The Washington herald., 1912-11-26
ASSESSOR MAY
FACE CHARGES
OF MISCONDUCT
Continued from Page One.

increased valuation on ground values
dwindIed TO S1s,O0O0oo. The reminder, OF
81, 900, COO, had been applied to small
homes, according to Mr.. Browne.
In his prepared speech. Mr.. Richards
had inserted a passage intended as re-
ply to a similar charge in the George re-
port. He said:
Il wish to state that after a careful
examination 1 fail to find this ,OO(
or the 1000 small homes on which it is
placed. In fact, I can show by three
subtractions that such an amount is fic-
titious The difference between the i'm
provement values of 1911 and 1912 is
81. e., $780,. and taking the assessors re-
port. there should be deducted from this,
IS. .7O2, $50. There is also a further reduc-
ton of $957,270 for the business area,
leaving less than 100000 for increases
on old buildiAss in all parts OF the Dis
trict outside of the business area.
Says Figures Were Changed.
Moreover. I desire to call attention
to the fate that table submitted by me
page Al Of the hearingO does not con-
tain the numbers placed on the original
table. ! submitted 5000 for the number
of houses in the District This number
appears to have been set aside. and the
number Sl.256 substituted for it. II ap-
pears that the building inspectors report
carries such a figure. but this report
accounts for sheds and back buildings,
and does not allow for buildings that
have been removed at various times"
Mr.. Browne interrupted at this point
to get from Mr.. Richards the reference
TO the page in the hearings. When he
next arose to speak he did not refer to
-. 81.
mitted the juggling of Mr.. Richards
figures.
Referring to the figures submitted by
Mr.. Richards. firs: through an article
In The Washington Herald and later be-
fore the Columbia Heights Citizens As
sOciatiOn. Mr.. Browne urged that they
be discounted because they were unau-
thenticated. while the figures submitted
in the George report in substantiation
of the charges OF widespread disCrim-
ination were adduced under oath or
taken from the records OF title companies
which had conducted the sales involved
and had handled the money.
..FrIendship" Subject of Debate.
Taking specific assessments, Mr. Browne
again referred to the suburban property
of John r. Mclean. Friendship" upon
the alleged underassessment of which
much stress was laid in the George re-
port This feature of the report had
been answered by Mr.. Richards. who
quoted ground values based either on
recent sales or present market prices
of properties on all sides of the Mclean
tract to show that the present assess
ment is not widely wrong.
This time Mr. Browne ignored the value
of the real property and confined himself
to the improvements on the place. which
are assessed at SIS, 900. He said the i'm
provements were worth at least S200,0o0
including IN his estimate the handsome
stone wall which fronts the place and
which. with the wrouGht-iron gates, he
said. cost between $4,000 and $4,000. and
te handsome bronze replica of a famous
European fountain. upon which, Mr..
Browne said, he was informed Mr.. Nc
Lean paid a duty of $1,000. These two
improvements alone, according to Mr..
Browne, are worth more than $4,000.
Discusses Business Property.
Mr. Richards had additional figures to
back up his business area assessments
and to offer in refutation of the charge
that business property is assessed at
about 30 per cent of its real value in the
District.
Adjoining the Munsey Building on the
west" said Mr.. Richards, lis a saloon
property, known as 1891 L Street, the
rent Of which has been the subject Of
litigation for some time. In October, 1910,
Il price of $103, ,652 was fixed on this prop
erty by the court as a basis for rent
at per cent of this value. The asses
sorS lad already fixed a value on the
property of $g7, ,JB5, although one promi-
nent real estate man, who had handled
the property in a previous transaction,
asserted that the place was not worth
over 1000 Rased on the assertion that
land in this locality is assessed at 30 per
cent of its value and buildings at so per
per cent, this property is worth $2O6,6Oo.
or about double the court award and
nearly three times the value placed by
:he real estate dealer
Question of Small Houses.
In reply to the general charge that
small homes and particularly those of
the poorer class are assessed at so
per cent of their value, as opposed to
an assessment rate of about 80 per
cent for homes of the wealthy, Mr.
Richards offered a table in which was
set down one sale since 1911 in each of
twcnty-siX squares in the southwest
section of the city.
In this table the consideration which
obtained in the last sale of record is
set down opposite the basis for the as
sessment applied by the District These
columns when totaled showed that the
total consideration in the twenty-six
exchanges was $122,735, while the tax
was levied on an assessment Of $114,-
4I6. He had several tables Indicating
a similar relationship between real
and assessment valua-
tion in other small residence sections.
Ap1oNS GIVE npANn DALI