davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1915-03-29
No Full Valuation Anywhere.

Fit even in the ease Of states which
have cities that report the 100 per cent
basis of assessment. the comments of
the census authorities and conpari
son Of actual figures indicate conclu
sfvely the uHreliability of these state
nueuts of full valuation.
Forty-eight Of the sixtytwo cities
: iiich report full valuations are in
three states whose laws compel such
noiriual valuations. But if the as
SCISSORS of Newark or New York are
asked what the actual relation of the
assessment TO true value is they VIII
say frankly that it is much less than
100 per cent. Full assessment valua-
-.ou is nowhere the same as full valua-
tlon for sale.
That the 100 per cent valuation is
.,oInIuaf only III many cases is obvious
from the slightest Inspection OF the
figures Take Baltimore. for instance
\ :. one large southern city which mas
:. nominal 100 per cent valuation Ihe
. ,ltimore assessors Ge12) report the
rnu value OF all the real property IN
great. prosperous and wealthy baiti-
more as s3.2,651 .502. The " ashlnetoh
assessors report that t"o-thirds OF the
fu,I value OF the assessed and taxed
fr,ctior of Nashingtons real properly
u .33o3g24 which makes It's iuli
-aIistiou on the 100 per cent basis
tt..;S:13o. or S122,s52-2-s more thdli
wealth.. busy industrial Baltimore,
with ...5.si greater population. Dr.
II l.. Duhnc OF Baltimore. at a
In.eiir. of the city-widc congress, testi-
fed convinciugly concerning the city's
,,uderassess,nent Urging reassessInent.
NJ .aid. .'In theory the city is assessed
every I'VE Years. AS a matter OF fact,
complete assessment Of the city under the
resent system takes at least seventeen
Gears Judge Oscar Lesser OF the appeal
Ia. court stated to Mayor Preston in my
,resence recently that there is property
in baltimore which has not been assessed
since 1896 It seems TO be that COM
-,lete reasscssment IS due.
The same lesson is taught BY conpaTl-
son Of Wasnington's two-thirds yalua-
.ion Of s330.322.4s1 with the full 100 per
,ent valuations OF Newark, S3Ol, l,209.664
Ind Jersey CITY. sfs0.s5..512. OF course
81 is absurd 70 suggest that the full
yai,,atjon of real property in such cities
- Newark and Jersey City Is in reality
Iess BY millions than the two-thirds
oss.ssed valuation Of real property In
,be taxed fraction of Washington.
The census slurs as incorrect the re-
,,o-ts or relation Of assessed to true
ral,,e in all but three Of the states.
-rEese three states are minnesota.
washington and Wisconsin hat are
,h.. percentages thus commented az
,rcurstee Note how widely they differ
ION the false pretense of fuil valua-
ton.
Evening star., 1915-03-29
Nobody's Doing It.

II is not necessary for convenience IN
comparison and TO assimilate Washing
ton to other American cities to go on
the nominal full valuation basis. Full
valuation means full valuation as the
words are construed in other cities. The
comparisons to determine whether
Washiugtou's taxation is reasonable
are with other cities 10 make compari
sons fair the same construction must
he placed upon the terms employed. The
census shows that comparatively few
american ~tates and American cities
have even a nominal full valuation OF
realty for tax purposes, and the evil
de1ce is conclusive that i'll most of the
cities which have nominal full valua-
ron the assessment is not at 100 per
cent in fact.
The census of 1912 shows that of 49,
american cities having over 10000
population, 1873 are assessed at less
full value. OF these 81 cities. % are in
Nassa chusetts. IA in New Jersey and -
in ohio. leaving only II in all the rest
of the United States @ Rhode Island,
New York (out of u cities). > Con-
necticut. Kansas. ! Maryland. I New
Hampshire. l Pennsylvania and / West
NirSinia). Thus only eleven states con-
tain any cities assessed at full valua-
tion and four of these states have only
one each of such cities There are no
cities with full valuation assessments
in the remaining thrty-seven states
among which are Alabama. Arkansas,
California. Colorado. Delaware, Flori-
da. Georgia. Illinois. Indiana. Iowa.
kentucky. Louisiana. Maine, Mich gan,
NHnnesota Missouri. Montana NAr-aspa,
South Carolina. Tennessee. Texas. Utah,
' irginia. Washington and WISCONSIN
Evening star., 1915-03-29

