Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-28
Assessors and Assessments.

Assessors and Assessments.
In lieu of the performance by the House
Of its constitutional duty to legislate con-
siderately and wisely to promote the cap
ital's welfare. some of the Districts leg
islators are using the Districts time TO
engage in the enjoyable diversion of bait
ing the District assessors. This sport Is
the fashion periodically on Capitol Hill.
When Tom Johnson was on the House
District committee he Investigated and
prodded and bullyragged on single tax
lines until unimproyed real estate. with
its uncarned increment, was boosted high
up in the assessment scale Later Rep
rese1tative Odell of New York, when a
member of the House, investigated and
braced up the assessments on many of
the properties which on the single tax
theory should be lightly burdened, or not
burdened at all. As a result of these
and other boostings along varied lines
the Washington real estate assessments
make delusive showing of real estate
values here in excess of those shown in
much larger and richer American cities
Thus in order to sustain on the two
thirds basis Washington real estate
assessment of s2J5. 81, 1874 in 1907, the as
SCISSOR in effect reports real estate in
" Washington in individual owners and tax
payers OF $3S2.9S7,251 in value. In the
same year in the group of cities approx
imating Washington in size the assessors
In the respective cities valued the total
taxable real estate of Baltimore at 1887
A2l.sd1; Cleveland, $o94. SOS, 7l6; Buffalo.
Sis'.sI4.s92: Detroit. s24l.373.7IO, Cincin-
natl. SI17.c17.2Csi; Milwaukee, 5000. OPS 800:
New Orleans. sl3O.a7S.92S: Newark, so46,-
6l4,1Sl: Minneapolis, $685. 21, 7sS; Jersey
City. so4s.162,O52: Louisville, s14s, so:
Indianapolis, $ls5.316.O3J, and St Paul,
S163. I39 COO
1t appears. therefore that the Wash
-ington assessor reported greater real es-
tate values in that year in Washington
Than were reported in any other city OF
the group except Buffalo.
Comparisons between Washington and
other cities i'm real estate valuations by
the assessors should be affected by the
fact that the large industrial establish
ments which elsewhere contribute most
heavily to the city's wealth are here i'm
. large measure non-existcnt save in the
= form of government institutions, which
arc not lIicfuucU III the tdAdDIe proper
: ties. since the governments holdings are
(; exempt from assessment. Hence when
. Washington is compared in respect to
taxable real estate valuations with such
busy industrial centers as Detroit, Mil
waukee and Cleveland. the local total Of
! taxable valuation. representing an al
most exclusively non-industrial commu-
nifty. stands against the totals of cities
where are scores, even hundreds, of mills
and shops and factories. representing
and producing enormous values.
It is obviously absurd to maintain that
the taxed fraction of non-industrial
Washington is undervalued by the asses
sor when 1t Is valued as worth $SS 2SS, $50
more than the whole of Cleveland, with
its great industrial establishments and its
population 1896 larger than that of the
District: and as worth $141, 613,J41 more
than the whole of the great city of De-
troit, and as worth $4,, SO. $50 more than
: the whole of wealthy, prosperous, busy,
industrial Baltimore.
The present criticism OF the assessor is
that the same rate of assessment is not
applied to the costly palaces erected by
wealthy winter residents as to the two
story brick houses, the homes of the poor.
Investigation will doubtless show that
seeming discrepancies in these assess
ments result frequently not from the
deliberate application by the assessor Of
any different rate of assessment to the
palace. but from the assessors honest
opinion of different relation i'm the two
classes of buildings between the actual
value and the cost. The small house is
economically built and for il there are
many customers. With the cost of build
ing increasing every year. it's actual value
on the market and its taxable value may
be equal TO its cost.
The cost of the palace includes on the
other hand a hundred luxuries and "trip
peries and expensive personal whims Of
tho owner which figure not at all in its
actual market value. even with the very
few customers who san afford to buy
such structure.
Tn fact that Washington real estate
assessments arc in tho aggregate very
high is not guarantee, OF course that
no inequalities of assessment exist.
Washington assessments must be uni
form, and the disclosure of any Sc
Sricps discrepancies in assessment is a
: public service All Washington taxpay-
Scrs Will be interested in the correction
OF determinations in assessment. If any
: that are grave really exist. But the
public demand is for the prompt expo
suye Of the specific cases in the minds Of
tile critics. The public has no patience
with vague slurring accusations unac-
compa MED by specific evidence.
Inequalities of assessment exist every
where in this taxed world: but the tenure
Of office and the independence of local
influence given by law TO the local as
SCISSOR tend to reduce to a minimum such
inequalities in the District: and the heavy
total valuation returned By the assessor
raises the suggestion that no gross I'M
derassessments mar the Districts record