Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-13

the law at the true value Of the prop
erty."
| This conversation imnutcs deliberate
and long continued Embarrassment of
| District realty in order to deceive the
nation into continuing unnecessary
half contribution toward capital main
| tenance.
Witness Browne later estimated the
taxable realty values Of the District in
| 1879 at s144 0an.On. and confirms the &C
cu"acy of his guess by reference to
| forthcoming census bulletin, saving:
81 wish to say in advance that tho cen
sus office places the realtv values of tie
| District of Columbia. including AL pub
lie property. at Sl.sM o1."". Allowing
Stnln0n.Hn fer federal and District prop
erty and S.:.nfnon for private and semi
| public exemptions. a remainder of Stll.-
oOn.noo is discovered. or about s::".oo."oo
| in excess of my estimates
No Census Bulletin Yet.
+! There seems to have been some nisun-
Outstanding. resulting in possible error.
| in the statement that the census office
| U9lo guessed s;O.anono greater taxable
! realty values into Washington than Mr.
| Browne himself. Questioned on this
point. Director Durand replied that the
census bureau had made estimate of
| the value of real property in the District
/ since 1901; that the Office was formuat-
! ing plans for investigating the general
subject for the year 1912. but had pre-
| pared figures for bulletin, and that
! none would he issued relating to the sub
! ject for at least one and probably two
! years from date. Recent inquiry at the
! census bureau fails to disclose that the
| bulletin from which Mr.. Browne quoted
has yet been issued.
! Mr. Brownies inference that there We're
St44,M0.hG0 of taxable realty values in
/ Washington in 1912. enabling the Dis
!. trict to pay all the capital expenses of
maintenance and development without the
! half-and-half law or any national con-
| tribution VAS adopted almost verba tim
| by the good men of the subcommittee on
taxation of the House District committee
| The report says:
! THE real property il, the District of
| Columbia is assessed S4l4Hn.@no below
! its true value: the true value being
sI44 nbo.G0O, while the assessment is only
S33O,OOO COO This is not an assessment
i at even two-thirds of the true value but
only slightly more than two-ffths.
| The total taxable realty value Of the
| District of Columbia fixed by Your com
mittee at S744.@n.Mo. falls well within
| the sum indicated by a Forthcoming
| census bulletin which places the entire
| realty values of the District at s1.alN.
nOo.Oo0. Deduct from this S4oo000. 600 for
| federal and municipal real property, and
| allow $4,000 600 for churches. legations,
| schools. hospitals and other exemptions
and the remainder. Sl13.oeoco0. is still
i 81 .COO.OG0 above the conservative esti-
mate of your committee.
f;,h ~ -, r. ao - f,,s -. So"
mort that there we're s1i4 O0O 600 of tay
able realty values in Washington in 1872
and that these realty values alone would
ma ional half contribution did a little
guessing himself as TO personally values,
added s1S3.O0O,Oo0 personality assess
inent. making total OF s:f'3. M'No tax
apie property values in Washington.
/ Hence logically. even inevitably. from the
Browne figures came the crisp bill. aHd
every other like assault upon the capltai
based upon the mistaken iilousit 'ii.i' 'ii'
District taxpayer Is undefaSsessen ana
undertaXed. and should DE clustered
! l have not been able to discover the
census bulletin quoted ~ MI Brow!
and by the George report: "hicn iiluH
s.'o,ooo.OT' OF taNaple lealtN Ndiue7 III
Washington in 1872. making the Browne
/ George estimate or a'tfp",W" seen, Con-
sentative put nave .ouiid ~ lsSuta .
sus bulletins OF l'i! the Hut.ui GU ~:
cent valuations OF othef American sat cur
which show that TINS guess o. s''4;"'
wv. "nen measured ny 'iie .''" u" "
these cities. is grossly excessive
c;,,;,, connar;sons
Convincing
| ~ &c oo,,n,re Mr. Brownies assess
! 80 " - ,, =. ,n,., H.. 49, o,
ment OF s'if''"'' III ''i- WIZ, '"e
sus figures Of assessment IN lhat year.
| First it proposes to add Sil4W0.oOO to
u,sb;rsto,,s actual assessment of that
/ 5000 o,o ooo
year OF @'''''"o"'' $500.
Washington S taxed realty. as we nave
/ seen. is only a fraction of its area, and a
oo,st.n.lv decreasing fraction owing to
.-.. -. ,oa ,a,,
successive eo'oe'ii''a 'o7 "
] property by the government. MS 'aNeu
| fraction does not include the ctys great
| workshops, its largest industrial plants.
/ represented in other cities by mills and
| factories standing for millions of taxable
. property Here our great mills and fac
| tories and workshops are Uncle Sam s
| property and do not figure at ali in the
! assessment roll
| Mr. Browne proposes to assess and tax
! a decrease fraction of the ca pitfalls area
derived of the heaviest factors of real
estate assessment at A figure which val
! ,Ias II as worth twice a. much the
I whole of wealthy busy industrial Balti-
1 more with ,1G IS4 greater populations
nearly twice as much AS the whole of the
7 rn.pnificent city of Cincinnati with its
! Loot industrial esta blishments and its
| non,,l.tion ~ -. larger than that of the
Distri,.t
| Tbe taxed fraction of Washington is
valued AT nearly SlJuE,tHU more than
Baltimore and Minneapolis coinpihed at
! nearly as much Baltimore ana 'lHclh-
1