Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1913-09-19
FILES COMPLAINT WITH BOARD
OF EQUALIZATION.
CLAIMS DOUBLY ASSESSED
Eight Acres, In Center of City, VAL
ued at S0l ,2o5, Listed as Nom
Operating Property.

Not many complaints of dissatis-
fed property owners have come be-
before the Board OF Equalization for
adjustment, only eight having hled
formal notice that the assessment OF
their property did not meet their
Ideas of what was fair and equitable.
Action upon these complaints has not
yet been taken, though a number OF
property owners have been cited to
appear before the board at ten
o. clock Saturday morning.
Southern Pacific Objects.
The Southern Pacific railroad
company has made the most strenu-
Gus kick to date, wanting an assess
ment of $91,255 set aside, claiming
that II is a double assessment. I'm
der the law of the state the operat-
ing property OF the railroad COM
pany would be assessed by the state
public utilities commission. But the
Southern Pacific company owns
eight acres of land In the very cen
ter of the city that the county as
SCISSOR does not consider part of the
operating property OF the road.
These eight acres include the parked
strips lying back from the right OF
way, and abutting on Sixth street, as
we'll as lands occupied by lumber
yards, warehouses, etc, This was
assessed by the county as business
property alongside was assessed, and
the company has entered formal pro-
test. and claims that the assessment
levied by the state commission upon
its operating property should cover
this as we'll, the assessment by the
county being what It terms the
double assessment" Assessor Pol
lock maintains that the property
should be assessed by the county the
same as property held by the COM
pany in any other part of the county
and not operating" property. The
attorney for the company In his
communication to the board makes a
yelled threat that II the demand Is
not acquiesced in by the board, that
the case will be carried into the
courts The eight acres assessed on
the basis OF business property which
It adioins was valued by the asses
sor at s91,255.
Grange Committee Investigates.
A committee OF IA taxpayers from
Rogue River grange has been inves-
tigatiHg the question OF assessment
values, and its report Is now on file
with the Board of Equalization The
report, which is signed by H. Wood,
representing fourteen taxpayers"
states that while It does not question
the desire OF the assessor Of Jose
phine county to make just and
! equitable assessment, that examina-
tion OF the rolls shows many incon-
sistencies and that property values
as they appear upon the assessors
books are far from fair or equitable.
The report also says that the COM
mttee does not think that position,
social or otherwise" should inhu-
ence the fixing of property values for
the purpose OF assessment, though It
, does not 80 80 far as TO say that such
, influence has been exerted to bring
about the Inconsistencies Of which
II complains. The committee quotes
certain assessment values on we'll
known properties TO support It's con-
tention It shows that values IN the
lower Rogue district, from which the
members Of the committee came are
much higher than In other portions
Of the county II gives as illusfra-
tions the Eismann orchard Of ~
acres. assessed at Sl57 per acre;
- Hulrs Lakesldt orchard p acres.
u $152 per acre; Or Loughrldge, 40
acres in alfalfa. 800 per acre Flon-
nagan g. Cornell 100 acres hons and
alfalfa. 800 per acre. Dixie Ranch