percentaEe Of additional tax levy
would be small. judging by inference
from the additions ON this account In
the case of the great cities. And where
the city 4. q mere minority fraction Of
the county, no that the contrfbutors to
the county fund outside of the city are
numerOus, and the area Of distrfbutfOn
of county fund much greater than the
area of the city, the same cOnsfdera-
tions operate to render unsuitable and
misleadinR the Injection of county nR-
ures into the comparison. as apply to
bar injection of state t;xes into the
equation. tcI There In mo- good reason
whatever why state taxes should be
considered In this calculation any more
than national taxes.
County Taxes in 1912 Census.
when Washington is shown to be
heavily taxed by a comparison Of its
census figures with those of the other
cities of It's class. the attempt IS made
to slur this showing by the claim that
only city taxes are compared in the
census bulletins, and that county taxes.
which Washington does not have to
hear. must be added to the per capita
tax levy of the other cities. In order
that there may be a fair comparison of
tax burdens In the House debates on
th subject It has been asserted. in the
lace Of the showing made by the CEN
sus that washington Is the tghtest
taxed city in the United States on ac-
eount of this alleged ignoring Of coun-
* taaation in the census comparisons.
But in the census bulletin recently
n,Iblished. giving the figures OF 1917,
county taxation enters into the cal
cuiatiop in the cities of WashinGton's
class. The theory that county taxation
must be added to the census figures OK
all other cities than Washington to
render fair intercity comparisons falls
IN these T.
cen cities washington and seven
others) the county and city orsaniza-
lions are merged. In the ten other
cities proper pc. ,cntage "a aSad ol couHby 20 ny
city figures by the census compllers in
figuring the comp, rative taA-ourdens
Of the respective cities.
The census bulletin. giving the stats.
tics of 1912, explains the inclusion Of
the county tax figures as follows: "
the independent local governmental units
or divisions other than the city corpora
tions, whose receipts and payments are
included In this bulletin the school oIs.
tricts are the most important and most
numerous For ten Of the eighteen
cities having over 100000 Inhabitants
percentage Of the receipts and payments
Of the counties in which the respective
cities are located, based on the ratio be-
tween the assessed valuation Of the city
and that Of the county, has been included,
with those for other divisions OF CITY
government This treatment Is desirable
because in the remaining cities Of groups
1 and III the original county organiza-
ton has been merged with that Of the
city. The addition OF the county figures
places the cities Of groups L and IL on
a more nearly comparable basis than
would otherwise be the case. The cities
OF groups and II for which a percent
age of the county receipts and payments
has thus been added to the city figures
are Chicago. Cleveland, Pittsburgh. De
troit, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Cincinnati.
Evening star., 1915-03-29

senators, representatives and state
legislature it will be time for. it to pay
for such luSuries in the shape of
state tax. Municipal taxation. state
logically and fairly be compared sep
arately in tho different cities. Munich
pal per capita figures Of the census
bulletin are, therefore. properly COM
pared. unaffected by consideration of
either state or national (as. for In
National Taxation.
In letter No. III Washingtons par
ticipation in national taxes on equal
terms with other American cities is
described. The Washingtonian pays the
same national taxes that every other
American pays. 1t is sometimes said
that the Washingtonian pays SIS an
nually (per capita) toward capital
making, while other Americans con-
tribute per capita about cents. But
the washingtonian's real figure is
s1s.06. for he contributes both as a
Washingtonian and as an American
He Is the only ono who pays on botn
sides of. the account and he is the only
one who has nothing to say on either
side of the account Just as the con-
gressman's outraged constituent con-
tributes. theoretically. his cents an
nually to enable the nation to meet its
obligation in respect to the nations
city, so the Washingtonian contributes
his full share in national taxes to en-
able the nation to pay the congress-
mans salary, to -erect an expensive
federal building in the congressman
little home town, and to cause by ap-
propriate irrigation 'naNigaoie
stream to. flow down the dry bed OF
the congressman's home creek.
In letter. No. III the real taxpayers
Of national taxes are sought and II Is
discovered that not even the average
cents per year is paid tor capital
maintenance by the outraged constitu-
ent Of the congressman ost vigorous
in protest against this national con-
tribution.
Does not the Washingtonian pay
enough both in national and local
taxes? Is he in any respect favored os
the legislative body. which. not CHOSEN
by him, decides for him all questions
of eq q-itable taxation?
Evening star., 1915-03-29

