The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-09-10
REED GOES after
BELL c OMP AN Y
Mayor Of Portsmouth Thinks
His. City Does Not Get
Square Deal.
TAX HEARINGS ARE ENDED
No Appearance From Express or
Steamship Corporations
Operating in State.

Tax hearings before the Corporation
Commission OF Virginia were concluded
yesterday with statements from rep
resentatives Of the southern Bell Tel
Virginia and the Western Union and
Postal Telegraph Companies The com.
panies In the main expressed them
selves as satisfied with the assess
increase at this time. Express and
steamboat companies had been noti-
fed of the hearings. but no reprcsen
tatlves appeared, and they have there
fore lost their day in court 1t was
explained that in the case of the ex,
press companies there is little personal
property to be assessed. me iran
chise and mileage taxes are hxed by
cretionary with the Corporation Com
mission. There is practically no con-
tention over the basis of taxation of
steamboat companies and their mile
age IN Virginia waters
He'll Telephone Company.
]. William Crews, general CONNER
cial superintendent, and Brutus M Clay,
special Representative. appeared fof
the Bell Telephone and Tele aara1 Cons
in its written report. The company,
he stated, had returned all of it's real
estate and personal property, includ.
ing instruments. and switch1hoards' al
60 per cent of its cost, which, he un-
derstood. was about the average basis
of property taxation in Virginia
The commission he stated, had as
sessed the company last year IS per
mile for open wire, cables according to
capacity and conduits in cities at $1,000
per mile, making the entire assessment,
last year $1,076.0oO. as compared with
S1,o10,000 in the previous yean Mr..
Clay, in answer to a question from,
Judge Rhea. said he considered this
fair valuation of the physical proper
ties. In addition there is. fixed by law
tax OF l per cent. on the cornpanSs
gross receipts in Virginia. Judge Rhea
wanted to know why the report showed
the company's mileage reduced as COM
pared with the previous year, and Mr..
Clay explained that last year the com
pany, had reported in error as belonging
to 1t certain pole lines of the 4Ameri-
can Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany, known as the long distance line,
over which the Bell Company merely
rents certain rights of way. He was
crepancies to be charged hereafter to
the Ameritan Company.
Mayor Reed, of Portsmouth, protest.
ed against the valuation of the COM
pany's property in Portsmouth, seek
ing to show discrepancies between the
system of valuation of the Portsmouth
properties and those of Norfolk and
Norfolk county. Mr.. Clay answered
were MANY toll lines, which ran out
side of the city limits into Norfolk
county, but which were included in the
report of the Norfolk exchange It
was impossible, he said to draw an
| exact line OF demarcation around an
exchange
He admitted that the Sixth and Sew
enth Wards, recently taken in by the
for taxation as still in the county, and
that the report should be corrected so
as to include the poles and wires and
other property in those sections as in
l y, De-. 81, -
date of the annexation. The exchange
In Portsmouth Mr. Clay said, had cost
| about $4,000, and was assessed at SIS,
| 600 or so per cent which Mayor Reed
admitted was a fair valuation. Still
the Mayor couldn't see how the COM
pany reconciled its valuations in Nor
folk and Portsmouth, and asked the
commission to require the company to
produce it's books. so that the COM
| mission might ascertain the real value
OF the company's personal property in
| Portsmouth
do you know Of any untaxed tele-
phone property In Portsmouth" Judge
answered that he did not, but that
the companys agents had made state
ments Of large value of property owned
at the time 1t took over the Southern
States Telephone Company He asked
again that the company be required to
Introduce its Jumbo" book, in which
property is listed
Judge Prentis held that an exami.
nation of books kept In Atlanta was
unnecessary.
counted he said sa a. sSe' th hheEe w TO
have gotten a fair valuation of the
proper propertyi, You You admit that the real
you assign policeman to ascertain
whether they have made proper re.
Turns OF the number of poles ana
in m, gag e. of wire? i is all right there
books to tell us how much there is.
We know the cost of poles and wires,
/ 1t Is matter Of record, and Of COM
mon knowledge. What we want to
i ted in this list"
Mayor Reed agreed to check M
the visible property OF the company
IN portsmouth and report to the. COM
Value of Steamship.
Although no one appeared for the
l Old dominion Steamship Company
Judge H. p; Montague, Commonw ealth's
A AZ ,ay OF elizabeth City county, ask
ed leave to file certain Information
Us to the assessment on the steamer
Luray, the only vessel Of the comnnnv
toucnlng MS county. The steamer, ia
sag 50 e. mac FOR years been returned at
$4,000, While he thought ii should nnt
be assessed at less than $4,000. He
Wlll present further figures on Tues
uay, when he Is also to be further
nearu as 10 the assessment of the New
port News and Old Point Railway
i Company. '''
]. Parker stith, chief clerk OF the To-
cal ONCE Of the Western Union Tele-
i sraph company, appeared in the alb
sence OF Superintendent Calvert, who
was reported as being sick. Mr.. Stith
sala there had been practically no
change In conditions with his COM
pany since last year. either as to guam
tity or value.
The wire, he said, was assessed at
$l0 mile, and costs approximately
$lo mile, new. Poles, he said cost
1 from 70 cents to S1.25 delivered, be-
sides the cost of setting them up and
I TABOR or stringing lines. The poles
run thirty to the mile, and are valued
Tor taxation at $50 per mile. which he
considered amply high, II not excessive,
The total valuation Of tho company in
the State is $461527.
Postal Stands Pat.
4 Representatives OF the Postal Tele.
sraph and Gable Company reported
that there had been no extensions OF
us lines In Virginia for tho past year,
and the company asked for the same
valuation as heretofore-wire at $40 a
mile and poles at $50 per mile.
President and General Manager Gar
rett, OF the F'luYanna and James River
/ Telephone Company. reported for his
| company, an independent farmers, line,
operating in five counties,
Chairman Prentls then announced
r. n i ina. ~,