davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12
81 aS Total saS 4Sa d72

Average w sl9S Total ssS 80, 072
This valuation was i'm the midst of the
fearful depression following the panic Of
1873. when the affairs of the District were
in unutterable confusion, and the graft
and looting of the period OF the Board
of Public Works were at their height.
Contracts were awarded to favorites
without bids and the whole city reeked
with corruption. Heavy special assess
ments were levied and the District was
plunged heavily into debt.
On July /. 1878, the whole bonded in
debtedness of the District. including the
bonded Indebtedness of Washington and
Georgetown, and waterstock bonds was
81, ,I0665o.
The joint select committee of Congress,
which investigated the affairs of the Dis
uict and which reported June 16. 1874,
secured a tax rate Of S upon the assess
ment of real estate in Washington, $50
in Georgetown and 81 in the County, to
maintain the government of the District
for the year ending June 30. 1875.
The resolution under which this COM
mittee acted instructed IT, among other
things, to
inquire and report what amend
ments of the organic acts. IL any. are
necessary" etc.
So there were organic acts prior to the
so-called organic act of June H. 1873,
which. as a matter Of fact. was not any
more an organic act than its predeces-
sors. and so far as the "half-and-haif'
feature of it was concerned. did not and
could not have any binding effect ON
subsequent Congresses.
Assessment and Tax Levy for 1878.
The Joint Select Committee appointed
under the fifth section OF the act of June
90 1874. entitled. AN Act for the Govern
ment OF the District of Columbia and for
other purposes.- reported In fAv0r Of q
= tag rate on the assessed value OF real
and personal property. No isgtslafina
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12
$14,249,S1s


q per cent in population to be housed
and cared for and to effect a rise In
land values, against per cent advance
in Improvement assessments, and an
actual reduction Of L per cent in the
assessment Of land! Assessor Trimble
remained in office until the reorsaniza-
tion, December /. 1883, when he was sue
ceeded by H. H. Darneille. reappearing
at later period as an assistant assessor
from which position he retired in 1913.
Referring to the johnson, Report on
Tax Assessments In the District of
Columbia. 1882. the testimony discloses
(p. a. that Assistant Assessors Dawson.
Moore and Cook, had adopted the follow
ing rule:
Resolved. That In making the assess-
ment of real property In the District Of
Columbia for the triennial period Begin
ming with the fiscal year 1888 the term
value and true value used In the ex-
isting law governing II. shall be regard-
ed as meaning one and the same thing.
to wit. true or intrinsic value. and that
the measure Of such true or intrinsic
value Ii that amount in lawful money
which such property would probably
bring at . forced sale under adverse CIR
cumstances: ~
This was q deliberate misjnterpretation
Of the true intent and purpose Of the laW.
yet the asssssment made by theee Of
ficials under this rule struck Q blow
1t the avarice Of the land speculafoR
ard drop Of ehsls - below ~ boards
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12

George Report estimate Of the values OF
land and improvements-an advance OF
626 per cent over the estimate which the
Star denOunces as "confiscatory.'
WashiaEtoa the Poorest of Ameri-
can Cities.
Now let us read from the Star:
The Star. December 16. 1918.
"a square deal for Washington"
Against Campaign of Reputation,
Confiscation. and Vilification.''
Pointed Lessons of 1910 Census Fig
ures"
Already excessively tax-assessed.''
Grossly unfair to Raise Standard Of
Assessment
The Star. May II. 1915
Imaginary Riches Of Hard-up Capital.
Is Washington Lightest or Heaviest
Taxed. the Richest or Poorest OF our
Cities?"
The Star. February s, 1915.
Gross Comparative Over-Assessment
Of Poorest Great City in America"
Washington instead OF being the rich
est among American cities is absolutely
the poorest In taxable resources"
The Star. March :, 1914
Referring TO the figures uesd by Rep
resentatives Crisp. Prouty and other
speakers to demonstrate the comparative
liShtness OF taxes in Washington
"The gross under-assessments of other
American cities in comparison with the
assessment of Washington furnish the
foundation upon which Is built the claim
that Washington is per capita the
wealthiest city in the United States.
Every one knows that in money earning
opportunities and available taxable re-
sources 1t Is among the poorest The
figures establish not that it Is over rich.
but that compared with other cities 1t is
over-assessed. Its realty. already COM
psratively over-asssssed, is threatened
with such excessive absolute over
assessment for taxation as to result in
its coniiscation-
Examination shows that its realty Is
the treasure which In the figures of hos
tile calculators makes Washington rich
and the average washingtonian a Croe-
sus. But by confscatory over-assessrnent
and excessive taxation Congress is urged
to deprive Washington realty not only
of any imitation of value. but of all value.
and thus while largely increasing the
local taxes. to Take from private owner
ship the only taxable resource from
which the taxes may be met"
Let us bring together these various
realty valuation estimates dncluding i'm
provements), and the official assess
ments:--
Manufacturers Record
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12
q total tax Of :.

