Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-11-11
DOES j. S. FLAG
ON SPITE FENCE
INCREASE VALUE?
Melrose Property Assessment
$500 Higher Than 1t Would
Be Ordinarily
"WORK OF ART" EXTRA
Attorney Will Ask City Council
to Reduce Valuation
Figures
WORK OF ART" EXTRA

Does the painted presence of Old
Glory on the face of spite fence"
enhance or decrease the value of a
property $500 worth?
City Council, sitting as board of
tax revision and appeals, may be called
upon to consider that problem Fri
day, November 10. when it hears OBJ
jections to 1916 triennial assessments.
Scott S. Leiby, counsel for Levi o..
Balsbaugh. of Melrose. raised the ques-
tion Informally at to-day's session of
the boards sitting. The Third ward
complaints were heard to-day and MIR
Lelby said he will investigate the prob
lem with view to appearing for his
client at hearing of the Thirteenth
ward appeals
Long Has 1t Waved
The "Old Glory spite fence" ques-
tion has agitated both county and city
legal circles for some years; it all
grows out of the erection by Mr.. Balls
baugh of a twenty-foot-h high fence on
the western side of his property at
Twenty sixth and Derry streets. on
the western front of it he painted "a
gorgeous waving flag of the United
States. In the center he painted a
faced upon the property of A. l.. Croft
at Old Orchard. Balsbaugh proudly
called the structure lovely work of
art. Croft and other neighbors angrily
called it a spite fence"
That was some years ago, and the
question was threshed out legally on
several occasions, but because the
commonwealth boasts of no anti spite
fence law on its statute books the
fence remained. Finally a certain
board of assessors placed an increased
value of $500 on the Balsbaugh prop
erty. Balsbaugh protested that he
had not been regularly served with the
notice and took his appeal on that
question. The inference at the time
was that the additional $500 was
placed on the property as a gentle
persuader to the owner to raze the
fence.
Worth a $500 Increase
The present board of assessors let
the $500 remain.
Mr.. Leiby declares that the fence
might we'll be considered a work OF
art. but that the assessors had no legal
right to assess 1t for more than its
actual value. He said it might be
worth SIS.
Mr.. Balsbaugh has long since re-
moved to Philadelphia. Mr.. Croft has
gone to China.
Tenth Wards Increase
To-day's hearings were of a more
or less desultory character. The tota
assessments of the city have been com.
piled up to the Eleventh ward and
already figures show an increase il
valuation of more than a million dol.
lars. In nine wards the increase wa,
something over $500,000; in the Tenth
ward alone the increase will aggregate
S6OO'OOO and 100000. Among the
owners of properties affected, it i,
understood, are the Mccormick estate
Joseph L. Shearer, Jr., Harry Reyn.
ders and Commissioner-elec E. -. q
Gross.
Some of the appeals. it is understood
may be taken up following next Tues.
days meeting of Council After the
appeals have all been settled, Council
figuring on the basis of the city's chic
source of income from taxation, will
begin the preparation of the 1916 bud.
get. Work on the budget, however
may not be started before the middle
of December.