Omaha daily bee., 1916-05-11
VALUATION FIGHT
OF ROADS BOBS UP.
tTax Commissioner Pollard Says Bur.
lington Pays Far in Excess Of
Real Property
ASSESSORS FIGURES ARE CITED
FROM a staff correspondent)

From n staff Correspondent
LINCOLN. My Especial Two rep
teeentatlveA Of railroads appeared before
The state Board Of Equalization today to
roproAont their respective roads In the
matter of assessment BY the state board
Colonel j. NJ, seybert Of ST. Louis rep
resented the Missouri Pacific and told
the board that while he was not asking
for 4 reduction IN the assessment Of the
road he did hope that tho board would
not rglse the assessmant He made com
PARSONS of asseaaed valuation If railroad
property IN Nebraska with other property
and tpld the b0nrd that there appeared 10
be foeinR among assessment boards
that railroads should be- assessed 8bout
al they could stand and sometimes
mors.
r. p Pollard, representing the bur.
llnRtdp, wanted reduction tlo pre-
aented The board with figures showing
Inst The north ride n the state house
and The south side dld not work IN har-
mony when n camo 10 computing yalua.
ton ~ regGrdg the railroads, llo said
tho railway commission had spent thou
sands ~ dollars arriving NJ q real yaluas
ton Of railroad property, but that the
hoard Of btsommept paid no attention 10
fhat valuation and went ahead md az
seHf~i The road far IN excess Of what
ho other ond NJ the state house had
found represented reni yalns,
Mr. follards statement 10 tho bo1rd IN
part follows
The property N Tho Chicago. Buriington
Il Quincy Railroad company. IN the state
~ Nebraska, was sHseHred by your hon
uFabie board for the year 1915, ~ nearly
ft200 per milo, 70 be exact AiW ~ =.
The engineering department o. the
failr0ad commission u this state has
found that Tho reproduction new value
N our property WIS Ng,mz per mile, snd
the present deprecated Yhiue only Ne's75
per mile ....
ilal1ad on April 4, 1911, The value ~ land
! wnd buildings IN The state 81 Nebraska
for 1910 WIS II ,946025.
The state auditors report for 1910, page
-, shows TINT the aasessed value for
that year, Of lands and improvements
was i2os,Gltg5s mulfiplled bv five for
.fitl value Riyeg 1i.0ls, 22,291. m that hc-
NordinR 10 The census, this class ~ prop
ertv WIS only Hpseeaed md taxed on
IA. rs per cent ~ the total value.
The total asscssed value N the state
for 1910 exclusive ~ railroads. was 1884,
a14,gA 70 that the farm land improve
mente on same represent B.@ per cent
Y6nr SECRETARY. Mr. nernocker. has re-
feived statements from county clerks of
rghty.three ouf NJ the ninety three coun-
Ties Of tho state, covering tho yenra 1914
md 1915 giving the considerations IN
lhe desds of OIL transfers of rosl estate
The county clerks we're Instructed not
~ include any snies that appeared N be
Fictitious
Assessed ne HaIf Value.
These fgIres show that tho property
mentioned IN the statements was only
aAsesaed for the year 1915. OF about 10
per cent Of tho aetuai confederation In
the deeds
A great deal Of personal property IL
under nsaeased. and much escapes taxa.
ton entirely. but even assuming that OIL
tho property outside Of railroads In ~.
aeassd ~ 10 per cent of full value, which
l respectfully submit II Ia not, tho Chit
cnKo Burlington n Quincy Railroad CONS
pany last yeBr, and for many years past
has been paying taXes on n basis on ~
least 10000 per mile, per cent OF NO,Vl
per mile being N2000, the figures at which
we are sssosssd per mile.
There Is on fiie with yuiir secretary q
statement OF earningH Operating ex-
pensee, etc, for the year ended Decem.
Der 81. 1915. OF the Chicago, Burlington a
Quincy Railroad company, showing net
earnings per mile Of t2,736D, that 10 only
9.b2 per cent on the si2,00 per mile o.
which We arc aHsoaaed, and only s,n per
cent on tho actual value az which We are
taxed OF 10000 per mile Seven per cent
Is the legal rate Of interest In Nebraska.
For 1915 the net earnings per mile on the
system were g,22s-
Taxes Are High.
The Chicago, Burlington q Quincy Rail.
AZ avs * nal 4EnN M
its gross earnings, and lilb per cent OF its
net earnings, for taxes In Nebraska,
Please remember that out OF these net
earnings per mile az g2.73e,gO, we must
pay interest on debt, and dividends on
: within the last sixty days your honor.
able board through your secretary, H.
aued circular 10 oil county assessorf
and county boards OF the state OF Ne
hrasks. which reads n part as follows
THE basis OF actual assessed value
agreed upon IN rs per cent Of sales val.
uea taken all over tho state"
Real estate represents about 81 per cent
Of the total value Of the state and owl
IDENTIFY for the year 1915 your honorable
board docs not expect that real estate
will ba assessed for more than 70 pei
cent of the fnli value, although tho Law
requires property TO he assessed ri IN
actual value
Why assess real estate at % per cent
~ It's actual sale value when II should
be 100 Per cent?
What assurances have you. that reAl
estate FOR this year, VIII he hsseAHed NJ
even rs per cent Of tha sales yalue2
The assessment Of railroad property hs
your honorable board j. certified ont q
the different county clerks about May J.
pf each wear, but you do not know what
the assessment OF other property IN the
state will he until you meet as board oi
equalization, on the third Monday IN July