Figures on over 200 small houses in
the District show a smaller return
than this property.
Note that the improvements on this
property are assessed at four times
the assessment of the ground values.
Note that on the property at the cor
ner of Eleventh and F streets north
west before referred to. the improve
ments are assessed at less than one
nth the assessment Of the ground
values. Note that on the Barbour
Chaconas property at the corner OF
Ninth and Louisiana avenue the i'm
provements are assessed at less than
one-thirteenth the assessment Of the
ground values. The ratios are as 20
to I and as So to between the former
property and the latter two. Is 1t not
plain that the discriminating assess
ment and tax on improvements con-
stitute a heavy and unjust burden on
10000 small homes in the District. Of
which the Emerson street house is a
fair example. and the extremely low
assessment and tax on valuable land
holding privileges cause homecoming
to be difficult and the cost of living
to mount higher ana higher? Low as
sessment and taxation of land values
favor business areas where the land
values are high and Improvement
values low. favor unimproved specu-
lative areas. where there are no I'M
proyements. and discriminate against
small home sites where And values are
only one-fourth the value OF improve
ments. -
why not place the land tax ct -
In the hundred on tha smAu home
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12

talue OF D1str1ct heaI Eatatc In ISOl.
1t is a reasonable assumption that the
whole Maryland land area of the District.
including Georgetown, with an allowance
for improvements, could have been
bought at the average rate of s66.66 per
acre, or a total for the then existing land
area Potomac fats and Anacostia flats
excluded of &c. ACC acres for s., 4e7. .066.
/ wish to direct attention to the fact
that the Government paid for 544 acres
of parks and public building sites $36.099.
which is less than the annual ground
rental value of the Southern Building. at
the corner of Fifteenth and H Streets
NV, and could undoubtedly have bought
the whole present site of the District
for about the price paid by the Govern
ment in 1909 for the Five Squares" south
of Pennsylvania Avenue between Four
teenth and Fifteenth Streets. .... 81, SO. sos
and not much above the two-thirds as
sessed value of the land in the single
square bounded by Fourteenth, Fifteenth.
and G Streets NV. in round fig
ureS --.--------------..--.---- A,zoDWo
5, 4os acres at ses.es per acre. 2,4e7.o66
Assessment and Tax Levy for 1874.
The tax levy for the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1874, was based on the following
rates and valuations:
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12

This went into effect in 1894. yet As
SCISSOR Trimble declared in his Annual
Report for 1898 that these increases in
land value assessments Of IS per cent
in Washington. 81 per cent in George
town. and 7s per cent in the County,
an average Of 30 per cent for the whole
District. were too high for a healthy
business prosperity"
The Land Speculators' HiEhly En-
Client Grip.
This attitude was highly satisfac-
tory to the real estate interests. and
they maintained their highly efficient
grip on the Assessors Office. while the
assessments on land values dropped
steadily until in 1902 they had fallen.
from the 1894 level Of. .$112.S30.3 .3S3
to 9S,580,5e4
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12
5NT AND TAXATION IN TIE DIS IRICT OFCOLU UMBIA

