The Colorado statesman., 1921-03-26
CENTENNIAL STATE ITEMS.


1920 was S6I7 ,055, ,992, compared with
$59S, ,429, ,164 last year. The total as
sessed valuation of property this year
is 81 800 267 ,667, compared with ST.
495, 5,2l3,659. The figures given above
do not include automobiles, carriages
and other vehicles, furniture and some
other items of farm property, which
can not be accurately segregated. II
will be seen that the assessed value of
farm property for 1920 was npproXi-
mately Al per cent of the assessed
value of all property, compared with
about 40 per cent in 1919. If the items
that cannot be included in this calcu-
lation could be accurately segregated
il would be found that the assessed
value of all farm property is about AZ
per cent of the total assessed valua-
tion. The percentage has been increas-
ing steadily for several years, keeping
pace with the states agricultural de-
velopment The items included in the
totals given above are farm land, Inn
provements on farm land, livestock,
poultry and bees, equities In state
land, improvements on public lands
and agricultural implements.
Figures compiled by the State Immi-
grafton Department from the records
of the State Tax Commission show
that the people of Colorado paid S3544
per capita taxes for all municipal, dis
trict, county and state purposes in
1920. The total revenue collected, ac-
cording to these compilations, was
little more than $33,00O,000. The
largest single item of expense is
schools, approximately 80 per cent of
all taxes collected being used for
school purposes. The highest per capi-
ia taxes are paid by people in Park
county, being S6S.1T, while the lowest
are paid in Baca county, $21.92. The
average levy for all purposes is III
mills. Teller county shows the high
est average levy, 1923 mills, and Chey-
enne county the lowest, 11.4S mills.
The highest average school levy is for
Crowley county, 11.73 mills, and the
lowest is for Jackson county, 1.33 mills.
Five passengers on the Pueblo
sleeper of westbound train No. 1l5 on
the Denver & Rio Grande railroad
were burned to death near Cuchara,
ten miles northeast of Walsenburg. Ac-
cording to reports, the blaze was
caused by the explosion of tank used
to supply gas to the Pintsch lighting
system, which is still in use on cars
operating over the Denver-Alamosa
route. The explosion tore hole
through the middle of the car and
filled it with gas, rendering most of
the victims unconscious before they
could make a move to escape.
Following a two days hearing the
coroner's jury inquiring into the dis
aster in which five persons lost their
lives by the burning of Pullman car
Corona, attached to the Denver & Rio
Grande passenger train No. 100 at
Roof, returned verdict containing no
finding revealing the cause of the fire,
expressing the opinion that the acci-
dent was an avoidable one in the lack
of rules requiring the Pullman porter
to be on duty.
After divulging the information on
which the defendant was arrested in
California and brought back to Logan
county for trial, John Calvert, a pris-
oner in the county Jail in Sterling,
failed on the witness stand and as
result Elmeg F. Week, well-to-do farm
err charged with burning four stacks
of wheat in the east part of the coun-
ty last September, was acquitted by
jury in the District Court.
Guy Wayne Leibel, prominent Fort
Collins real estate dealer, is dead from
peritonitis, following an operation for
appendicitis. He was stricken with an
attack at his cottage at Loveland
Heights near Estes Park and was hur-
ried TO Fort Collins for the operation,
which was performed Immediately.
Fully half of the grain crops in Colo
RADIO last year are still on the farms,
according to official estimates released
by the United States Bureau of Crop
Estimates. Fifty-four per cent of the
corn crop is still in the granaries, as
compared with 35 per cent last year,
and 2S per cent of the wheat crop, as
compared with 10 per cent last year.
Senator Phipps has requested the
secretary of the interior and the com
missioner of the General Land Office to
open Colorado lands Immediately to
settlers under the Carey act and a re-
cent departmental order, which opened
the lands, but did not specify a date.
The taxpayers of Fort Collins have
voted unanimously in favor of $780,
600 bond issue for the improvements
of the schools. Additions will be built
to several of the schools, new equip
ment added and sites for new build
ings will be purchased.