The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1913-09-27
SCIENTIFIC TAX
ASSESSMENT
OF PROPERTIES,


real estate for purposes Of taYa
ton and pointing ont he remedy
This article tells how w a SOM
ers discovered and tirsl applied III
st. Paul his scIeDtlhc system ~:
measuring land values lutut
articles will show how II Is possl
bic for any community 10 he run
tably assessed by aseellalnlns
community Judgment and apply
ing such judgment mat hcml''ra1
" to each ownership ol real es
tate. Lake Chailes IS the latest
city in this State to adopt The
Somel > system
The American people have been
long suffering i'll the matter OF he
appraisal Of their real property
for tax purposes.
The function Of governmental
activity that is called n. assess.
mcnt has always called forth the
bitter criticisms and often the ~
tnperatlon OF the people. The
people have been helpless before
complete lack of system and
consequent lack of equity between
the taxpayers.
And Notwithstanding all this,
! assessments Of real property III
nearly every city III the nl'ed
States aud 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 develop
cd the inventive genius, toge1he
with the inclination and opportu
nifty for its use, to bring into tx
istence a system by which the bit
ter criticisms and the vitupera
tions OF the people would he made
supertluous and without meaning,
That man is W. A. Somers,
formerly Of St Paul, Mlnn and
now Of New York City.
In the early 'oo's Mr.. Somers
was City Engineer Of the City OF
st. Paul. For more than ten
years he had been connected with
the engineers department of that
city, first as assistant engineer
and then as chief engineer. BE
fore that he had been in the real
estate business, and during his Of
flee holding years he kept in close
touch with the real estate activi
ties of the city. His especial
work IN the engineers department
was consideration Of special as
sessments for local improvements,
which caused him to study, IN a
crude way as compared with his
later Investigations. the effect of
improvements anu the extent Of
their financial effect upon land
area.
ST. PAUL. FIRST Assessed
While chief engineer Of st.
Paul, q lawyer friend Of Mr.. Som.
ers accepted the post Of assessor
of real property on the condition
imposed by the assessor that he
would turn the job over to Engi-
neer Soners.
st. Paul at that time was re
covering from recent land Doom
Prices as compared with values
had been very much inflated
The reaction had set ia and prices
we're very much lower than the
assessment figures. While inc
qualities existed as between prop
erty values, the assessment az q
whole was two high, which added
to the general confusion that al
ways exists III assessments made
without rhyme or reason, produc
ed an intolerable situation. Il
was this situation that led to thu
selection OF the lawyer to be as
SCISSOR; and il was his own fin
belief that he was not equal tt
the task that led him, by peImis
sion to turn the whole work ovel
to Mr.. Somers.
: When Mr.. SOmels took hold o
the assessment work of st. Paul
he directed his attention first t
the old assessment figures. A,
examination of those figures dis
closed woeful lack of uniformit,
of Judgment of value, not only a
, bet ween property Oh differen
streets, but also on propeytie
.. upnn the same street and clos
, together There was every evi
denee Of the lack Of any systema
tic method Of obtaining opinion
Of value or of using opinions tina
! were obtained or arbitrarily arr.
: ed at.
e Being of a mathematical turn q
mind, and his whole habit 9
! thought and action running in tn
: direction Of systematic methods
Mr.. SOmers first began to analyZt