Evening star., 1931-12-19
Produce the Evidence.

The printed and bound report of the
Mapes Committee permits thorough
study Of the evidence, much of it in the
form OF tabular statistics, upon which
that jury" reached its verdict that the
District is relatively undertaxed Such
an important verdict should contain all
Of the evidence. Unfortunately, the
reader of the Mapes brief is astonished
at the nature of the evidence omitted.
The committee report states that data
relating to taxation in other cities we're
obtained by means Of a QUESTIONABLE
and valuable information was obtain
ed from consultations with noted au-
thorities on taxation and finance"
Who are they? The report mentions
none of them. Is this not important
evidence?
The committee report states that
"while 1t is difficult to determine the
relation of assessed values to actual
values, the committee believes that the
ratios as they appear in the statistical
tables, attached hereto, are as accurate
as it is possible to obtain"
But where are the ratios? 1t is found
that the assessed valuation of Cleve-
land, for instance, is s1,383.l45. 600 and
that the full value" Of Cleveland is
sl,627,229,4l2, and from these figures
one may compute for ones self ratio
of assessed to full value amounting to
IS per cent. But nowhere in the report
or in the tables is one able to find any
evidence that Cleveland assesses prop
erty for taxation at only 85 per cent of
its full value. Is this not important
evidence?
The committee said that it obtained
the ratios from the administrative off,
GERS Of municipal governments, who
actually make the assessments, and
from such organizations as real estate
boards. chambers of commerce and in
dividual citizens familiar with property
values. These administrative officers.
organizations and citizens, being IA
miliar with property values in their re-
spective communities, are more compe-
tent to determine the actual ratio of
assessed valuations to actual value than
anybody else, and, therefore, the in
formation they furnished the commit
tee is the most reliable that could be
obtained for adjusting tax rates"
Well, what information Cid they fur |
nish? Where is it? Does the commit |
tee mean that the administrative off, |
GERS" of Cleveland, the trade and civic |
associations and the citizens familiar |
with property values" actually agreed |
that Cleveland is assessed at 85 per !
cent of full value? If they did, is not |
the proof of such an agreement a bit of !
evidence that should be included in the |
committees brief against he District? |
Committee brief indeed! Such evidence |
should be included among the wonders !
of the world
For how did these officials and resi-
dents of Cleveland reach their agree
ment of what the ratio was? The COM
mlttee says that the method of COM
putting such ratios by comparing as
SSooSa fd1uC w pdlCS value S d1l WIOIS.
What method was used? Is there, after
all, some way to determine what is real
value? Should that not be included in
the evidence? One looks for it in vain
and in great disappointment If the
committee found what constitutes true
or full value without taking into con-
sideration sales value, it has accom-
plished something that would make
Einstein himself drop his considerations
of relativity and come post haste to
Washington.
Yet, after saying that it has, from
correspondence with various persons,
determined what the full value" of
property in % cities is, the committee
declares that there are so many fac
tors to be considered in arriving at the |
valuation of property, such as the use,
income, location, construction costs, re-
production costs, depreciation, etc, that |
no two minds will get to very near
approach TO uniformity in determining
such valuation" The committee, how
ever, was not only able to get two minds
to arrive at uniformity, uut the minds
of its members, the mind of its expert,
the minds of the chambers Of COM
merce, organizations and citizens IA
uiliar with property values in % cities.
Evidence of the uniformity of such
minds should not be omitted from the
committees brief 1t is highly inpor.
tant.
The committee finds that Minneapolis
assesses property at 38 per cent of full
value. Other ratios, for the same city,
have in the past been found as fol-
lows: Census Bureau, 40 per cent; De-
troit Bureau of Municipal Research, "a
per cent District tax assessor, 80 per
cent. Who is right? Where is the evil
dence that the committee is right?
The evidence is most necessary If
the committees findings as to Wash
ington's taxes are to be accepted. For
the whole process of comparing Wash
ington's taxes with the taxes of other
cities, as followed by the committees
expert. depends upon establishing an
acceptable ratio of assessed valuation
to true valuation. Evidence that such
q ratio was really established Is mys-
teriously lacking from the committee
report.
But possibly the committee has con-
cluded that when it says that such and
such a thing is true the evidence is
thereby furnished That is the only
way to account, for instance, for the
fact that in another table In Mir. Mapes' I
interesting booklet one finds COMPARE
an Of the amounts OF property exempt