Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-07-12
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETS TO
REVIEW AND REVISE WORK
or ASSESSORS.
LOW ANTAGONISTS
INFLUENCE is SEEN
Reported That in Some Instances As
SCISSORS Have Failed to Comply With
Law Providing For Assessment on
Actual uation-RaiIroad Assess.
ments First Duty Of Council.
Special to Times-Republican.

SPECIAL TO
Des Moines, July l2.-The state ex-
ecutive council met this morning to
perform it's most important duty in re-
lation to the affairs of state. The
council members are all here, the gov
ernor having just returned from CAL
ifornia, and Treasurer Brown having
returned from an automobile outing in
Wisconsin. The council will be in SEES
sion practically all of the time for at
least two weeks. It's duties may be
classified as follows:
AS board of assessors it will first
make the assessment of value for tax
alton purposes of the property of the
railroad companies, transportation
lines, express. telegraph ana telephone
companies.
AS board Of review the council
will review and revise the work of the
$500 local assessors of the state as
reviewed by the township and county
boards of review and returned to the
state auditor.
AS taxation board the council will
compute what the state tax levy shall
be on 1.-THE valuation of property as
finally adjusted in order to raise the
funds required under legislative APP
propriations.
Railroad Assessments First.
The first work is that OF making
the railroad Assessments. The repre-
sentatives Of the various railway sys-
TENS, to the number of about twenty
five, are here for the purpose of pre-
senting to the council such facts as
they deem proper regarding their re-
spective properties having relation to
assessment purposes. They will be
heard one by one but probably will
present no new or startling facts re-
garding railroad properties. 1t is a
safe guess that the executive council
will not make any very radical changes
in the valuation of the railroad prop
critics. The council settled practically
al Of the larger questions of valua-
ton in its memorable session Of two
years ago when there was added to the
valuation of the railroads about 49,
100000
The fact that the. reports OF the rail-
road companies show an increase in
net earnings in Iowa of nearly two
and a half million dollars would justify
some increase, however. in assessed
values.
The work of assessing the telephone
and telegraph companies is one which
is largely done by the clerical force OF
the council after general principles
have been laid down and this will take
several months to complete.
Did Assessors Disregard Law?
The big work of the council at this
time will be the review Of the work
of the assessors and local boards in
the matter of fixing actual values OF
real estate and personal property thru
out the state The law is now as it
has been in the past that the valuation
set down in the county books shall
be the actual value on the market or
in the course Of trade. 1t will be re-
called that two years ago when the
council undertook to comply with the
Requirements of this law and did in
fact make such an adjustment of wall
ues as would give approximately the
actual value of property in the state.
there was such storm of protest from
the tax dodgers that for time it
looked as II there would be a political
revolution. The fact, however, be-