Putnam patriot., 1915-01-29
Re Assessment Plan

(Continued from Page onel mathematics and apply his judgment either directly to the value Of the par. iicular parcel, or by adding an arbi- frary percentage, for which there Is no logical explanation.
 It Is in the vast number of lots af- fected by corner and alley influence, and those Of irregular shapes, that the reel problems of assessing are found. The several processes comprising the eomers System handle those problems simply and satisfactorily
 As land vslue IS merely an opinion, 1t is evident that the best judgment Of values can be formed from considera. tion of opinions held by ai persons having know ledge thereof Such an expression of Judgment IS property called community opinion oomma- nity opinion k essential to an aecufale assessment.
 But under present conditions 1t is impossible for many citizens 10 express their opinions regarding laad values as it was for fBe workers on ihe Tower ef Babel to comprehend one another. The difficulty in obtaining community opinion k due to the absence of a uuil Of quantity for the measurement Of values. An expression of opinion thai front foot of land in certain block Is worth $500 a foot does not mean any. thing until 1t is known how deep that front foot is; how far from a corner it Is; whether II runs 10 an alley or has nn alley beside it; and whether il is regular or irregular.
 Opinions relating to different things cannot be inlelligently compared. In order to overcome this difficulty the somers system provides a unit of quantity for the measurement of land values. IL is to the assessor what the yardsliek is to the dry goods merchant, the ton to the coal dealer, the quart to the milkman, the pound to the grocer. Imagine for moment the confusion worse than that of Babel which would result should every merchant adopt Yardstiek Of different lengths
 A unit.foot IS frontage Of ground one foot wide and 100 feet deep, located in the central section of block at distance from any street corner or other influence that might affect its value, other than that which it obtains by reason of access to the life and business of the city through it's own frontage. By the use of the Somers unit-foot in obtaining expressions of judgment Il Is possible to accurately obtain eommun. fly opinion.
 When the value of unit-foot on each side of each block to be assessed, Is ascettained, the first part of the as sessof's work, that Of expressing iudg- ment, is completed, The second, or purely mathematical operation Of as- certaining the value of each slte ac- cording to it's shape and size, is haudl- ed by means of the several mathemati- cal tables comprising the Somers sys.
  tenn. These tables consist of depth tables, corner tables, zone tables, and overlap tables. They are similar to, and may be compared with loganthms
 IL will therefore be seen that the Somers System provides means to nc. eurately obtain an expression of judg- ment, as to values, from every citizen Of community, and mathematical rules for scientifically applying that Judgment. It Is not plan to raise as- easements but to equaize them, and The testimony of public officials and private citizens in every city where 1t has been used, proves it's efficiency.
 In the last five years Il has been used in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Denver, Colorado Portland, Ore; Augusta, Ga; Hous- ton, Waco, Galveston, Beaumont, San Antonio and Corpus Christi, Texas; Springfield, East Sl Louis and Joliet, lll. Lancaster, Wis; and by the Stale Tax Commission Of Arizona In eight cities of that state. IL has also been used in appraising over two million dollars worth Of real estate owned by the Detroit United Railway, for the city Of Detroit, in an appraisal pre- limlnary to the purchase of the rail- way by the .eity; in ascer,aining the amount of damage involved in pro posed extension of Sixth Avenue, New York City, and in hundreds Of ap- praissls of land in all parts of the country, for private and public puf- poses.
 After the speaker finished a map of the business section was hung upon The wall and an attempt was made to get at relative values of property from the opinions expressed by those pres ent as to which they thought was the most valuable property in the city and reasons were expressed therefor. This brought out some interesting discus. sion. The speakers remarks were lis tened ito with close attention and he seemed to impress those present with The logic and sound common sense Of the Somer's plan.