the tax burden. in the 19J cities of the
United States exceeding $4,000 in popu-
lation in 1919. This is the most Sig
of all the tables given, since,
combining both tax rate and tax as
sessment, it measures with accuracy
the comparative taX-burdens of Ameri-
can municipalities. Those cities in the
table whose tax levies are less than
that of Washington are marked with
Il star:
Evening star., 1915-03-29
Confessions Of Inaccuracy.

The census bulletins thus discredIt
the accuracy OF the reported relations
Of assessed TO true value except III
three states Minnesota is one of the
states commended for comparative &C
curacy of the statement of the relation
of the assessment 10 the true value.
Yet II has beeu acknowledged officially
that the assessed values reported for
taxation in that siate are grossly iuac-
curate. If Minnesota, SO often cited as
Evening star., 1915-03-29
Prouty VS.. Census.

III the following tables the actual
census figures of total and per capita
tax levy for AIR. Prouty's selected cities
are combined with Mr.. Prouty's figures
of fictitious tax rate in respect to the
same cities:
Evening star., 1915-03-29
20. warning against reliance upon these
figures.
Census Bulletin IFS (1912o Says:

figures.
Census Bulletin lis (1912o Says:
"Rep0rted Basis of Assessment in
Practice.-For most cities the figures
shown in the table as the reported
basis of assessment i'll practice are
estimates furnished by local officials
OF the percentage which the assessed
valuation of property subject to the
general property tax in those cities
forms of its true value. For certain of
the cities of Minnesota, Washington
and Wisconsin the figures given were
obtained from the state tax commits
sions. and represent approximately
the proportion that the assessed valua-
tion bears to the selling value, having
been determined by a critical inNestt-
Eation involving comparison pe-
tween the assessed valuations of prop
erty sold and the considerations re-
Ceiyed at such sales. The figures for
both real and personal property for
most cities outside of these three
states are far from correct. although
those for some cities are more ac-
curate than for others. and those for
real property are more trustworthy
than those for personal
"TaN Rates. rates of levy gwen
for the general property tax are those
per $1,000 of assessed valuation and
per $1,000 of reported true value.
The rntes based on the reported true
value subject TO MI tue erTOTb 1u
the estimates to which attention was
called In the preceding paragraph.
Mr.. 1'routy disrcgards the real meas
urc of tax burdens the total ana per
capita tax lew. commended as accurate
by the census authorities. and applles
TO the tax rate this confessedly grossly
misleading factor Of calculation the
result is worthless as Il measure OF
comparative tax burdens.
False Pretense of Full Valuation.
I'uII valuation for assessment means
full and true valuation for sale nowhere
In the United states. Reports to the
census Of 100 per cent nssessment
valuation. if construed to- mean NO per
cent valuation between buyer and seller.
false nnd misleading. Failure to ap-
pr-cinte this fact is NIL thnt has pre-
vented quick and full recognition OF
the gross Overn~sessment of Washing
ton realty In comparison with that OF
other cities.
Except in "a few cities of the states
of Minnesota. Washington and Wis
rOnsin the census-repOrted relations OF
assessed to true value nre slurred as
incorrect by the census authorities.
They are the guesswOrk of municipal
officials, Influenced by natural ini-
pulse to- eNaREerate the reported per-
are inaccurate nnd misleading. the CEN
calculations of taN-rnte on true
valuation bnsed upon them nre tainted
with the same error, and are absolutely
pnrative actual tnN-burdens. The CEN
sus authorities make clear the unre-
liability of these statfstlcs and of the
differences and deductions from them.
parative tax-burdens is the per capita
SIN-leyy.
Evening star., 1915-03-29
Cities of Smaller Tax Burden.