afsa. grant . ss.ese exsmpsion on fn-
pSovements and abolish he watsr tax
entirely ~ TO homes?
Why Net Make WsssF Treef
Streets are free. why not make
water free? The water. tax resta. Iike
the improvement tar. most heavily on
the small owners who eau least afHotd
to pay. and II was Arbitrarily. unjust
iy and heavily Increased fsW years
ago. by former Board Of Commiasion-
ers. Of which the Chairman Of the Com
niitfee sustaining the half and half''
plan was President.
We're the tax rates ! suggest ADOPT
I'd. the tax bill on the Emerson Street
properfY would deon from
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12
@6,4s3.072
S.eS@
Remarkable Assessments of rs


wish to direct attention to the as
sessment OF land in the county IN 1897
(which, according to law. should have
been ''at the true value there
OF, -.-----------.-----.---... 3D. .4S4.6lS
The Rock Greek Park Purchase Act Of
September q. 1899. had resulted at prac-
tically the beginning of 1882 In the ac-
QUESTION of 16o6 acres OF land at a price
81 ,125.Z15
The total full value assessment on
this area SIC. 554
or only L per cent of the price paid for
this property. which after a full and ex-
haustive examination I am convinced
was not excessive at that time While
some prices were high the concessions
Of certain pablic-spirited owners like
Senator Don Cameron. former Governor
A. r. Shepherd and b. II. warder
brought down the average.
On the same percentage the county would
have been properly assessed in 1882 at
oNer ------------..--...---- 81, 200, 900
Inere are those who quarrel because
after careful and conservative investiga-
ton L found that In 1912, twenty years
later; the essential county areas were
worth --.---.-..-----.-.....-. .Sa6 49, $40
Yet county values had more than dou-
bled in twenty years.
There had been submitted by the Board
OF Assistant Assessors of the District
composed Of George +. Dawson. John p.
COOK, and F. L. Moore. three competent
men, one Of them heavily interested IN
real estate. on the first Monday in June
iss-. an assessment showing the value of
land In the District to be-. .Slss. m, s72
The existing assessment was. 7S,M az
This was startling raise OF. .slc, ss1 ga
An increase Of 160 per cent.
These three assessors testified before
Congressional committee that their
basis Of value was what property would
PROBABLY bring at forced sale under ad-
verse circumstances"
The real estate interests OF the MIS-
trict were panic stricken. They f1ed
TO Congress for relief and succeeded IN
having inserted in the Sundry Civil Act
of August s. 1892. provision for a board
to revise and equalize an assessment
which the Assessors Report for 1899
calls most extraordinary and alarm
ing"
The new board knew their masters
voice" They brought the assessment
back as near the beaten path as thew
dared. and reduced the assessment Of
land
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12

One hundred feet seems unaccountably
lost from the area of lot ). but the land
value asst ssment has been almost exactly
doubled. Whether the assessor was con-
science stricken or panic stricken Is un-
known. but this startling increase was
due probably to the revelations of the
George Report. and not to any increase in
the value Of the property between the
two assessments. for its lease at $500 a
year net began in 1852. ten years before
the assessment of 1872 went into effect.
Woodward & Lothrop's taxes on land
and improvements on this property in
creased from $3.50 in 1912 to s5.557 in 1915,
the increase falling on land values. the
improvement tax of 500 remaining un-
changed.
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12

feet. purchased in 1884 and 1856 for $500.
producing In 1902. fifteen years after
\ its first lease a net annual rental
OF ......-.......-----...-.-- .S-Z.JU
or. adding the land tax, gross
ground rental of.......-..--S1.1Sa la
n ground rent of sJ per cent per an
mum. on a lease which in 1917 will
he worth under existing condi-
tions net ground rent renewal
per annum So. co..
and gross ground rent. land
taxes added. So
or NJ per cent annually on its pur-
chase price in 1876.
Two assessments on this property are
here given:
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12
And the Fiscal Relation to the
Federal Government.
By HERBERT JANvRIN BROWNE

