Arizona republican., 1913-09-20
ASSESSMENTS
 w. A.. SOMERS' DISCOVERIES

Cleveland, O., describing the faults in present methods of appraising real estate for purposes of taxation and pointing out the remedy. This article tells how w. A. SOmers dis covered and first applied in St. Paul his scientific system for measuring land values. Future articles will show how it is possible for any com munity to be equitably assessed by ascertaining community judgment anC applying such judgment mathe- matically to each ownership of real estate.)
 The American people have been long-suffering in the matter of the appraisal of their real property for tax purposes.
 The function of governmental ac- tivity that is called the assessment has always called forth the bitter criticisms and often the vitupera- tion of the people. The people have been helpless before a complete lack of system and consequent lack of equity between the taxpayers.
 And notwithstanding all this, as- sessments of real property in nearly every city in the United States and in every village and country district are being made today in the manner they were made fifty years ago. Only one man in all that time has developed the inventive genius, to- gether with the inclination and op- portunity for its use, to bring into existence a system by which the bit ter criticisms and the vituperations of the people would be made super fuous and without meaning.
 That man is w. A. Somers, form New York City.
 In the early '9O's MT. Somers was City Engineer of the City of St. Paul. For more than ten years he had been connected with the engi- neer's department of that city, first as assistant engineer and then as chief engineer. Before that he had been in the real estate business, and during his office holding years he kept in close touch with the real es- tate activities of the city. His es- pecial work in the engineers depart ment was consideration of special assessments for local improvements, which caused him to study, in a crude way as compared with his later investigations, the effect of inn provements and the extent of their financial effect upon land area.
 St. Paul First Assessed.
 While chief engineer of St. Paul, a lawyer friend of MT. Somers ac- cepted the post of assessor of real property on the condition imposed by the assessor that he would turn the job over to Engineer Somers.
 St. Paul at that time was recover ing from a recent land boom. Prices as compared with values had been bad set in and prices were very much lower than they had been, and very much lower than the as- sessment figures. While ineQuali- ties existed as between property values, the assessment as a whole was too high, which added to the general confusion that always ex- ists in assessments made without rhyme or reason, produced an intol- erable situation. It was this situa- ton that led to the selection of the lawyer to be assessor; and i6 was his own firm belief that he was not equal to the task that led him. by permission to turn the whole work over to MT. Somers.
 When Mir. Somers took hold of the assessment work of St. Paul, he directed his attention first to the old assessment figures. An examina- tion of those figures disclosed a woe full lack of uniformity of judgment Of value, not only as between prop erty on different streets, but also on properties upon the same street and close together. There was every evidence of the lack of any system atic method of obtaining opinions of value or Of using opinions that were obtained or arbitrarily arrived at.
 Being of mathematical turn of mind, and his whole habit of thought and action running in the direction of systematic methods. Mir. Somers first began to analyze. It occurred to him that it would be well to learn the difference in opinions of value between lots at corners and inside lots. He mace some diagrams il- lustratiny corner and inside lots. and sent them out to the real estate op- orators of the city. Fortunately for this sort of an investigation. which was at best hut a fishing excur- sion," as the lawyers might term it. the lots of St. Paul were for the most part (. a uniform depth of loo feet, and there were many corner lots 5O b7 100 in size.
 Knowledge Of Streets
 The big thing that this request for help upon a methodicai basis result i ed in, was to make it clear to Mir Somers' mind that there was in the 1 minds of the citizens a tremendous |