Evening journal., 1913-10-28
WOMEN HEAR
OF TAXATION

William = White, president of City
Council, and Colonel w. v. Stover, chair
man Of the finance committee of Council,
attended a meeting OF the Equal Sui
frage Association OF Wilmington last
night, in the Unitarian Church, and de
lyered addresses on .e proposed revis
ion OF the system Of assessment in this
city
The meeting was largely attended by
women. A few men also were in the au
dience. The meeting was presided over
by DR.. Louise Nashburn, and Miss Mary
de You was secretary.
Mr.. White was the first speaker. He
explained the old system of assessment,
which he said is now out OF date, and
will not answer its purposes in city as
large as Wilmington. He said the new
system was scientific one that had
been partly copied from the best sys-
TENS used in the United States, and fur
thcr improved upon by Colonel Stover,
who made II practical for local condi-
tons
Mr.. White said the board had en-
ployed a corps Of experts who stood
among the highest in their profession,
and that the assessment would be deter
mined by men who had neither friends
nor enemies in the city and would have
no reason 10 favor one individual more
than the other These men, said Mr..
White, come into the city having no in
terests except to do their work as well
as they know now, and TO put the sys-
TEN through. The main object of the
new system, he said, is to equalize the
assessment so that no citizen shall have
10 pay more than another on property
of equal value. He also said the system
would bring revenue 10 the city and that
the present local method of taxation
was one of the things that holds VIII
mington from the front Mr. White
said that Charles G. Kurtz, +. p. Moody
and William II. Gibbons had been APP
pointed 10 appraise land alues These
men, he said. would determine the value
of a front foot one hundr feet deep in
the center Of each block of the city
From this foot the scale of values will
be graded either mp or down, until the
corners are reached, which of course
have a value Of their own. There are
only l45S blocks in the city.
Dr. lie La Cour grew very indignant
when she learned that the corps Of
experts were going TO be paid s25
day each. and the chief $50 a day for
appraising the value Of city buildings.
She said she did not care whether
the men we're experts or not she did
not approve Of employing men from
other cities to appraise Wilmington
property, and by offering to pay them
50 large an amount without limiting
their time, was tempting them to work
as long as possible She insisted
that this was wrong Finally Colonel
Slower asked Dr. De La Cour If local
physicians did not call Philadelphia
physicians TO confer with them on
important cases, but DR.. De La Cour
refused to be convinced
Colonel Stover said that the new
system would accomplish one result
and that would be to give every tax
payer a square deal. This, he said,
was badly needed in Wilmington tax
alton matters. He said everybody
knew the foults of the present system,
and that complaints can be heard
about II from all parts of the city
from all kinds of people. He told
how the city government is handi-
capped. and said that although the
city government is assessed at $751;
900 900. It is embarrassed in its needs
by $500. and really does not know
where to turn to get the money.
After Colonel Stover had finished
speaking, a discussion followed and
vote Of thanks was extended to Col
onel Slower and Mr. White for their
speeches.
Miss Mary r. de You read a letter
from Mrs. Mary Ware bennett, calling
attention to the fact that several State
Federations of Women's Clubs have
passed resolutions favoring Equal Suf-
frage for women.
The secretary read a call to the
national suffrage convention TO be
held in Wilmington, November 29, to
December g. Miss de You read a
letter from H. A. Miller, passenger
agent of the B. and o. railroad. OFFER
ing reduced rates to Washington for
the convention. Delegates to the
State Equal Suffrage Convention.
which meets in the New Century