Evening star., 1915-03-29

much as the total tax of Indianapo-
lis, 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 Atlanta
The local taxpayers of Washington
| actually raised In 1912 a total levy of
$5,3sS,9S4. and to do so endured the
burden Of a per capita tax levy of
$15.75, a greater tax burden than that
imposed upon lat out of the 1874 Ameri-
can cities. HI. }. Browne proposed on
capita tax levy ny the tax ON real !
alone, and to make Washington's per
capital 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 *9.I77.-
495,620.
The $4,000 Washingtonians. one
third colored. and including an ex-
traordinary percentage of non -taxpay-
ing transfents. deprived of the taxable
resources and even the usual means of
self-support Of the ordinary industrial
city, are to pay in taxes almost as
much as the 795.6S0 Of Baltimoreans
and St. Paulites combined. The $4,000
small property owners. crippled and
cramped in money-making in every
conceivable fashion, are to pay in
taxes to sustain the nations city on
national scale more than the aggre-
gated taxpayers Of New Orleans. Louis
Vile and St. Paul pay in municipal
taxes.
Where are the washingtopians to get
these eleven million dollars OF taxes,
or even the half of that amount. with
Congress? Their legislature has cut
them of from the money-making op
portunities OF the ordinary manufac-
turing and industrial city. They have
81 lt
millionaires Of any degree to be bled
after sqcialistic methods of taxation
for the public benefit. Their great EN-
ployers and manufacturers and cap
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 cityo To con-
fscate 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.
IVY, w .iie . eu Ut -. ~ =.
sass,s sop aaJ aS Us oa,sns h,,I1atins ds-
monstrate that In no other large Amer
toan city has the assessor adopted so
high standard Of assessment.
Gross Embarrassment Elsewhere.
The sIur of comparative underassess-
ment concerninR Warrington realty is
peculiarly exasperating. in view of the
1"ct' ""Ae"' s'"nu' ~"'
and undeniably In every Intelligent
comparison Of census figures, that
.,.h xv..b,n1ton nearly
a,
every other city IN the oniteo sta'e" ~
rs to its realty obviously and grossly
und>r,ss>.s.d.
-..-
States, NO matter what the nominal as
sessment rate Of valuation may be, Is
r..Itx ..t.,,lv ....~..a On c,ose tn fts
- U--...-.. -.
real raAue as In WashihSton tooay'
AS nigh appraiser our assessor can
not, OF course. compete with ii. }.
Browne. who values Warrington realty
as worth twice AZ much as all the
realty In bait1more. nut no other
assessor i'm the United States Except
Estimator Br0wnep cam take the prize
for highest apprnisement from our as
SCISSOR, who (1812D values Washington
realty ms worth $s3,3IO.OIO more than
all Detroit. $7O,s47,3 ,397 more than all
Buffalo, $S5,S58, ,1O3 more than all Mil
waukee, $l2O,41S,O5O more than all
Cincinnati and S272,5SO,SDO more than
on Nex~ nryeans Mr. Rroxvne saws
r,s.-ID -. ..
tnat "asninStoh - woFth s"ace US
much as b0itImOre. Inc assessor says
millions more than twice as much AS
View Orleans.
ro,,,.r;sone hetween Washington
Let. .ara-a - az os
anu oene. eaIiS az " -
sessed valuation OF reaity' LOT puf poSes
OF taxation, should always be coupleu
with the understanding that the large
Industrial esta ablishments which else
nha.a cor+ +rih,,ta ,,oat heavily IN the
wuSle Sol. .Nk, a.a1.rts, ara
here IN large measure s o,aunmsnt nunnen,s'd. de.
partments and mechanlcal es.ao aolisn-
nra ,o. t,n,MaaS a., the taxahle nroner
ties for the eovernment's holdings are
xr,ha