The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-04

was porishable and that which was not perfshAble, was assessed at from $is.oo0.o00 to $2s.o0o.0ooo.
 Deg Increase in Taxes.
 Some time after MT. Rich had finish- ed the submission of the case of the Mobile Jackson and Kansas City, the Board fixed its assessment Accord ing to custom, the Board Jumped its equipment and trackage and fixed the assessment at $7,200 a mile for it's main line and s1,s0O mile for its side track. This was considerable in- crease over the previous assessment of the road.
 Next to take the witness stand was John T. Cochran. the well known young business man of Tuscaloosa, Who has built two important branch tiiles in the State in recent years. He wss there to give testimony to help thN Board in fixing the value of his road in Pickens county, known as the Carrollton Short Line, and his road in Washington county. known as the Tombigbee Valley.
 Alabama. Tennessee and Northern was purely local line. dependent entirely upon local business. It was twenty one mile long and had been built err tirely by local capital The road had succeeded in making some money not much. but some. It ran through a hne country and had cost $S.000 a mile.
 The road until the previous year had been assessed at $3,0oo a mile. He failed to attend the meeting of the State Board of Equalization and as a result the Board raised that assess. ment to $4.000 a mile. He asked that 1t be restored to its old figure
 When the Board held its executive session during the afternoon, MT. Cochran's assessment was neither re- duced nor increased. The road was left assessed at 5000 a mile.
 The Tombigbee Valley Road. Mir. Cochran said. had never paid a cent. He had never drawn from 1t any inter- est on his stock or any amount in sal- ary His expense money had even come from other sources The basis of the road had been a log road twelve miles in length. He had changed this from narrow gauge road to a stand- ard gauge road and he had removed all the old trestles, of which, because of the nature of the country. there were good many. He had increased the road until now 1t was twenty-nine miles in length.
 When the road started" said Mr. Cochran. "it began nowhere and end- ed nowhere It has, however, devel- oped the country and we look forward to the time when we will be able to connect the Carrollton Short Line and the Tombigbee Valley"
 Governors Suggestion Goes.
 The Governor suggested that the Carrollton Short Line might be as- sessed at $4.000 mile and the Tom. bigbee Valley at $2.500 a mile, the lat ter being an increase. To this MT. Cochran entered objection. But this was the assessment of the two lines at the afternoon session.
 In concluding his talk to the Poard Mir. Cochran said:
 You gentlemen of the Board have discretionary powers in the fixing of these assessments I want to tell you that there is no better place to use that discretion than In helping out a home enterprise. Governor, I think you ought to send a message to the Legis- iature recommending that all infant railroads be freed from taxes until they were able to stand alone"
 That might be a good idea" was the response, but would you guaran- tee that they would not charge me with trying to get my cotton mill in under the exemptionT
 E. T. Wise appeared before the Board and gave it distinct surprise, as representative of the ChoctAw and Sumter Railroad, short line connect ing Choctaw and Sumter County The assessment was considered so generous that the Board accepted 1t before Mir. Wise left the stand.
 MT. Wise explained that he was only an employe of the road. and he had in- sisted that the owners send in A lower assessment. but they had refused. They were prominent saw mill people of West Alabama and they put valua- tion on the road which the Board con- sidered sufficiently high. The road until recently has been log road and was just now trying to grow into a railroad.
 The owners are willing to give it in for sS.5O0 mile and the Board i'm. mediately O. K'd the assessment.
 Paid Good Price For Gap.
 Cecil Browne, of Talladega, appeared for the Atlanta, Birmingham and At lantic and the Board was so impressed with his statement of the value of the little short line the company owped in Talladega County that they endorsed the tax valuation the company put up on its property.
 The road at present was only twen- ty-three miles long. but the company was going to abandon all but seven miles of that. The company had paid d good price for the road because it occupied the only gap in the Talladega Mountains. through which the propos- ed system had to run. If lhe compa- ny had had to build another track through the mountains. MT. Browne estimated that 1t would have crossed the little road no less than fifteen times.
 The company had paid $325,000 for the road and it's second hand equip ment. It was now assessed at $5.0O0 a mile and MT. Browne was quite will ing to let that assessment stand. The Board was equally willing and the as. sessment will be in force another year
 On reconvening at 3:3n o'clock in the afternoon, the Board went into execu- tive session, at which the figur es and submitted at tho morning session were considered. and at which the assessments were fixed
 The Birmingham and Atlantic was next up for the Boards study. The and Atlantic Is little road running from Talladega to Pell City. It's cause was presented to the Board by Kelly Dixon. a Talladega attorney. The Board was not. howev- CT. willing to pass upon the road at yesterdays meeting so it went over un- til the next gathering of tthe Board
 The greater portion of the afternoon was taken up with discussion of the Nashville Chattanooga and St. Louls' Tennessee railroad, which owns, sev- eral branch lines along the Tennessee River and near Huntsville.
 Owned By the l.. & N.
 It developed that the Louisville and Nashville Railroad owned a controlling interest in the road. It was mixed property, too, for the board discovered that while one division had made mon ey. there was another branch line of