Municipal Taxation
By Victor Koscwatcr, Managing
Editor of The Bee
IT A n T V t I ...... toci ...
Nii-jnikui iwnuj' eius Hiu viV, nil
I article In Harper's Magazine
startting alsproportioemt hKraw
h the cast of governtnsr ctties.
The tarafdtiti cans of the ap
prRhBsfms waa at conptratht exhibit in
tho report of the nxrtptrUlrr of the city
of New Torfc shawms; that from to
ISXa the mtwrtefpal bmlget of th mctropa
lis had grown from ttXi to ansa .
OOOjMHl We can awry Imagine biw much
stronger the words ef warning wouM hire
been kd it been known that by the expi
ration of another twenty pan the annual
revenae of a still Greater New Tort was
to amoant cfese to $TJ)yl9,CBai. or nearly
ten times ia UU what H was In
What has wnmd ta New Tor, to ref
erence to Ms minxlcipej taaawt has occur
red In ert-ry progressive Anuilcaa city.
Trie resuFt is that notwrthataadtog oar
treaxendoas national development reflected
in billion duDar congresses, the ex pa cut m
of municipal Income and outgo has gone
on with equal rapidity aad white our con
tributions to the support of national and
Btate government Brire tig to hag pro
portions, the burdens that are left most
keenly snj come closest home are the bur
dens of municipal government.
At best we can get but an inadequate
Idea of the colossal suras required each
year to BqtrfsUie the municipal balm. Just
to secure u approximate perspective, I
footed an the latest table ef statistics com
piled by Commissioner of Labor Wright
(BuEJetia Srpceanbrr. EDO), waken tat-rude
only eitiea Bpwarde of 3t,Di pfyut-tin
anil found that In these tK" incorporated
cities the aggregate current Income for
the year was eBKiSV31
My snbject. however, b not municipal
rev-cane bat manicipaj taxation. Amerr
cari etrles have nmny seared of tnoime.
but taxation fas by fax the most important.
Of the total current receipts of the city
of New Tor, of Ua,XaWv f7!M.Sl cans
in as proceeds of the property tax, I3U,
636 more froax the franchise (u, and
S.MsVHS frou special assessments. Of th
t;!tiWa of receipts of the 117 Amertcaa
cities aver v8ft). .SHaVa oat from the
property tu alon. Boo-to. PhOadetphsa
and Chicago each take in neirty Ra,0
every year as proceeds of th property
tax.
These figures emphasise the vital part
the property tax plays in Slung the nva
nidpat porhetbnoh aad the necessity of
recognizing existing conditions which make
Impracticable tux many of the ache men pro
posed to produce the mlllmlum in munici
pal taxation. Our three fold form of gov
ernment national, state and local each
sustained by more or less Interdependent
fiscal machinery and. each restricted by
conctHntionul limitations peculiar to the
Unit'xl Slates, preclude us from utitxlng to
any extent the experiences of foreign cities
and compel us to kxk to ourselves for thj
solution of our tax problems.
No matter then what may b? our ideal
system of Taxation, no matter how many
of the public utility services may be mil- '
nictpuliaed and made self-sustaining or
even revnue producing, no- matter what
new sources of Income may be developed
through license fees, occupition taxo.4,
franchise taxes, etc., the bi.ektone of ti.e
municipal Income In this country Is and
muni for some time remain the property
tax Tevy. To abolish this tax Is out of the
tjuestJoii, for its loss would bring every
American city to speedy bankruptcy; n
adequate substitute has beeu devised for
It; the ever widening financial needs- of the
municipality quickly absorb all newly pro
Med1 revenue without appreciably relieving
the pressure upon the regular tlx rUe.
For the present and immediate future the
task must be to make the best of what we
have.
The favorite remedies suggested for pre
vailing tax abuses In our cities aro sepa
rate sources of revenue and local option In
taxation. The two plans are often urge 1
as property coenptemeatary. bat Ihey d
sot necessarily go together. We stay h:ivo
separate s-nin.es of reveeae fnr city and
state wtthmst hical optina and we may
hare toeal optimti without separating the
sraarces of reveaoe. Many Mttrtenta think
wisdom requires the state ti snpfort it-
treasury from taxes oh corporations, inlicr
Itancea, etc. aat to reieue tu the mu
nicipalities exetusire lurhttlictlon or real
estate. Ia the larger and wealthier com
BMnwealtha Vita tendency ta urKiiiestiona
bly marked, bat ta th vast nut J rity of our
tatea, especlitUy where agrh-witarapur-auits
predoenfaate. the stage has not been
reached ami cannot souu be reoehei where
the state government cur re-ilixe saffl ient
revenae to Its seeds mls-( p.et'-.i out with
a genera! tax kry. On the oth-r hand, if
we are CTer t have a rompreheuHive and
VDiOed aystess of taxation It cui tin
achieved by local opfca subjert to express
trmitatiueia only beeatce with ea?h mi
nicipetity strikins; out haphazard the twin
exUs of double taxation and cHnplete tax
cvasioa eanaot veil be avoided.
