Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-01-29
MANY COUNTIES or STATE NOT
FAIRLY TREATED IN YEARS
GONE ~.
STATE COUNCILS
FAVORED THE RAILROADS
Seventy. Three Counties For First Time
in History 20 Come Into Their Own
Old System Of Dividing Railroad
Systems Into Many Parts For Tax.
able Purposes Ends.
special to Times-Republioan.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines. Jan. 29.-There are sew
enty-th1ee counties Of Iowa that have
just cause for complain. over the
treatment they have received in the
matter Of taxation Of railroad property.
Their complaint can not be directed at
the present executive council but at
those which have gone before.
For many years these counties have
been deprived of their share OF railroad
taxes. or a part of their share, to which
they were entitled under the laws Of
the state. That they we're thus de-
prived because Of the desire of the rail-
roads to escape some taxes is probable.
Now these seventy-three counties o.
Iowa are for the first time to come
into their own and to receive their fair
share of the taxes from railroads, be-
cause for the first time in Iowa history
the state executive council has prop
erly distributed railroad values over
the state and in exact accori with the
code of Iowa. The old notion that each
railroad system is Invisible into many
parts, because in operating same it is
so divided, has disappeared forever.
Each system is a complete entity.
However the railroad auditors may
arbitrarily divide up receipts and dis
bursements as between branches and
main lines, ETC., the fact remains that
every railroad system must be consid-
cred as whole. and all parts are
mutually dependent.
Twenty.Six Show Decrease.
This feature of the assessment this
year, with the fact that It would tend
to increase the average rate paid by
the railroads in taxes, was fully ex-
planned and elucidated last summer
when the assessment was MADE, but 1t
seems that its significance did not ap-
pear.
On the 10th of September there was
printed in this correspondence a COM
plete list Of all the counties of the state
with the taxable value Of railroads as
fixed for 1912 and 1913. thus disclosing
in detail the increases and decreases
made by reason of compliance with the
strict letter Of the law. But even yet
the vast Importance of this change
from an illegal distribution to legal
one is not comprehended in some parts
Of the state.
While there are seventy-three coun-
ties that show an increase in assess
ment this year, in part due to this
change, there are twenty-six that show
a decrease and Of course in these
counties there are demagogs ready to
assert with sheer disregard for the
truth that the state executive council
actually decreased railroad assessments
this year.
That the exact facts may be known
there Is given below, again, a table
showing the exact amount Of the ms
crea Sc or decrease in each county Of
the state, Of the actual valuation OF
the railroad property, roughly classified
as to amount Of the change.
Increases,
Mahaska County ............ 81, $50, 1868
keokuk 1,sss,77S
Sac NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 1,S53,32s
Webster 1,717,216
Lee .................... 1.717,0s4
Kossuth 1,69o.71e
Calhoun 1876
Woodbury. Observation-Disclosures. 1,615,652
Cerro Gordo Observation-Disclosures. 1,516292
Monona 1,515,644
Wright Observation-Disclosures. 1,494,992