The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-04-19
athb0 IL 1--WE OIB
Tax Commissioner Cartilage Be-
fore Railway Assessors.
Lieutenant Governor Fitzgerald
as an IntsrrOgater.
HE HIT STRAIGHT OUI
Told Railroad Man His Estimates
Were Wrong.
Had Attempted to Testify About
Cattle Assessment.
HE HIT STRAIGHT OUT

E. T. Cartilage. tax commissioner Of
the Santa Fe railway. is having busy
day today before the state board OF
railroad assessors
He undertook TO capitalize the cat
tie business, the farm business and
the railroad business of Kansas, and
compare the gross earnings on his
figures, cattle earned 3s5 per cent on
the assessed valuation. farms $50 per
cent on the assessed valuation, and the
Santa Fe railway 100 per cent on the
assessed valuation.
This didn't go with the members Of
the board
do you mean TO come up here,
said Lieutenant Governor Fitzgerald
"and tell me about the earning IN the
cattle business Let me tell you that
I have been in the cattle business Tor
25 years. and I know your figures are
wrong"
Il took the gross receipts OF the
cattle industry from Coburn's report. ="
said Mr.. Cartilage.
Il don't care where you got them,
replied MI Fitzgerald 4 think that
these reports gotten out by our ce-
partments are all subject 10 careful con-
sideration. When a man gets right up
against II. he will find out mighty
soon that there is not big profit in the
cattle business Out in the cattle rails
Ing country YOU Will not md more
than one man in every $50 OF 200 that
has not gone broke on cattle You
haven't considered that the gross re-
ceipts for cattle represent the capital
stock of the whole business as well;
that the gross receipts represent the
same trade repeated several times
Mr. Cartilage then went on with his
deductions from the premise he had
established. and showed that in the
state of Kansas cattle are assessed at
3 per cent of their real value, land at
Is per cent ard the Santa Fe railroad
at IS per cent Mr.. Cartilage had
page after page Of typewriter figures
TO provo MS statements. but after Mr.
Fitzgerald had frozen the theory 50
hard. the figures looked somewhat
froSt-bitten-
Santa Fe Hasn't Any Money.
How did il happen" asked one of the
assessors of Mr. Cartilage. that the
Santa F'e did not return any money for
taxation2''
We didn't have any" replied Mr..
what about the thousands and thou
sands of dollars that must have been in
the hands of your agents throughput
thais state on March / OF this year," 2
There was not enough money in our
possession to pay the bills for which we
were liable. I asked the treasurer for
a statement Of the cash on hand on
March l. and he reported that there was
none
do you claim that you are entitled
to onset your debts against your cash
on hand?'' asked Mr.. Fitzgerald
Yes, they would certainly be an Of
set"
Does the farmer get an offset for his
money in the bank because he has a
mortgage on his placer" asked Mr.
Fitzgerald
This seemed to be a proposition which
the Santa Fe tax department had fall
n n take into r0TSiIara rf11-
Offer 10 Accept $4,000.
The board went to digging into the
capitalization and bonded debt Of the
road It wound up with an offer from
Mr. Cartilage TO accept assessment on
the property OF the company on basis
OF s41. 600 a mile actual value. with the
same reduction in each county that is
given to other property IN the county
Mr.. Cartilage stated that 81. 900 rep
resented the bonds and stock per mile
of road. less the bonds and stock not
represented by the road
Can't Tell the Real VaIue.
W. r Smith. general attorney for the
Santa Fe, was present. and took part
IN the Investigation both as attorney
and witness. Among other things Mr..
Smith declared that the road had tried
70 find out what II is really worth. and
gave II up as a bad job
The question was brought up by Mr..
Cartilage who said
I'VE must determine the value Of a
road in one OF three ways. by its earn
ing capacity. its stocks and bonds. and
the cost Of reproduction have been
tax commissioner Of the Santa Fe for
so years. and I have never been called
upon for the real value OF the proper
~. 1t would be an endless Job to as
certain what the property is worth"
What about these values you have
put into This report you make to the
state AUDITOR" was asked by one Of
the board
7 am not required to put in those
values. II is just a custom The law
doesn't require # The blanks are
there in the form sent out by the au-
ditor. and I I'll IN the blanks. but the
figures do not represent the value OF