The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1910-10-29

CONTINUED From Page One.)
mittee reported, recommending
uniform assessment of railroads l.
all counties at the rate of SLABS
a mile for first class roads, $40,
$50 a mile for second class roads
and 1920 a mile for third elias
roads. They requested the tal
commission to classify the rail
roads, which the commission pro
ceeded to do.
Not all of the assessors attend
ed this convention. So the tax com
mission transmitted its classifi
cation of the roads to all the as
SCISSORS and called attention to the
action of the convention. The
commission also urged all assess
ors to assess all property on a &C
per cent basis.
Most of the assessors adopted
the agreed scale of values.
Two assessors, those of Snoho.
mish and Stevens counties, decided
that the agreed values for rail.
roads were disprOportiOnately be.
low the values nj which they were
assessing other property, so they
adopted n higher scale. The as.
SCISSOR of Snohomish county assess.
cd the Great Northern main line AT
$50, 300 "a mile instead OF S14,25O.
the agreed scale. The assessor of
Stevens county assessed the SpO.
kane Falls Il Northern branch OF
the Great Northern, a third class
line, at S1O,560 a mile instead OF
5000. These assessments were
still les sthan 40 per cent of the
value of the roads as now official.
Iy determined. But they increased
the taxes of the Great Northern
railroad by some $4,000 in eacf
county.
So the railroads resisted thu
assessments and went into court
In doing os its attorneys advanced
two surprising propositions. One
was that the tax commission, with
out having found it out, possessed
the power to give mandatory or
ders establishing the assessors
convention scale, which orders
binding upon the assessors.
These pleadings i'm the Stew
sAA' hOtAHN 'hFS WIZ DaAH'tN
upon by Judge Sullivan of
Spokane county, who decided
for the railroad. The Snoho-
mish county case was passed
upon by Judge Black of that
county, who decided for the
county. Both cases were APP
pealed and the supreme court,
in an opinion by Rudkin, held
with the railroad company.
These appeals were argued for
the railroad company i'm the
supreme court by Nj. j.. Cor
don.
The Stevens county case was
dropped. The Snohomish county
case went back to Judge Black.
who tried it on the facts to ascer-
tain whether the commission had
eve actually issued such orders.
Members of the tax commission APP
peared in the trial as witnesses
and testified that they had never
assumed that they possessed man.
datory powers owe assessors, that
they had never, up to that time,
determined the value of railroad
property, that they had eve in
tended to and had never issued or
ders to the assessors establishing
q value for assessment purposes.
Judge Black found with the coun-
ty and against the railroad COM
pany, in accordance with this tes-
timOny. The railroad again ap-
pealed, and the supreme court re-
unW4an nInaIr aUIa.V ~ H.
railroads taxes be reduced as pray
ed for by the company.
These decisions aroused a de-
gree of establishment on the part
of the tax commissioners and
other taxing officials amounting
to CONSERVATION. Many theories
were advanced privately in an eff
fort to account for them.
After the Stevens county case
was settled Gordon rendered the
treasurer of the county a draft in
payment of the company's taxes,
which was returned dishonored.
Later the company paid these tax
es a second time.
About the same time, the sum-
mer of 1908, Gordon, represent
ing the railroad company, settled
by stipulation, a damage suit
brought by one James Sparrow
against the company, agreeing to
a judgment for $4,000. Gordon
received a draft from the company
to Sparrow for this amount, the
attorneys for Sparrow signed it,
Gordon casl-cd it and did not pay
Sparrow the money. Sparrow's
attorneys filed the stipulation,
took a judgment for the Amount,
and later the company paid it for
the second time.
Meanwhile Gordon had
been relieved from duty by
the company, and the report
became current that he had
embezzled a large amount.
Facing this accusation, Cor
don went to Nuzum a. Nu-
Eum, Spokane attorneys, and
turned over to them a mass
Of correspondence and docu-
ments of an discriminating
character.
Just what these documents are
the people of Washington have
never been permitted to know.
We have only hearsay testimony,
but some of this is very damag-
ing.
With this corresnondence in his