Evening journal., 1913-09-17
AGREE THAT
TAX SYSTEM
IS UNEQUAL
ContInned frnm First Page.

Continued from First Page.
much contention In the community
that efforts have been made FOR five
or six years 10 have the city reassess-
cd In q more modern way than at
present He stated that be had
assisted in having the law changed
in 1907, while he was q member of
Council. and last fall he had part
In giving the board Of assessment and
appeals more power 10 give the city
new assessment.
Il had an idea I would be called
upon to help make the new ASSESS
ment when the bill was passed by
the legislature" he remarked, land
now having agreed that We need
new assessment the question is what
is the best plan? We have had a
number of new plans suggested to
u.s. A friend of mine said TO me the
other day that the best way TO assess
property is to let everyone make his
own assessment and make an affi-
davitt that he will at any time sell
the property at his own assessment
value. However, / don't believe
such plan would be practical as
know of no law binding a man to
sell his property"
Explains Modern Systems.
Mr.. White then brought up the
Somers and Purdy systems OF assess
ment. which have already been pub
lished in full, and he thoroughly de-
scribed the working Of each to his
audience. He declared that Mr.
Purdy is a recognized tax expert and
is consulted almost daily in regard
to the assessments in other cities be-
sides New York. The Purdy system
Of assessment is in vogue in New
York and New Jersey, besides large
cities i'm other states. Mr.. White eX-
planned how, under the working OF
the modern systems. the city is block
ed out into tax maps. and declared
that The Street and Sewer Depart
ment is already engaged in making
| these maps
This work will be completed, Mr..
White declared by the first of Decem-
ber. when the new system is adopted
the work of making the maps hav-
ing been started beforehand to have
them ready. Mr.. White explained
that Mr. Somers. founder of The
Somers' system, came from the New
York tayation department, and was
in the employ of the New York tax
department when Mayor Tom l..
Johnson, of Cleveland, asked Mr..
Purdy for an expert to adjust the
lassessment i'm that city. Mr.. Purdy
then sent Mr.. Somers to Cleveland,
where he installed the Somers' sys-
TEN.
Mr.. White believed that the as
isessors should be men from outside
lthe city, as local men are more like
! " TO be Influenced by the people they
know, and whose property they are .
lassoss.
eve should have outside assessors,
who are experts. know their business,
and are not subject to that influence y
| he declared.
! Mr. White read from paper. which
loficially explained the working of
both the Somers' and the Purdy sys-
Items, which has already been discuss
cd al public meetings, and he explain
ed how each plan would be worked
out
He described the system used In
Newark. n J.., which he believed Is a
fine method. and under the reports
sent out by the tax department, any
person could not only see what his
property was assessed at. but his
lneighhors' as we'll. Mr. White caused
Ibis audience to laugh when he de-
clared that public service corporations
should be taxed on their true hold
lings, and wished that such law existed
here.
Would Tax Utilities.
"The public utilities should pay a
tax on their franchises and holdings
but we can't get that law through Tho
4 Delaware Legislature AS yet
\ AT the conclusion of Mr.. Whites re
marks Francis p. Kane stated that HI
had not made it quite clear that the
Somers' system provides for the spa
ration of land value from the i'm