The cities in which the perreapita tax
levy is smaller than in Washington
are:
Philadelphia. Pa: Baltimore, Nd. !.
New Orleans, La: Jersey City. n. j.:
Seattle, Wash: Kansas City. Mo-: In
dianapolis. Ind; Louisville, Ky: st.
Paul, Mimi: Columbus, Ohio: Toledo,
Ohos. Atlanta. Ga: Worcester. Mass. !:
Birmingham. Ala: Memphis, Tenn.
Scranton, Pa: Paterson. \. j.: Fall
River, Mass; Spokane. Wash: Dayton,
Ohio; Grand Rapids. Mich: Nashville.
Tenn; Bridgeport. Conn: Lowell, Mass !;
San Antonio Tex: Trenton, n. j.: Salt
Lake City, Utah; Reading. Pa; Cam
den, ~ j.; Tacoma. Wash: Lynn. Mass. !;
Lawrence. Mass: Wilmington, Del. :;
Kansas City. Kan: Youngstown, Ohio;
Houston, Tex. Fort Worth, Tex; Du-
lutll, Mimi: Norfolk, Va; Oklahoma
city, Okla; Schenectady, N. Y: Somer-
vile, Mass: st. Joseph, Mo-: Utica,
n. y; Elizabeth, n. j.: Waterbury,
Conn: Akron, Ohio: Manchester. N. II. !;
Hoboken. \. j.: Wilkes-Barrc. Pa. !:
Erie. Pa; Evansville. Ind: Fort Wayne,
Ind: Harrisburg. Pa; Savannah, Ga. !:
East St Louis. H.; Jacksonville, Fla:
South Bend. Ind; Terre Haute, Ind. !;
pasa;,ic, n. j.; Johnston Pa: Bayonre,
n j.. Brockton, Mass; Holyoke. Mass
Charleston, s. c.; Allentown. Pa;
Evening star., 1915-03-29

Mr.. Proutys figures of comparative
tax burden in the above table are
shown to be misleading and worthless.
not only by the census authorities in
discussing the basis on which these
figures rest. but by the erotesque re-
suits which follow acceptance of the
accuracy Of the reports of the relation
of assessed to true value, and the at
tempt to use this false reported rela-
ton as a factor in measuring compare
tive tax burdens
Evening star., 1915-03-29

In calculating the actual tax burden
the assessment alone is Of no value. the
taa rate. alone is Of no value, and the
application to the tax rate Of the unre-
table reported relations Of assessed to
true value 10 measure comparative tax
Evening star., 1915-03-29