was effected. however. and 1t remained
for the Forty-fifth Congress- to pass the
measure under which the District is now
governed with the -half-and-half' sub
sidy provision and the $50 tax rate on
the true value of realty In Washington
and Georgetown and q 81 rate on agri-
cultural lands in the county, the 20 per
cent pro rata at one time proposed for
the Federal contribution having been
raised to 50 per cent.
Although the assessments for 1s7% were
on ''greenback" basis. the backbone Of
imitation had been broken and legal ten
der notes were rapidly rising toward par
OF geld redemption; yet with the steady
ing and stimulating effect Of the strong
ly reorsanixed District government to
aid. the assessment for 1878 showed:
Land. improvements Total
Washington $40 $3s, 70, 400 $s5.5s4, 40
Georgetown 2.oel.5sl 3.S7ss75 5.ssS. .5os
County,. 4S59.SA 1.So3, 40 6.e62.s .sA
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12

the enormous increase In value or this
property is due to any cause whatever
save the growth of the National Capital
and the need of its population to trade at
a point made convenient by the concen-
tration OF traffic on F Street? Or that
its superstructure has not deteriorated to
the point 'of obsolescence compared with
the rest OF Woodward & Lothrop's splen-
did improvements:
Is there a taxpayer in the whole United
States who. directly or indirectly. does
not help pay the S5s.d1o00o disbursed by
the Government in Washington. or
productive acre in the United States.
which does not contribute to the value
of that Immensely valuable corner? And
1t Is in the heart of an area where land
holdings are better than government
bonds
Assume that as result Of the Fiscal
Inquiry. Congress decides that the Fed
eral Government shall cease directly to
contribute to the continued increase in
the value of this estate. by abolishing the
half and haIf' subsidy entirely. and de-
crees that the people of the District shall
more fully share in the value which they
have created, and to that end imposes
tax rate of $50 per hundred on the full
land value Of this corner. Assessor Rich
ards places its selling value at sso. 10. Its
true value on the basis OF It's present net
lannual ground rental of............. $500
plus Its present ground tax Of. 4.e57
a gross annual ground rent Of. Sill
capitalized at 8 per cent would be. -Ss3.14o
an extremely conservative estimate,
since + Street property is even now dou-
bling In value every fifteen years and
has therefore Z per cent annual incre-
ment over and above its actual return
Were a $3.50 tax rate placed on this
full value, 1t would produce an annual
tax of sl3, ,579. and Woodward & Lothrop.
when their lease ran out In 1917, could
say effectively to the lessor
I'VE paid In 1915 a rental of...-..... 81, 500
And a land tax of.....-............-.. 4657
A total rent of...................--....$ ...$z1,l5s
This property may be worth gross
lease for the next fifteen years OF. .S4.667
but not a net lease Of that amount The
annual ground taxes are........... .$13.5
We viii lease for a gross annual rental
Of .-....<s+eo1
but you pay the taxes
The holder of the fee simple rather than
face that increased tax burden with an
empty store will yield. and will be abe
70 exact annually from the community
only
while the community will get the public
benefit from the expenditure OF xlA5ss
taxes in place Of AS7 taxes. and the
Federal Government VIII uss A.sN sevso
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12

What this would mean to the tens
OF thousands Of clerks and wage earn
ers Of the District in similar cireum-
stances. gross reduction Of over 81
100000 In taxation on their homes,
whether owned or rented. II worthy Of
serious consideration. But the Star
and other advocates of the half and
half' plan never admit the truth Of
this simple proposition. They have
made the welkin ring with their de-
nunciations of propositions to double
the tax burden of the small home own
ers of the District"
The Washington herald., 1915-12-12


Seven years later. Mr.. e. w. Oyster.
then and now assistant assessor. particle
pates in the triennial assessment Of
ls14-15. which produces on the two-thirds
basis an assessment Of land values OF
seo6 90. .315. Indicating Q full value Of
ss1.,127.s6. q drop from Mr.. Oysters lso6
two-thirds estimate Of 310.s1les5. and .
drop from his 1905 fun valuation Of $780,
s1,aa
And yet the District had had seven
years Of growth In wealth. building and
population between 19os and 1Sl4 and .
prodigious land boom that reached it,
cuimination In 1Slz. the year Of the
George report. witch. practically repeat
ing Mr.. Oyster's charges OF discrimina-
tion. conssrvatively found taxahis full
land values IN the District to be &oA-
seo,sss, Q sum les than Mr.. Oystsr's .esti-
mats of 13os by S0.so4eA
Assistant Assessor 0yster may DO his
oua explaining of IL Vids di1essDansy
The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1915-06-24
FIGHT AT to,5oo FEET.
French Aviator Attacks German Al
That Height-Latter Falls
Like Stone.

