Evening star., 1915-02-20

| these eleven million dollars of taxes
or even the half of that amount. with
| out the sympathetic cooperation OF
| Congress? Their legislature has cut
them off from the money making op-
| portunities of the ordinary manufac-
turing and industrial city. They have
no Rockefellers or Carnegies or multi
millionaires of any degree to be bled
after socialistic methods of taxation
for the public benefit. Their great en-
| tains of industry are consolidated in
/ Uncle Sam. Their richest men are
| wealthy Americans from all over the
| republic who at first are only winter
| residents of the capital. These men
are, like the workmen in the building
| trades being driven out of the capital
| and off the city's tax list Is it the
plan to depopulate the city? To con-
| fiscate the land on Single-tax principles
by excessive taxation, and then to evict
the people of the city in order that
they may find elsewhere some means
of self-support?
Not only is Washington realty not
underassessed, in comparison with that
of other cities, as alleged by Mr.
Browne and by those in Congress who
have echoed his single-tax estimate,
but on the contrary the figures, charts
and comparisons of the District as
SCISSOR and of the census bulletins de-
monStrate that in no other large Amer
lean city has the assessor adopted so
high a standard of assessment
Gross Underassessment Elsewhere.
The slur of comparative underassess-
ment concerning Washington realty fs
peculiarly exasperating, in view of the
fact, which stands out cOnspicuOusly
and undeniably in every intelligent
comparison of census figures, that
compared with Warrington nearly
every other city in the United States is
as to its realty obviously and grossly
underassessed.
Hardly anywhere else in the United
States, no matter what the nominal as-
Sessment rate of valuation may he, ia
realty actually assessed SO close to it's
real value as in Washington today.
Az a high appraiser our assessor can
not, of course, compete with H. J..
Browne. who values Washington realty
as worth twice as much as all the
realty In Baltimore. But NO other
assessor in the United States Except
Estimator BrOwne) can take the prize
for highest appraisement from our as
SCISSOR, who G9l2 values Washington
realty as worth $73,3l0,O1O more than
all Detroit. S7O.547,3 ,307 more than all
Buffalo, $S5,S56. 1O3 more than all Mil
waukee, $12O.41S.O5O more than all
Cincinnati and $2s2,5SO,58O more than
all New Orleans. Mr.. Browne says
much as Baltimore. The assessor says
TINT Washington is worth about fifty
millions more than twice as much as
New Orleans.
Comparisons between Washington
and other cities in regard to the as
sessed valuation of realty. for purposes
of taxation, should always be coupled
with the understanding that the large
Industrial establishments which else
where contribute most heavily to the
city's wealth and taxable property are
here in large measure non-existent
save in the form of the government de-
partments and mechanical tablish-
ments. These local industries, however
are not included in the taxable proper
ties for the governments holdings are
exempt from assessment. Hence, when
Washington is compared in this respect
with such busy industrial centers as De-
troit, Buffalo and Minneapolis the local
total of assessed valuation. representing
an almost exclusively non-industrial
community. stands against the totals of
cities where are scores. even hundreds.
of mills and shops and factories. pro-
ducing enormous values and giving
to great numbers. Even
so, the taxed fraction of Washington is
at higher total than any of
these cities. Here are the figures: