The Washington times., 1912-08-25

has become almost an exact science in
many cities. Given the population and
general indication of it's income and
expenditures. the entire ground values
can be predicated on a per capita basis.
Given data on street car lines, points
of transfer. lines of communication. and
the other factors or accessibility, and
the points of greatest values can be
determined
The District of Columbia has a higher
income per capita and higher expen<-
ture per capita than any place of equal
population In the world. Consequently,
II has a greater ground value per capita
than anv municipal district of the same
taxable area
This ground value in the District is in
creased by an amount equal to the
capitalization OF the annual appropria-
ton from the Federal Treasury-D per
cent of the municipal expenditure-some
Sc, 100000 This amount is absorbed in
increased rents and inflated ground
values. and none of II reaches those
whom II was intended to benefit-the
Government clerks ana other classes of
the Capitals population. apart from the
owners of land.
1t has been established that ground
values In a given square or given Sec
tion can be calculated accurately from
initial data as to the value of typical
inside lots on the four sides of given
squares. Those primary values can be
determined from several elements of
evidence. sales, leases, condemnation
proceedings. daily movement of traffic,
and tendencies of public and private
improvements opp. 2S3-29D. No such
system has been established by the
assessor.
Building values are equally suscep-
tible Of exact definition, based on cost
of price of building material cost of
construction, modified by deterioration
in value from physical change and OBJ
solescence Opp. 2s-9O. obsolescence
Of neighborhood or change in the re-
quirements Of business and residence.
All these elements enter into the or
dinary consideration of scientific assess
ment. None Of them has been found
In systematic use in the assessors Of
flee, but instead a piecemeal, haphazard
rule f-thurb heterogeneity, greatly to
the detriment of the public revenues.
The total taxable realty values in the
District of Columbia, fixed by your
committee at s744,O0O 900, fall well with
In the sum indicated by a forthcoming
census bulletin, which places the entire
realty values of the District at 81 l,200,-
0O0,0O Deduct from this $400, 900, 900 for
Federal and municipal real property,
and allow $3.50, 900 900 for churches, lega-
tons. schools, hospitals and other ex-
emptions, and the remainder, SIZE, ,000, coo,
Is still $3l, 900 above the conservative
estimate Of your committee.
This amount of $744, 100000 is built up
from the separate estimates OF 10 sec
tions comprised in the five areas into
which the sections are grouped, and the
estimate for each section and area is
based in turn upon the evidence ad-
duced.
Es,Ipatav of ,,aIuo a., tbo .,, IN H. ho,,,a
area rest largely upon the testimony
OF Mr.. Clarence +. Donohoe, the most
prominent real estate dealer In east
Washington .tpp. Oi-Seo). Mr.. NJ. D.
large property owner, experienced in
realty matters, and now one of the Gov
eminent commissioners of condemnation
on the squares to be added to Capitol
Park on the north opp 4oo-409.
Further and in the same direction
comes the testimony of Hon. Samuel
| Gompers. president of the American
Z. w. oyster, for many years familiar
with matters of local assessment Opp.
S96-S3). Of Mr.. George r. Repetu.
prominent owner; of realty In east
of great importance, the testimony of
Mr.. William J. Carey Opp. 32l-326),
whose small home was grievously bur-
dened. Their testimony is unanimous
and convincing that the small homes
! OF the District are overassessed.
Values in the middle-class areas were
determined by general conditions dis
covered as to the practices of assessing
ground values and improvements by an
arbitrary division of selling price be-
! tween the two in utter disregard of
construction cost as the essential ele-
ment of the Improvement assessment
| opp. l26. 1885, l4D. This has been the case
particularly with the new small houses
| built In rows in the northern suburb,
and the assessments. thus determined
have weighed so heavily against in
| vestors as to check sales and paralyZe
building operations (pp. 412. 439). Build
| ing operations started in briskly in the
the normal level of July and August,
and the cause is on the one hand over
| assessment of improvements, which
checks building. and, on the other. un-
| derassessment of ground values, which
promotes holding Of land for speculative
on the landlord. He cannot pass 1t on
to the tenant Ground tax is the Gov
| ernment's share of the ground rent,
which cannot increase by the tax, while
! the house tax, whether visible or not,
is added to the house rent, just as is the
water tax For a tax on houses tends
to lessen house building by making
houses more costly to own while a tax
on idle ground tends to make its holder
utilize 1t to produce revenue. There
fore, the one tax is onerous and the
other beneficial
The values in the fine residence area
were determined by the testimony OF
| Mr.. Harold f. Doyle (pp. 252-269), and
certain important evidence of sales,
| which are compared with the assess
ments The informatio disclosed in the
correspondence with Hon. Clifford Pin
chot has an important bearing (p. 456)
II coupled with the published declaration