Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-25
An Amazing Appraisement.

An Amazing Appraisement.
The George taxation report of 1912 al
lcges that real property in the District
of Columbia is assessed s414 10000 below
its true value: the true value being STA
100000. while the assessment is only
$3.50. O0O. OCO''
This statement is based solely upon the
testimony and argument before the sub
committee of Witness II. ]. Browne Mr..
Brownies evidence is not direct expert
appraisement Of the value of Washington
realty, but is the deduction of an ex-
journalist from what persons questioned
by him have said concerning local values
and from what he has read and studied
III the newspapers. or official reports, or
record books of business men of Wash
ington on that subject. Generalizing
from the statements, sworn and unsworn,
of individuals in respect to particular
cases in selected spots in the different
sections of the city. Mr.. Browne developed
an infallible formula for ascertainins
true values in all parts of Washington.
For the large suburban areas he multi
piled the actual assessment in every
case by five; for the business and fine
residence areas Of the northwest he null
tplied the actual assessment in every
case by three and one-third; for middle
class house sites he multiplied in every
case by two. For small home sites he
multiplied in every case by one and two
thirds.
What could be simpler? What more
foolish?
This valuation Of Washington realty
was In its totals so grossly at variance
with the valuations of other far larger
o,I ri, III; md
obviously unsound in generalizing con-
corning whole sections from conditions
thought to exist In particular spots, that
it was promptly and vigorously chal-
lenged for Washington in 1912 by the
practically unanimous action Of the Board
of Trade. and by facts and figures fur
nished by the assessors office.
The Johnson-Prouty report on the mutt
lated George bill gave full faith to this
inaccurate and misleading statement of the
George report and used it as weapon
to injure Washington. The Star repeated
in 1914 Washington's 1912 challenge of the
accuracy of this allegation, and urged
that thorough investigation of it would
be one Of the useful functions Of an i'm
partial tax commission for Washington.
Elsewhere in today's Star Witness
Browne, In response to the latest ques-
tioning of the correctness of his figures,
explains Interestingly how thoroughly he
equipped himself by investigation, con-
versation reading and long study to
guess at realty values in Washington. In
connection with Mr.. Brownies statement
The Star prints extracts from the 1917
public comments Of the assessor upon Mr..
Brownies accusation of S414,OOo,oOO I'M
derassessment in Washington. The as
SCISSORS facts and figures demonstrate the
absurdity of the attempt to fix an arbi-
trary formula of relation of assessment
to true value applicable to a whole Sec
ton or to all of any one class of real
property.
The assessor had no opportunity IN
1919 to give to the George committee the
benefit of his pertinent facts and figures
concerning the accuracy of this valuation
But an impartial commission of 1914, II
one is appointed. should dissect and COM
pare Mr.. Brownies and the assessors hs-
ures, maps and statistical tables and de-
eide between them.
Mr. Brownies total assessment and tax
levy, compared with that of other cities,
Ia startlingly excessive. Washlnston
would raise in taxes from IT'S S.44oUUp
of realty alone in 1912 $11,16O.oO. The
taxed fraction of resourceless Washington
would thus raise from its realty alone
more than was raised on realty and per-
sonalty combined in 1912 by the great:
rich and prosperous industrial cities of
cleveland total levy, sl0.o1aSOI Baiti-
more Ss,S43,05), Detroit Cs96II.55O. Buff
faio 9.4:9 TSp, San Francisco t$1O,46',
7OD, Milwaukee $3.50 49,, Cincinnati
G7 ,5ss..l5). Los Angeles (s6. 1877, Ios), New
ark S46,6Ge) and New Orleans t$5,1S2-
42l), all larger cities with far more re-
sources than Washington. The taxed
fraction of the capital would under the
II. J. Browne valuation pay more taxes
on its realty alone than the realty and
personally levies of Minneapolis C$5,692.
.iD and Jersey City &3,510,954 combined;
a little less than Seattle -. 30, 80. Kan
sas City (A,1l5,5o5) and Indianapolis tS3,-
pj5..s6J) combined: about three times as
much as the total tax OF Indianapolis. or
Providence, or Rochester, or Denver, or
Louisville: over four times as much as
the total levy Of st. Paul and nearly six
times as much as the total levy of At
lanta.
The local taxpayers of Washington
actually raised in 1912 a total levy Of
S539S as4. and to do SO endured the bur-
den of per capita tax levy of $15.75. a
greater tax burden than that imposed
upon 14I out of the 1914 American cities
II. j. Browne proposed offhand to more
than double that per capita tax levy by
WashinStons per capita tax levy much
greater than that OF any other American
city, more even than New York with its
vast wealth and its assessed valuation Of
So III, 1885, $50"
Evidently Mr.. Browne does not value
Washington in this estimate in accord
ance with the standards of valuation used
in other cities. The underassessments al
legged by Mr.. Browne relate to ground
values. As loyal single-taxer Mr..
Browne thinks that all such values so far
as private ownership is concerned are
rightfully SO excessively assessed and
taxed as to bring about confiscatlon by
the state. Mr.. Browne as a single-taxer
estimates ground values naturally on this
contiscatory basis. and his STA 100000 es-
innate for Washington Is obviously con-
iiscatory.
Why should not Mr.. George drop Mr.
Brownies contention of fabulous realty
values in Washington. cut out the full
valuation proposition as unnecessary and
injurious under existing conditions, and
work vigorously for those propositions Of