Omaha daily bee., 1908-04-24
FINISH ASSESSMENT WORK
Valuation of Sugar in Warehouses
Principal Bone of Contention.
HARD1Ns FIGURES REDUCED
Board Decides only such as Was Not
shipped Out for Sale Was Sub
ject TO Taxation I'm
Council Bluns.

The city council completed its work as
Board of Review last night and APP
proved the assessment of personal prop
erty as fixed by City Assessor Hardin
after several changes of more or less inn
portance had been made. AS the assess
ment Of personal property now stands.
It will be about 100000 in excess OF that
of last year. Real estate is not newly
assessed this year, the assessment of the
previous year standing
The matter which provoked the longest
discussion was the assessment of the
sugar from the Colorado factories which
had been stored in warehouses in this
city and which is now being shipped out
for distribution to eastern points. As
SCISSOR Hardin had assessed the Great
Western sugar company $4,000 and the
American Beet Sugar company $4,000.
The companies had protested against these
assessments Both County Attorney Hess
and City Solicitor Kimball had given. their
opinions on the question both holding that
the sugar which was really in transit
could not be taxed here. In May. 1907,
the city council at the request of the
warehouse owners of this city, adopted
resolution agreeing not to tax any sugar
which might be stored here and which
was actually in transit. Two years ago
the sugar firms paid on an assessment Of
$4,000 and this spring paid on an as
sessment of $4,000.
Grape Growers Protest.
j. P. Hess for the Grape Growers asso-
citation. Secretary Reed of the Commercial
club and County Attorney Hess appeared
before the board and urged that the sugar
be not assessed. ]. p. Hess said that
unless the tax was cancelled not a pound
oF ho in InFf
next year and the warehouses would
stand empty The sugar men would find
plenty of places to store their product
where 1t would not be taxed. Mr. Hess
said Des Moines a year ago was after
the storage of this sugar and was still
after It and had promised not TO tax it.
Mr. Hess said that only $500 worth of
the sugar stored here had been sold To-
cally and upon this the companies were
willing, he believed, to be assessed, but
not upon that which was in transit.
County Attorney Hess stated that the
sugar was not stored here for the pur-
pose of escaping taxation. 1t was stored
here because the companies did not have
the facilities for storage of such quantities
at the factories II the council persisted
In taxing the sugar he declared. 1t would
result in driving this business from Council
The matter was finally adjusted by the
board deciding to assess the Great Western
company 5000 and the American Beet COM
pany $1,000. Mr. Hess said he believed
the companies would offer no objection
to paying on this assessment even IL It was
a little over what they had sold locally.
The assessment OF the stock Of the First
National bank. which had been assessed
at s26O,OOO, was allowed to stand, City
Solicitor Kimball advising the board that
the bank could not claim as an offset the
government bonds which 1t owned.
Mr. Hardin reported that individual
stockholders OF the First NaSional bank
claimed deductions on account Of debts, as
follows:
J. w. Perry Of ST. Louis 100 off $50
shares: Clara B. Hart, 100 off 900 shares
z. e. Hart $50 off $50 shares; T. G.
Turner, 100 off 100 shares; F. G. Spooner
10 off 10 shares; Emmett Tinley, 80 off 50
shares; Frank Blank 40 off 80 shares: G.. H.
Mayne IL off II shares; E. Canning. off
shares.
Deducting these s72 shares from the 1000
shares issued will leave but 1873 shares to
be taxed.
The board overruled the objection OF the
c. Hafer Lumber company to the increase
OF its assessment to $4,000. The new office
building of the Day & Hess company was
reduced from 5000 to 5000 few other
minor charges were made