Springfield. ILL.,; Covington: Ky; AL
.toona. Pa; Mobile, Ala; Saginaw.
Mich: Sioux City. Iowa: Binghamton,
n. Y: Rockford. ILL.,: Little Rock, Ark;
Augusta. Ga: Springfield, Ohio; Lam
caster. Pa; Pueblo. Col: New Britain,
Conn; Chattanooga, Tenn; York, Pa. /;
Maiden, Mass: Berkeley, CAL: Bay
City, Mich: IIaverhill. Mass: Topeka,
Kan: Salem, Mass; Lincoln, Neb.; Dav-
export, Iowa: Ell Paso. Tex; Tampa.
Fla: McKeesport, Pa: Flint, Mich:
Kalamazoo. Mich; Racine, Wis: Su-
perior. Wis: Wheeling. W. Va: Macon,
Ca: Butte, Mont: Woonsocket, II. l.;
Montgomery. Ala: Chester. Pa: Fitch
burg. Mass; Dubuque, Iowa; Calves
ton. Tex: West IIoboken. y. j.: New
Castle. Pa; Roanoke, Va; E1mira, n.
T.: Huntington, ". Va; Knoxville,
Tenn: Hamilton, Ohio: Lexington, KY;
Springfield. Mo-: Quincy. ILL.,: Charlotte,
\. c.: Joliet. ILL.,: Auburn, N Y: Everett,
Mass: Decatur. ILL.,: Portsmouth. Va;
Perth Amboy. n. J.: Taunton. Mass;
Lansing. Mich: Pittsfield. Mass; Cedar
Rapids. Iowa: Oshkosh, Wis; San Jose,
Cal: Amsterdam. y. T.: Jamestown. N
r; Jackson. Mich: Wiliiamsport, Pa;
Joplin. Mo-: Lima, Ohio; Muskogee,
Okla: Aurora, ILL.,: I.orain. Ohio; Aus
tin. Tex: Newport. KY: Orange, n. j.;
La Crosse, Wis; Shreveport. La: Col
orado Springs. Col; Council Bluffs,
Iowa.
The following cities have per capita
tax levies within Sc OF Washington
that is. not exceeding s11.15: Chicago.
St Louis. Cleveland, Milwaukee, Los
Angeles, Minneapolis. Providence Roch-
ester. Oakland. Cal: Syracuse. New
Haven, Richmond, Omaha, New Bed
ford. Dallas, Albany, Des Moines, Pc
orla, Wichita, East Orange, Chelsea and
Lynchburg.
PER CAPITA TAX LEVY CLASSIFICATION.
Cities with per capita less than $40. O.. so
Cities with per capita between $1O and $I5.. So
Cities With per capita between $l5 and $50. A
(Wsshington's class.
Cities with per capita between $50 and $25. 10
Cities with per capita over 3o5. 5
Evening star., 1915-03-29

The per capita tax levies are not high
or low in accordance with population
OF the city. The high levies are scat
tered through the list. The Ave highest
are Boston. New York, Newton, Mass.
population. 41,1s5): New Rochelle, N.
Y. population. 32,o29), and Pittsburgh.
parative per capita tax levies Of some
cities approxlmatinS Washington in
size. with the addition of the much
larger neighboring cities Of Baltimore
and PhIladelphia.
Evening star., 1915-03-29

See star Dec. is. 1915 and April -. leisD
tSee pages . and ~. Squa-" Deal for National
Caplal.N
Evening star., 1915-03-29
Accurate Measure of Tax Burden.

The following table gives the er
capita tax levy, the real measure of
Evening star., 1915-03-29
Washington and Cleveland.

Newark. Los Angeles and Minneapolis"
The eight other cities in which the city
and county taxes are merged are New
York. Philadelphia, St. Louis. Boston,
Baltimore, San Francisco, New Orleans
ard Washington.
Evening star., 1915-03-29

The Johnson-Prouty proposition IL to
adopt the George proposal OF CieSe-
land Increase in realty nsaessnent
without making n Cleveland decrease
in tax rate. and to inarose i'm addition
n drastic tax on Intangible personally.
with the result Of much more than
Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1915-12-15
Chairman National Commit tee Expects G. o. P. to
 Nominate Teddy.
CONFIDENT THAT
 WILSON WILL WIN
Fn Route tO His Home at Hamburg, Mr. Met (OmhS stops in Little Rock t0 Visit Relatives, and Talks of
 Political Conditions.

Little Rock. Dec. 11--W. F. Me- Combs, chairman of the Democratic national committee, arrived in Little Rock today on a visit to relatives. He will be in Arkansas several weeks. looking after his business interests. Discussing St Louis as the next convention city Mr. McCombs said he was strongly for St. Louis for the national convention. "I have visited St. Louis many times and attended both the conventions of the Republl- cans there in 1896 and the Democratic in 1904" he said. 'I was for Balti- more four years ago, for political reasons, but am glad the convention was sent to St. Louis this time.
 with tho return of the country to prosperity, I can see no reason why President Wilson will not be re-elect- ed. rather expect to see the Repub- lcans nominate MT. Roosevelt as their candidate, but do not wish to go on record as a 'predctcr' for the Repub- lican party. have enough trouble making predictions for my own party.
 "The entire country is prosperous now. Since 1907 the people Of the United States have been practicing economy, They have now entered upon period of buying freely. For
 instance, the man who has been get ting along on six shirts, now feels that he can afford l2.
 "The banks are full of money. The South is especially prosperous. 1t
 raised a good cotton crop at low cost.
 The United States has become the fnancia, center of the world. We have a market, at high price, for ev- erything we have. The lumber busi- ness, which was among the last to show improvement, is now active. Real estate values in the East are fol-
 lowing the upward trend of prices in securities.
 "The national committee strongly endorsed President Wilson for renom- ination, and I can think of nothing now that would prevent him from be- ing both renominated and rc-elcctcd.' MT. McCombs is en route to his home at Hamburg.
Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1915-12-15
CHICAGO STRIKE
 WILL RE FELT
 THROUGH U. s.
Employees of Belt Line Quit, Tying Up Local and
 Transfer Freight.

