected to
paying taxes this last year, saying that he
was a resident of California 1 asked him
under oath if he was paying taxes in Cali
fornia and he admitted that he was not.
told him that he must pay here then, and
he did. Next year, however, l shall have
no authority to put him on the rolls, as he
has given another place as his residence.
The right thing to do would be to send
certified copy of his testimony to the city
which he claims as his residence, but under
existing conditions II is not part of my duty
to forward the information.
If we had national association it would
be, and Milwaukee in turn would get the
benefit of information coming to light In all
the other cities of the United States 1t
would be an interchange of service which
would minimize the practice of tax doging,
and which would aid every city in keeping
track of the revenue to which ii IS entitled.
Naturally. 1t would ultimately decrease the
rate OF taxation.
Work Done in New York.
I'm investigating the methods employed
IN discovering holdings of stocks, bonds
and outside mortgages which are taxable,
l shall give special attention to the work
done in New York under Lawson Purdy.
an acknowledged authority the tax
dOdEer; in Cleveland where the employ
mcnt of tax ferrets under Mayor Tom
Johnson 5 administration has brought about
l,l in m
napolis where $lS,OCJOOO has been added
TO the rolls in five Years.
1t is time for Milwaukee to wake up
Indianapolis with less than half our popu-
lation. last year had assessed valuation
of S2O6 100000 land ours was SOL. 100000
The bulk of that was on real estate, placing
a premium on investments which do moth
Ing toward the upbuIlding of the city. The
laborer who is thrifty enough to buy a
little cottage and improve 1t pays his share
of the city S taxes and more than his share
because the millionaire who lives in "a
rented house too often escapes taxation
altogether. IN the thirty-four days allowed