The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-20
Then the whole had

ct for taxation. Then the whole had been averaged.
 Later in the meeting the record of this work was laid before the Board during the hearing of the Louisville and Nashville. with e great mass of de- was presented to the Board by Tax Agent Jones. who had assisted in its compilation.
 Goveronr Conner and Treasurer Seed complimented the Louisville and Nash- vile officials for making the most complete statement that mad been made, and informed the officials that they had all the information that was needed from that road.
 The incident of yesterdays hearing indicated something of the contest that is being waged by the State oficials and the railroads, not only before the State Board of Equalization. but before the Federal court as well. The compiled information given in yesterday, will figure before the court as well as be. fore the State Board.
 The court fight is to prove. on the part of the railroads, that on the actual valuation of their property, they cannot make a reasonable return In their proceedings they submit declaration as to the cost of the reproduction of the road. It Is expected that the State will c.-im that such valuation Is entirely too high and one that the roads will not be justified in making. As sub stantiating this claim. .ne State will quote the tax values as given in by the railroads, for the assessment of their property.
 Conflict of Interests.
 More than one attendant at the series of hearings before the State Board of Equalization, has compared the hearing n cro m a
 The State, if its financial interests were served, would make the value of the road very high on the tax books and very low in the court proceedings. The railroads, if their financial inter ests were served. would make the tax assessments very low and the court values very high.
 of the State Board of Equalization has been very slow. Only the small roads have been assessed. Not a single one of the big roads has had its tax value settled by the Board.
 On the contrary the Board has pushed before it the assessment of the big roads. This is due. however, to the desire of the members of the Board to get information which was not supplied by railroad officials who were in attendance upon the meetings OL tHc oOdiu-
 As a result. the Board has all of next week filled full of hard work in making the assessment. This work was materially increased yesterday when the Board had filed with 1t a great mass of figures relating to the value of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and relating to comparative assessments, within the State and without the State, and a comparison of the railroad assessment within Ala bama and the railroad assessment of other States. In addition, the vast array of figures wich the Board took away with it included the items re- iating to the bonded debt and securi- ties of the company, It's cost of repro duction and many other informing fig ures which had been laboriously gath cred.
 The Board was so tired from its earlier work that when MT. Jones came to read the figures the Governor and the other members stopped him to ask certain questions. He culled from his formidable presentation of certifi- cates such information as he thought