Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1912-12-04
HEAR PRUDENTIAL.
| TAX APPEAL TODAY
Insurance Company Claims
$463,O0O in Advance Pre-
niums to Be Liability.
CITY ATTORNEY SAYS SUM
is ASSET AND is TAXABLE
Major Lentz Makes Strong Ar
gument at Tax Board
Hearing.

Hearing OF arguments is in prog
ress today before the County Board
OF Taxation on the appeal of the Pru-
Dental Insurance Company of
America against alleged excessive as
sessments made by the Board of As
Eessment and Revision of Taxes of
this city on the land owned by the
company on Broad, Market and Bank
streets.
Five minutes after the session had
started City Attorney Herbert Boggs
and Edward d. Duffield, solicitor
general of the company, were in q
wordy argument, though it had moth
ing to do directly with the tax ap-
peal hearing. 1t came up when Mr.
Duff1eld spoke of $463,000 called by
the company premiums paid in ad-
vance on policies" and which the
company claims is a liability and not
taxable. The opposite view is taken
by Mr.. Boggs, representing the city.
The item of $463 900 was originally
included in the $4,000 900 deferred
dividend fund, which the Supreme
Court recently decided was not tax
able, and the city now seeks to tax
the item separately. The. scrap came
when Mr.. Duffield sat down after
addressing the Tax Board, explaining
the company's stand in the matter.
During his talk he had referred sew
eral times to the efforts of Mr.
Boggs to have the item assessed be-
cause it belonged to the Prudential
Insurance Company. Mr.. Duff1eld
made no reference to the Board of
Assessment and Revision of Taxes or
the city of Newark, always making it
appear that Mr. Boges personally
sought to have the item taxed.
Counsel In wordy War.
This aroused the ire of the city
attorney and he said: "It is always
the method of some attorneys when
they have a weak case to asperse
the methods and motives of the OPP
posing counsel, and that seems to
be what Mr.. Duffield is doing in this
CASE
''Oh, no. no, Mr.. Boggs," quickly
said Duffield.
st is so,',f reiterated Boggs, land
It has been all through the hearing
on the tax appeals
Mr. Duhisld then addressed the tax
board and said: "I desire to with
draw anything may have said that
is offensive to Mr.. Boggs personally.
was addressing my remarks to him
as the representative of the city of
Newark"
The furry was stilled and the
hoard announced that the question
as to whether the $4,000 item was
taxable or not would be decided later.
The arguments on the tax appeals
then started with Major Carl Lentz
of counsel for the Prudential, as the
first speaker. Briefly, the Prudential
appeals from assessments of nine
pieces of property, eight of which are
on Broad street between Market and
Bank streets and one at 1s7 Market
street The appeal is on the land
value of the property only, the build
ings thereon not being affected.
The nine plots are assessed by the
city at $4,239, 400. which the Pruden-
tial claims is s1.24S.950 more than the
market value of the land, and they
seek a reduction of that amount. At
a hearing lasting three days two
weeks ago widely diverging values
were placed on the property by Har-
rison Van Duyne and R. A. Osborne.
experts retained by the company, and
James A. Berry and William C.
Fielder, who testified for the city.
For instance, the Holzhauer drug