Paris.-The following official ac-
count Of an engagement between a
French and German aeroplane was
given out in Paris:
AN enemy aeroplane having been
observed over our lines at Aspach,
near Thanh, in upper Alsace, one OF
our aviator sergeants took wing and
mounted in 30 minutes TO a height OF
10000 feet. At this altitude he en-
gagged his enemy with a machine gun.
ITO this fire the German replied with
his machine gun, and one Of his bull
lets struck the motor OF the French
machine. The sergeant again ascended
TO a position above his adversary and
fired three bands Of cartridges. Dur
ing the third round the German aviator
was seen by the Frenchman suddenly
20 throw his arms into the air. His
machine then began TO fall, and II
came down like a stone inside Of our
line.
"The French aviator came down un'
der control. Once on the ground he
examined his machine. He found that
bullets fired by his antagonist had per
forated his cylinder, penetrated the
steel shield at the back Of the motor
and riddled his sails. The Frenchman
himself was slightly wounded in the
neck"
The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1915-06-24
Governor In Home Celebration.

Governor Brumbaugh was the CEN
tral figure in the dedication OF the new
Federal Building, which was one OF
Huntingdon's greatest occasions. The
ceremonies consisted OF a parade in
autos and Of program Of addresses,
with music, at the building. The Gov.
ernor and his staff had been guests at
Juniata College during the forenoon
at commencement. The line of parade
was fully decorated The dedication
speakers, comprising talent not often
gathered al one time upon the rostrum
in Huntington. were introduced by T.
B. Patton, superintendent Of the Penn
sylvania Industrial Reformatory.
The presentation address of the
building on behalf OF the United States
Government was made by A. M. Dock
cry, Third Assistant Postmaster Cen
eral. The acceptance on behalf of the
people of Huntingdon was given by
Thomas Fisher Bailey.
Governor Brumbaugh gave charac-
terlstically strong address in the form
OF "a Talk To His Home Folks" He
referred to the occasion as one of dou-
BILE Importance because 1t had brought
to Huntingdon high representative
Of the Federal Government and the
Governor of the State. He then launch
ed upon his theme, which was an ac-
count OF how the postotlice service
had been developed since the days OF
Benjamin Franklin, first Postmaster
General of the United States. and OF
John Cadwalader, postmaster of Hunt
ingdon at the time 1t was yet an Indian
trading post until the more recent
period when he himself was connected
with the postal service, carrying mail
from Marklesburg to his fathers store
at the munihcent salary of $40 per
year.
The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1915-06-24
40 KILLED BY zEPPELlNs.
80 Persons injured In Two Raids On
Enqiand-Britain Building Big
German Aeroplanes.


London.-A Zeppelin airship visited
the northeast coast of England and
dropped bombs.
Some fires were started by the pro-
jectiles, but by morning they had been
overcome.
The following official statement re-
garding the raid was issued:
Further inquiries show that the
casualties in connection with the visit
of Zeppelin to the northeast coast
Tuesday night amount to 16 killed and
40 injured.
ut is now possible to state more ex-
actly the casualties resulting from an
airshlp raid on another portion OF the
northeast coast on the night of June 6.
The number of deaths there was "a,
comprising 5 men, all civilians, 13
women and 6 children. There were
also 40 cases OF more or less serious
injuries.
"The principal fires we're in drapery
establishments, lumber yard and a
terrace OF small houses"
German aeroplanes OF great carry
ing capacity are in process of manu-
facture for the British Government,
according to an announcement made
in the House of Commons
This statement was made in reply
to tie suggestion by member of the
House that machines Of this character
were needed adequately to deal with
raiding Zeppelins.