The San Francisco call., 1908-09-06
Assessing the Pullman Cars.
Sacramento Bee.


1t has been repeatedly published
that the state board of equalization is
suing the Pullman car company for
taxes on the difference in the number
Of its cars which were reported to- be
in the state by the county assessors
and the number OF cars which the Pull
man company represented to the state
board of equalization to be the aver
age running equipment of it's lines in
this state.
The Pullman company made declara-
ton TO the board that the number of
SS.9S3 standards and 4S.o40 tourists.
BY obtaining figures from the assess
ors OF each county on a certain day. it
was FOUND that the actual number of
Pullman cars in operation In the state
was lao standard cars and So tourists
various actions have been declared to
have been based on these findings.
State Controller Nye makes the fol-
lowing explanation of the subject:
The story which has been going the
rounds In some of the newspapers
about the counting of the cars of the
SCISSORS is a mixture OF truth and error
largely the latter. In the first place,
sonally a lot of credit, which I do not
claim; I had no more to do with 1t
than other members OF the board Of
equalization. Then 1t is represented in
"
that the pending suit against the Pull
man company for collection of taxes is
based on the evidence secured through
could not possibly be so. because the
count was made on the first Monday Of
March. 1908, and the taxes sued for are
those Of last year.
The facts are briefly these: Last
year the Pullman company replied that
1T was operating lines In California
standard anS 10 AZ 7oa 1n',rst eolLS
AS everybody knows now. the state
board of equalization last year made
Company. raising it from about $500. 900
to q little over s1.600.000. A rehearing
was demanded, but the board refused
to reduce the assessment; then the
Hntsd states eons ASKING lo for fee re
straining order. but was defeated;
after that it refused to pay it's taxes
in consequence of which 1t is now being
"This year the state board wanted
to find out just how many cars the
Pullman company was really running
SCISSORS were directed to take the names
and numbers of all Pullmans. both
standard and tourists. in their respeet-
day ip March. They found 140 standard
cars and 81 tourists. The Pullman
company's own report for this year
was ssass L,sS standards ard and aso4o tour
to be required to "fll" the lines in
California this year. 1t will be seen
that, the number of cars actually found
in the state exceeded very largely the
number reported by the company.
When the company came before the
board this year there was no denial of
the accuracy of the figures of the
county assessors, but it was main
tained that the company's figures rep
resented the average for the year
while the assessors count was made
at the time of year when the tourist
travel Is at It's height and the number
OF cars in California is exceptionally
large.
1.-The state board decided to make a
moderate increase of the Pullman
assessment over the figures of last
year. and doubtless 1t would have
made a larger increase but for the fact
that 1t appeared that last wears Pull
man assessment was a rather heavy
one. My own personal conclusion was
that the Pullman company is not as
sessed any more than 1t ought to be-
but some other railroad comnanies and
great many other large corporations
are nayinR. on much less than they
should pay"