The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-04-06
FEW VATCA[SAN
CLOCKS |: ] K IN CITY
Also Only 43o Pianos Here, Ac-
cordii1g to Report Of Auditor
ofHP,lblic Accounts.
SOME CURIOUS FlG UREs
Personal Property iii Lynchburg
Ten Times as Valuablcas That
III Newport News.

INC report OF the Auditor OF Public
Accounts shows some curious compnri.
sons OF various forms OF personal prop
cry listed for taxation iii tho various
cll1cs or the State, and some inexpll-
cable variations in tho value of tlo
saino article. s'S
rake watches, for instance. The tax.
payers OF Richmond, ali Of whom com.
p:hed return for taxation only Oil
watches Of the aggregate value Of
S2o,l56, or an average or only Iabout
sE7. Roanoke reports 1851 watches
OF an aggregate value OF only $4,000
or an average OF only about $3.50 each.
Norfolk returns 1876 watches Of tho
value of s3S,o1O, or an average Of
about s2260. Danville reports 1876
watches, but their value Is only S17.oS--
or little over $40 per watch. Thus
foanoke men wear /. the cheapest
watches and Richmond men the finest.
Few Clocks in Richmond.
When 1T comes to clocks, Roanoke
leads the list with Danville close bo.
hind, indicating possibly that the resi-
dents of these cities take note OF time
mere than those of other cities Roam
oke has 2.176 clocks, but they nre
pretty cheap affairs. averaging only
about s2.6O in value. Danville has
zoos clocks, worth s4,9os or about
$3.50 each. Richmond reports only
$50 clocks-think OF it!-but they are
worth an average Of over SIG. Norfolk
has only 2i4 clocks. but they are
worth about 1898 on the average.
Roanoke leads the State in sewing
machines, returning for taxation q: total
OF 2'ss5' of the value of s26,551, or
less than $40 each. Danville comes
next. with 1886. worth '$1S.5SS, or
more than Sill each. Richmond has
only 4O5 machines, worth in all $3.50.
or about $3.50 each. The figures sug-
sest that the sewing machine agencies
are not hustling much in Richmond,
or that the owners are too busy sew
Ing to list their machines for taxation.
thermometers either buy cheaper
BOOKS or fewer of them than Norfolk,
for their value is only s50,1OO, COM
pared with s56.3so for little town
like Norfolk. for instance. Lynchburg
Genes third In the value of books, with
a total Of $4,000, or more money en-
pended for books per capita than either
Richmond or Norfolk by a large figure.
The value Of Roanoke books is less
than $4,000. and Buena vista's whole
supply is worth only $3.50.
Not Much Music, Either.
Richmond returns for taxation only
459 pianos, averaging less than 500
in value Roanoke. for some unac-
countable reason, leads In pianos. with
an average Of only SGT in value. In
th1s connection pianos and organs are
embraced linden the same head.
The values OF personal property Of
o1 t,1, i G
various cities shows some curious !
discrepancies. For Instance, Newport ,
News. though credited with over $4,000,
population. is assessed with only $685.
$50, all told. while Lynchburg, which
claims less population, pays taxes on
s6,OaSlS1. For that matter, Norfolk. |
which Is also somewhat Of a claimer
in the line Of population, pays taxes
on less than Lynchburg, returning only
s5,4S6,550. The personal property
owned BY Lynchburgers almost equals
that Of Norfolk and Newport News
combined with their population four
times as great. Roanoke, Alexandria |
stanton, Charlottesville, and Dan
personal property than the city Of
Newport News. Richmond, OF course
tops them all. with an aggregate value /
of personality Of s21,O6S,157.
Real Estate.
When 1t comes to real estate valua-
ton, the seaport cities arc In their cle-
ment the theory being that water being
SO abundant. land is higher than else
where. perhaps. Richmond, Of course,
comes first, with s4S,455.514; Norfolk
is second, with s32,923.35O; Newport
News third. with sS,s45.21O; Lynch
burg fourth, with ss.s24,005, and Roa-
noke fifth with $3.373.575. The others
rank in the following order: Peters.
burg. sixth; Danville. seventh; Ports
mouth. eighth: Alexandria, ninth;
Stanton. tenth; Manchester. eleventh;
Bristol. twelItn; and Charlottesville,
thirteenth.