Chicago, Dec. 114.--All through freight, transfer and local freight classification handled by the Belt Railroad company of Chicago, was brought tc 8 standstill today.
 Every one of the 5S5 engineers firemen and yardmen who are mem- bers of the three great railroad brotherhoods, went on strike.
 Assistant Commissioner G. w. w. Hanger, of the United States bureau Of mediation and cancellation, will ar rive from Washington tomorrow morning, to endeavor to adjust the difficulty.
 The strike was over the failNe o1 the employees and railroad officials to agree upon a train to be run to Clearing, to carry the employees to and from the city. The company was willing to. put on train until Oc- tober, 1916, when it was to be discon- tinued. The employees, through the officers of their respective brother hoods. wanted the question of discon- tinuing the trains to be a debata1;s question when the period expired Upon this point, the company and union officials could not agree.
 The effscts of the strike will be felt by business men throughout the Unit:d States. Many thousands of cars containing perishable freight grain, holiday goods and other com moditias, must lay on the tracks al Clearing until the strike is settled ol other arrangements made to move them.
Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1915-12-15
INVESTIGATION SUFFRAGE LOBBY
 NOW PROPOSED
Byrnes of South Carolina Wants Congress to
 Authorize Inquiry.

Washington, Dec. 1.-The suffrage lobby is to he investigated by con- gress.
 The s5O,00O fund pledged by the congressional union Sunday for fed eral suffrage work, has aroused the ire of Congressman James F. Byrnes of South Carolina. This morning he introduced a resolution in the house, calling for an investigation.
 Tt is reported that the congress sional union is preparing black list Of congressman" said MT. Byrnes. '''rhis is an evidence of the pure poli- tics promised us by women who want the vote! Who is getting that vast sum of money? It is time for the country to knnow. Is congress to be intimidated by g. lobby?"
 The suffrage envoys were refused a hearing before congress later ill the morning. =.
Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1915-12-15
Secretary Lansing Sends a Note of Protest After Cab
 met Considers Matter.
SIX. MEN TAKEN
 OFF THREE SHIPS
France Expected to Attempt to Just:iy Action by Submitting Alleged Proof Flat Germans and .tustriaDs Ire
 Part of Armed Forces.

! Washington, Dec. 1.-The United States has sent a note to France. de- ! manding thc release of the six Ger mans and Austrians who wera taken from Fhe three American vessels Ccamo, Carolina and San Juan-off Porto Rico hE the French cruiser Das Cartes.
 It was announced by the state de- artment that the demand follows those in the August Piepenbrink case. Tn that case the French cruiser Condo took Piepenbrink, naturaliz- ed American citizen, off the Amer ican ship at Windder, in December, 1914. Piepenbrink was turned over to the British government by the French government for detention. Pispenbrinh eventually was released ta demand of the United States, but the diplomatic negotiations left un- settled the righ. of belligersnt to take citizens of any enemy country eff American vessels.
 It is expected France will reply for justification upon proof or alleged prof that the men taken off by the Des Cartes were actually "embodied in tn armed forces of the enemy"
 Secrtary Lansing took the protest to the white house before the cabinet n eeting. It was displaced to Ambas- sador Sharp for delivery to the French foreign office immediately after the cabinet meeting ended.