The Yale expositor., 1914-06-25
ASSESSMENT ON CASH VAluA,
TIoN TO De ACCOMPLISHED
WITHIN ONE YEAR.
BARNES PRAISES NEW LAW
Chain of lnterurban Railways
OF Any State in Union
in Few Years.
IBy GURO NJ. HAYES.l

assessed on a cash valuation basis
according to o. +. Barnes, one of the
three state tax commissioners. Nine
teen counties have been appraised
by the commission and at present the
assessments in the other counties
are being placed on a cash basis by
the commissioners by supervision of
the assessments of the supervisors
throughout the state. This was
made possible by action of the legis-
lature at the last session and as a
result the work Of boosting the as
sessments of all property in the state
to it's cash valuation will be COM
pleted four years sooner than was
anticipated two years ago when the
commission began appraising various
counties and placing the assessments
on a cash basis.
The counties which were appraised
by the commission follow: Charlie
voix, Gogebic, Iron, Baraga, Mar
quette, Dickinson, Bay Saginaw, Gen
esee, Allegan, Ingham, Oakland, Van
Buren,, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Jackson,
Berrien Grand Traverse and losco.
Commissioner Barnes highly COM
mended the action OF the law makers
in passing the bill which is assist
ing the commission to a great ex-
tent.
THE last legislature, recognizing
that the supervisors were sworn to
assess at cash values greatly increas-
ed the powers and duties of the tax
commission by passing the law which
declares that the tax commission
shall supervise and assist supervisors
to the end that their assessments
shall be at cash value" said Commits
sioner Barnes.
Under this law the commission or
ganized plan to assist supervisors.
It placed its entire force of examin-
ers-50 in all-at the disposal of the
supervisors of the state. 1t published
a pamphlet on cash value assess
ments and in other ways assisted the
local assessing officers.
THE result has far exceeded the
best hopes of the commission. The
great majority of the supervisors en-
tered into the spirit of cash value
assessments, and the reports which
come hourly to the commission show
that ~ per cent of the territory not
before reassessed by the commission
and not including Kent and Wayne
counties, has been put up to approx
imately cash value by the supervisors
themselves. In Kent county reassess.
ment is now being made by the tax
commission and a large force Of our
field men has been at work in Wayne
County since last December. 1t is
safe to say that. the new program
has pushed the time for cash values
ahead four years. Another year the
uneven assessments left can be ad-
justed and then cash value assess
ments will prevail over the entire
state.
Where ever the supervisors have
honestly and heartily entered into
the spirit of cash value assessments
the tax commission will not reassess
those townships but will endeavor to
supervisors have got. The commits
sion will recommend the amounts it
thinks the supervisors differ from the
commissions idea and will ask those
townships to be increased by the
county boards at the equalization ses-
sions. This will be done on the
promise that the assessments the
next year shall be brought up to the
full sum by the supervisors"
The state railroad commission has
been advised of the sale of $4,000, 900
worth of five-year six per cent gold
notes out of an $S,000,000 authoriza-
ton. which was recently given the
Michigan Railways Co., an electric
corporation with headquarters in
Grand Rapids, and whose outside Of
fees are in Chicago and New York
The sale of the notes was made to
New York parties.
This means that the Michigan Rail-
ways Co. will complete it's task of
forming a chain of electric lines
through central Michigan. Informa-
tion has been given out that the pro-
posed electric line from Owosso 10
Saginaw, already surveyed, will be
started Jan. next. The Michigan
Railways Co., formerly known as the
Chicago-Michigan Railways Co., has
constructed an electric line from Ka-
lamazoo to Grand Rapids and recent
ly gained permission to enter the
furniture city. a terminal already hav-
ing been located there.
This line will be completed by Jan.
/. Work has been commenced on the
line from Allegan to Battle Creek,
now steam line. which has been
purchased by the company. IL will
be changed TO an electric line. The
Saginaw-Flint, operating from Bay
City to Flint, is owned by the com
pany, and with the sso-Saginaw
fine now assured, a direct connection