Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-10-17

are in connection with the state board
OF equalization, Of which body / am,
rs governor, member and the presi-
dent. Commenting in numerous places
upon actions Of the board he has
charged that such actions have been in
tho iEtcresfD Of the railroad corpora
tons of the state, have lessened the
propcrucnatc taxes the railroad COM
panics have paid. and that, while ap-
parently great increase has been
made in ~. assessment Of the railroad
companies, such increase has not been
proportionate to that made in other
classes of taxable property In the
state.
Regards Charge ~ Serious.
, This is serious charge and, IL
true, would either condemn the sys-
tenn that have insisted upon in re-
gard to valuation OF property, or
| would brand myself and other men,
bers Of the board as being tools Of the
railroad companies. Charges Of this
kind made by any man should only
find utterance after careful examina-
ton and full investigation. Coming
from candidate for a high position,
the people naturally would think that
such examination and investigation
had been made and the public would
he inclined to give credence to the
charges for that reason. Mr.. Martin
has evidently made his charges with
| out an inspection Of the records or an
investigation Of the matters involved.
The wish with him has been father
to the thought. He has evidently
taken the transformation given him
by other parties. accepted It as true
and scattered the vilest ISLANDERS, not
only with reference to myself but also
to the other members of the state
board Of equalization, broadcast
throughout the state
All that is required so far as this
most important charge made by him
is concerned, is to take the official
figures as shown by the books OF the
state auditors office and compare
those of 1909 and 1910 with those Of
1911 and 1912 and thus come to q con-
clusion. In 1909 the aggregate as
sessment roll of the state of Idaho was
s120.S1s,434 and Of this amount there
was assessed against the railroad com
panies of the state $21,552,261, making
sessment Of the state was $127.O56,075
and Of this the railroad companies
were assessed $22,792,475 and so we
find that In 1910 as in 1909 the proper
ton that the railroad companies paid
of the entire state and county taxes
was II per cent. Let us compare these
figures with the two succeeding years
during which l have occupied the no.
sition of governor and president Of
the state board of equalization In
1911 the assessed value of Idaho was
s329,7s4,7s1 and Of this the railroad
companies were assessed $734Sll26
and the proportion Of the state and
county taxes paid by the railroad com
panies was 22 per cent. In 1912 the
entire assessment of the state we
found was $41S.769.59G. Of which there
is charged to the railroad companies
ss4,oo6.o73. thus showing that In this
year the railroad companies paid Fl
per cent of the state and county taxes
This Is small reduction over the
amount paid in 1911, but by reason OF
the amendments to the revenue bill
passed by the Legislature at my sug-
eestion during the extraordinary ses-
SION there was large increase In the
assessment of the banks Of the state.
and. through the efforts Of the spe
cial agents of the state board of
equalization, the county assessors and
other officers. many millions Of dol
lars of property not before on the as
sessment roll is included in the as
sessment Of 1912. thus necessarily low
ering the percentage paid by other
classes of property during previous
years.
These figures absolutely. positive,v
and unequivocally show that the charge
referred to was a baseless Islander
spread broadcast throughout the state
by Mr. Martin without any attempt
upon his part to ascertain whether or
not the statements upon which he based
MS charges were correct.
Other Charges by Martin.
In connection with the actions Of
the state board Of equalization In deal
ing with the railroads. Mr.. Martin has
seen mt to make other statements,
which. although Of less Importance.
still deserve some answer. He states
that the assessment made by the pres
ent state board Of equalization upon
the main lines Of railroads traversinx
the state. to-wit: the Northern Pacific,
Great Northern and Oregon Short Line,
are less than the assessments made in
the states OF Washington and Oregon
upon the property Of the companies
owning these lines and situated In those
states. In making these statements he |
used figures which would tend to con-
vince the nearer Of the truth Of the
statements II the true facts were not
known.
The main line Of the Oregon Short !
Line. the Northern Pacific and the
Great Northern were assessed In 1910 |
AT $l6.6OO per mile. This was the first |
time In the history Of the state that an |
assessment In 30 large an amount hal
been levied against this property. In
1911 the present state board Of equali-
cation raised the value Of this main line |
49, Il.