The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-11-12
State Tax Commission Places
Assessment Of Kenosha R'y
Company at $4,000
PAY TAX OF $I565.58 TO CITY
M. r. and K. to Pay Town Of Somers
Almost as Much in Taxes as
Local Line Pays to City
This Year

The State Tax Commission Thursday
announced the final assessment of the
property Of the street railway com
panies of the state for 1908, the
amount of taxes each VIII have to pay,
and the names of the cities, villages
and towns to which the taxes will be
paid except the Is per cent. which goes
to the state. This is the first year
that the street railway companies are
taxed under the advalo1em system.
The Commission fixes the total value
Of the property of the roads at $685.
$4,000 Several months ago it made
preliminary valuation Of the prop
erty at $36,O98,0OO. The total taxes
levied are $500, 637.75, or about $780,
900 more than the roads paid under the
license fee system last year. Of the
total taxes of 1890, 637.75, the state
will receive $58,595.63 and the various
municipalities in which the property
is located $332,o42,12.
in the report Of the State Commits
sion the valuation of the property Of
the Kenosha Electric Railway Conn
pany is placed at 100000 and the total
tax to be paid by the company under
this valuation is $1,841. Under the
adyalorem tax system which is put
into operation this year the Kenosha
company will pay Is per cent. Of this
amount to the state and the amount to
be paid to the city Of Kenosha is ST.
565.58. Under the new plan for the
taxing Of the companies the city Of
Kenosha will receive about the same
amount of money as it received under
the old system.
Considerable surprise is expressed in
Kenosha on account Of the valuation
of the lines of the Kenosha company.
While it is in keeping with many of
the valuations made by the commission
of railways in other cities it is regard
ed as decidedly low in the light Of
revelations that have been made in the
past few years. When the line was
purchased by A. G. Frost two years
ago it is alleged that he paid for the
property more than 100000 more than
it is assessed for. Since that time
many extensions Of the lines in Keno
sha have been made and it is common
talk that more than half million dol
lars has been borrowed on the line by
Mr.. Frost. It is just possible that in
another year the State Commission
will have some material on which to
base the valuation of roads which will
result in much higher valuations. Dur
ing the past few months agents of the
Commission have been at work in Ke-
nosha and have secured great deal
Of information in regard to the prop
erty Of the Kenosha company, but it
is evident that this information was
not used in making the valuation for
the coming year.
The tax will not be paid directly to
the city but to the state treasurer and
he will return the amount payable to
the city after deducting the amount
that IS claimed by the state under the
present scheme for taxing the roads.
The only other portion of the report
interesting to Kenosha is the valuation
of the lines Of the Milwaukee, Racine
and Kenosba Electric Railway. This
company will pay the town of Somers
in taxes the sum Of $1,335.86. This
amount will come as a boost to the
tax roll of that town as in previous
years the town has collected nothing
as taxes from the Milwaukee Company.
The Milwaukee Company will pay the
city of Racine taxes of more than
$4,000 this year. This fact also
shows that the valuation of the Keno
sha line is decidedly low as the Mil
waukee company has only little over
twice as much mileage in Racine as
the Kenosha company has in this city,
but it pays the city of Racine nearly
ten times as much taxes as the Keno
sha line pays here.
No valuation is given under the re-
port for the Chicago and Milwaukee
Electric line, it having been taxed by
the regular State Railway Tax Act.