The McDowell times. [volume] (Keystone, W. Va.) 1904-1941, 1915-09-10
Nine TYPICAL Coal COUNTIES
! PAY NEARLY ONE THIRD OF TAXES
Development Of Coal Industry Has Made the State
Rich and As Is Shown, Has Provided for the
s.. State Its Biggest Taxpayer
10y @. c. MeIntosh.)

West virginia bear nearly one-thfrd OF
the entire assessment on real estate
and personal property In the state. To
De exact. their proportion IL 3l.(
Vhirtyone and sixtenths) per cent
This statement. verified by the 70
ports OF the state auditor. shows In
impressive fashion what the coal de-
velopment has done for West VIZ
ginia's government.
The counties taken into consider,
ton In this finding are Mcdowell. Fay.
cite. Marion. Logan. Kanawha. HART
son. Raleigh. Mercer and Mingo. They
are named In the order of thek ton
mage yield.
The amount OF assessment returned
to the state for state purposes for the
year 1914 from these counties. Wa
SSo3.547.172. The total assessment r.
turned by all OF the counties TOR 1914
was $95s.0s4.435. As calculation will
show. there remained OF the total A.
sessment for 1914 the sum only of
ss45.547.26S TO be distributed amons
all the other forty-six counties OF the
state. and including the cities OF
Wheeling. Huntington and Parkers-
burg. as well - others OF less size.
wealth and Importance.
II VII be equally intsrestir~ %
know that the nine counties named
paid more than onefourth OF al the
cspitation taxes collected for the year
1914 The total capitations collected
FOR that year was $2l7.260. OF this
sum the nine typical coal counties pssd
1881 In this connection it may BE-
remarked that the coal PRODUCING
companies OF the state greatly fac<fS-
tate the collection OF capitatiou taxes
by lending their ONCE Organizations
TO the work. In some OF the coal conn
ties. at least. the ASSESSOR place
their capitation tar tickets against the
workmen IN the hands Of the company
o1oiais and. In course. the amount n
deducted from the wages of the men
and returned to the assessor. A stata
Law provides for this manner of col
lection.
Mcdowell county affords the most
conspicuous example. showing the
wonderful extension Of businaes
brought about By the coal develop
ment The Norfolk 4 Western ran.
road Wa completed In 1888. Giving an
outlet both to the west and seaboard
Tor Pocahontas coal -Four years pre-
vious to that time the total assessed
property valuation IN McDoveTl conn
" amounted % the insiGnihcant sum
o. *Sc6.S63: six hundred and four can
itations were collected. The ANAL
county OF Brooke at that time carv1ed
valuations on the tar books about two
times greater. being e6e2.4I7. Now the
valuations In Mcdowell county are
s34.O54.0l(. while those OF BROOKE
county are s10.275. POS. The 1914 can
nations were ii 1880. At the tar rase
OF six cents. which was I'm force An
1914. Mcdowell county was saseassd
Tor the use Of the state fund the sum
OF s2o.+s24o. This vast and prosper
ous development OF the banner coal
county came only when q railroad vas
projected through the extreme soush-
srn territory OF the state. and An oopo,.
sunity was given to take the prod.ct
o. mcdowell county 70 the marhst
Mcdowell county produced I'm 1914
over fourteen million tons OF coal.
The same avenue OF transportatioo
seveioped TO an amazing extent the
counties OF Mercer and Mingo.. Prior
70 the opening OF the coal nina IN
Mercer county the property valuations
we're $1.0ss.42s: now they stand AZ
s1eb1f.s2s. a development brought
ABOUT almost wholly because of thu
coal deposits OF that and coptino,.
counties. One OF the most prosperous
ana thriving cities OF the state. with
numerous Wholesale and banking In
tereets. is located In Mercer county.
Splendid permanent pixies are bsins
built. radiating out OF Blus6eId "A
Prfnceton. Mingo was not orrans.e6
as county until about 1900. vh,ch
municipal entity came about becsu.e
Of the prominence taken on by reason
ef the coal development. Ten vear~
after its birth Minso property vaiuar
ions had sweIled to 81 .92l .ssS Nov
lingo county pays tsxes on . vsbus-
ton OF s14.5ez.s<7.
AZ TO Fayette county, which stapds
second In coal production. the nsures
~ hand do not tell the whole ssovv
Coal production In Fayette started
With the completion OF the Chesapeake
= Ohio railway along about 1874
Property values then we're far fyom
significant. Along about that time thu
soerih OF the county traded tar t,csets
TOR the hides Of Wild animals. The
tands OF the county. except those IN
the immediate front OF New River. haA
Q very meager value. and not until
100 Wa there any DEVELOPMENT o<
ne coal land IN any OF the territory
nov trsversed by branch railway line.
IN 1888 the property valuations had
crown TO s7.+oo.sf<. and s.sol cap,ta-
tons we're reported. In 1914 the prom
erty valuations had been boosted IN
1s.sos. sse. and 1000 capitattons ven,
assessed.
kanavha county. wherein IL Iocsssd
the capitol Of the state. has Dvvn
INTO v.s state Of yichness bscssss
q ne dsvelopment a. the coal isAus-
~. He'd n not been for coal ChsrSss
eoa. which IL one OF the richest az
West Virginia cities. could not have
eoeresd into its present attractive