The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1911-04-28
RAILROADS TO GET
FAIR TREATMENT
Equalization Board Will Not Fellow
Policy of Fixing Arbitrary Valu-
ations on Railroad Property.

Oklahoma City, April 22.-That the
state board of equalization will not
follow the policy of previous boards
in fixing arbitrary valuations upon
railroad and other public service prop
critics far in excess of valuations of
private property. is made plain by
statements of Governor Cruce and
other members of the board.
The railroads and Pullman company
were heard before the board yester-
day and virtually every representative
of these corporations stated they have
no particular objection to the assess
ments fixed by the board last year if
individual property is assessed sub
stantially upon the same basis, or ap-
proximately at its fair cash value. Fol
lowing the first statement of the Katy
railroad in Oklahoma, Governor Cruce
said:
You will find no opposition on this
board, Mr. Jackson, to your idea that
dll plOpSlly ouOulu bCdi llS JUST dhu
equal burden of taxation. This board
will attempt to establish this basis as
nearly as possible. If the counties
come up here with uniform basis of
taxation as to the various classes of
property in the county this board will
make a uniform raise to the acutal
cash value of the property"
Governor Cruce stated that the
board is unable to adjust inequalities
between individual assessments in var
ious counties but he expressed the de-
termination, as did several other mem
bers of the board, to require that the
various county boards make their re-
turns upon basis approximately the
actual sale value of the property as
required by the constitution and laws
of the state.
1t was shown by figures presented by
representatives of the katy and the
Santa Fe railroads that in previous
years the individual property of the
state has been taxed at only about 81
per cent of its actual market value
To such a basis the railroad repre-
sentatives strenuously objected, al
though all but one or two stated that
they would be satisfied with the as
sessments placed upon them last year
If other property of the state is as
sessed on the same basis.
John W. Shartel, vice president of
the Oklahoma Railway company, who
served on Governor Haskells special
tax commission, expressed the opinion
that legislative and not executive re-
form is needed. He stated that private
property in Oklahoma county is as
sessed at about 35 cents on the dollar
and expressed the opinion that any at
tempt to place valuations on the basis
of 100 per cent would be disastrous to
the tax payers until the legislature
places lower maximums on the tax
levies that may be made.
He stated that if the limits on levies
were made low enough, the assessors
would be compelled to return property
at its actual value in order to raise
enough revenues to run local govern
ment
Those who appeared before the
board were; Clifford l.. Jackson of
Muskogee, general attorney, and C. S.
Sherwin of Dallas, Tex, tax commits
sioner of the Missouri, Kansas G.
Texas; w. E. Barnhart of Kansas City, |
right-of-way and tax commissioner of
the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient;
Lewis Thirnton of Muskogee, auditor
of the Muskogee, Oklahoma & Gulf;
b. F. Mulligan of the tax department |
of the Rock Island; r. IT, Booth, real |
estate and tax agent Of the Frisco; w. |
M. Bushnell, general manager of the |
Fort Smith & Western; E. M. Alvord |
of Muskogee, vice president and gen
eral manager of the Midland Valley; |
John w. Shartel of Oklahoma City, |
vice president of the Oklahoma Rail- |
way and Associated Interurban lines;
George G. Ward of Kansas City, tax
auditor of the Kansas City Southern;
S. T. Bledsoe of Cottingham & Bled- |
soc, Oklahoma City, general attorneys
Of the Santa Fe and the Pullman COM
pany.