The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-01-30
RAILROADS OF
MICHIGAN TO
OPEN TAX WAR
Will Demand Revaluation of Prop
erty in the Entire State or
Stop the Paying
Of Taxes.
OSBORN URGES QUICK ACTION
Proposed Action Of Companies Would
Affect Many Schools and Cover
nor Advises Examination In
TO Tax Conditions.

Lansing. Mich, Jan. 3O.-The rail-
roads are preparing to move on the
legislature. For months their experts
have been digging into tax conditions
In the state and there is a vast vol
ume of figures ready to show that the
railroads are paying more than their
Just share of the taxes because OF the
differentiation of the general property
OF the state.
For several weeks there has been
much anticipation i'm the capital ~.
to the exact demands to be made by
the railroads. The attorneys for the
companies have been going over the
situation carefully. Now it comes
from a reliable source that they will
demand a complete revaluation of the
state by the state tax commission,
supporting the demand with the fig
ures collected under the direction of
Orin Bolt and Ira Sayre, and that il
the legislature does not comply with
the demand they will refuse TO pay
their June taxes and force the state
to sue.
No matter how the suit should be
decided, it would mean that hundreds
Of the schools i'm the state would not
be able to open for the fall term and
local taxes will be necessary to keep
the others open.
While that particular phase has not
entered into the discussion out here
far fu In,
companies and telephone and tele-
graph companies will join with the
railroads in the fight, although the tel
ephone companies are still fighting the
ad valorem bill in the courts and
have not yet paid any taxes under it's
provisions.
Gov. Osborn is cognizant of the in
tentions of the railroad and i'm order
TO relieve the situation somewhat he
is urging the erection of a non-par-
tisan board of tax experts to examine
in detail tax conditions in the state.
Urges Hasty Legislation.
The governor has had a long con-
ference on the subject with several of
the senator's and has urged them to
take steps at once to forestall action
by the railroads by hurrying the pas
sage of legislation either creating the
commission he suggested or increas-
ing the powers of the state tax COM
mission and giving the commission
such additional help as is needed to
properly do the work
Just when the matter will come to
a head is not certain, but IL is likely
to break when the house taxation COM
mittee takes up the mining taxation
hearing on Feb. Z. One significant
feature of the situation is that the
state tax commission will join with
the railroads i'm the demand. greatly
strengthening the position OF the COM
panies.
The farmers i'm both houses, but
particularly in the lower house, don't
like the way the situation is lining
up, and they are frankly up in the air
as to what course to pursue.
If new valuation is made IL will
greatly increase the valuations on
farm lands and take more taxes from
the farmers. and IL they fight the
proposition in the legislature and the
railroads are successful in court. the
farming districts will be the ones to
suffer most by the loss of the pri-
mary school money.
Some of the railroad attorneys have
favored the proposition of Senator
Miller for complete division of state
and county taxes, and IL this measure
Is pushed they may accept IL as a
substitute for their plan and join i'm
urging it's passage.