The engent reaaoa why th taanteipality
should have Independence in tax mttcrs
Is that where tate and loc;il taxei are
both Imposed on onu assessed valuation,
thffl- former beiug appirUurM:d, tlie Luevit i
bie temptatKm to eoaipetittce undervalua
tioos fcs fcrresistibee aad ta avofd c ntrilm
ting an nnitiie iua to the sttte treasury
the city assessment roil fc retfw-ed to ridlc
ukMisly insis;itnifaBt prpM-t v and t h )
city tax rate enrresavauttngty fafiatl t
apparently cemnaralnry figures. This di
lemma hs been obvikted ia certain eie i,
not try separating the seuarte of revenue
for state and city, bo I by prxvtfia? tl:o
city with separate machinery for acs.4
ment. The saaxe property ia thits at t ay
or 3 per ceat of Its selTtng price and
ofu-e for city ptrrpunes at fail value. This
fcK. of roame. aa expensive dopt cation of
assessment wort, bat it has advantages
at weQ as dfetadvantagea.
Th esseaee of jatice in taxation is
eoatlty and aniforsnlty a ei;ual bar.lrn
on all ssoailarty situated and an uniformity
ti appCcatimt to all withia th same Juris
diction. Perfect justfee & nat to be ex
pected ia any systen of taxatbma. bat there
fcs B insurmoaDitabie obstacle la the way
of attaining sabstaatlal justice. Sureess or
failure after ait depends rflxeetly trpon the
NH ty aad knten-tfena of the officers who
ndminister the tax machinery nnd thu
chai acter of these officers depends on the
state of public iinin that governs their
seh'ctlon and operates as the mainspring
of their oiHcial action. Having devoted a
nonth wtthra the past year as a member
of a board of review for the revision ef tho
grand assessment roll of a etty with over
MflifitW' mhabitants and a valuation In. excr-ss
of U5j:'WriiKv I am convinced as the result
of that experience that conscientious and
determinedi tax oflicer backed! by a healthy
public seatimeEt can appoctloa the tux
bunieras acnunling to our standards with
an approximate degree of actruracy.
My observatboa and experience have,
noreover. made me a gr:tt believer in
pabtlcity aa a potent remedy fin- nuist of
the ills of the body politic, and more par
ticularly for abwies la taxation in cities
where the healthy stiatulisif of amhljorly
watchfulness eannwt be as strong u,- in
ruraT districts. If a man cannot hWe his
prryperty from the assessor without hi-lni;
fotmd oot and advertised as a tax shirker
he ht saore apt to list the items fairly. If
the taxpayer fc enabled without tou much
tmubte to conpare the vaiusition on his
procerty with those of his neighbors or
business rival he b tikety to accept reason
able assesssaents gracefully If ratable with
the others, la every city the assessment
list, at least of personalty, In all sums In.
excess of say $1,0X1. should be published
annually for the Inspection of the tax
payers and the detailed schedules kept
acreaatble to ail who wish to enoswlt thesa.
One of th chief difflcalttea la axing as
scesaaents for municipaj taxation to the Im
presstmt roearw aasnng bastaesa nvest that
It k their premgathre to s-iy os how great
n vahmttna they are willing to pay taxes
and to insist on their estimates bevnc ftaaL
Imbued with this idea, tatctligent ate
wiM frequently refuse to give iaforaiathwi
necessary to fernssh the basia for a fair
assessmeat. and then whew the asaeasta
body secures its In f ormatlow as best M
c:u to feel thenseK-es aggrieved. Ia Justi
fication ef their pnsilSoo it is eonteadrd
that mercantile capital Is entitled to
lontenry as compared with la vest stew ts ia
realty because trt hei mi.tm Its owaers wmtVl
be at a disadvantage rn dohng boetnema hi
competition with nvrrchasts sad Jnfcbers
of other cities where the taxes hwpneed are
liKhter. It hi farther urged that whatever
ennwragement Is given snrrcaatil estab
lishment fa the snap of lowrv assess
ments and smaller taxes redownd ta the
beaetlt of th nwners of real estate and
other Sxed rastltatinna whose varae rests
upnn the mamteaanre of a growing pf
latiM. Acceding to these plKis, however,
would make it pimply a rjuestlon how
much advantage Hhotild be given to mer
cantile capital, and the only ltiKlcal out
inmt wrratd be the resnisskm altttgether of
such taxes. Bat that capital Invested in
lnjtressi rhiruki go untaxed whil e tpital
Invested ta real estate shoutd bear alt the
tax hardens reserves Itself vltlmatety into
the stngl tax on. btnd vabxes, for whirl
our Aaaericaa cities are hardly bow pre
pared. Still less weight is to be given th
stock argument thnt business estabtish
laents in one city shrxakl be assessed oeity
lunumariy tor maniripal taxatbni becaoa
competttora in ncher cities, where the ex
penses of goTemsseat may be taach 9Ta.tler
and the proterthm afforded far lea ade
quate, are taxed still tesa To rwteede
the validity of this argument wnvld lie ia
Kabstance to aBow th taxes in city
ta be fixed by tit anthoritle n sura
other city, aad M wimld be merely a mat
ter of time wheat ail th different com
peting rifles ami towns wouht be vicing
with one- another to abolish toxes opon
merrairrne eapttzl altngethrr. if not to gf
farther with subsidy premhsana
ill i matter of fart, so far as there Is
good gicwnd for the relief of personalty
froa excessive tax hardens, it fas recognized
in sir onr Amrrcirn rtfhTt that trnrmwe
special asseesmenls for benellts accruing
from local Improvements to the owners of
adjacent property. The principle of the
special asue.ssincnt a:t de'
graph upon that. piil.Jic
exiiense is to be Incuri
thority for a public in
results in special, distinct iid measurable
advantages to the property of particular
Individuals, it is more equitable that thuse
individual:) who benefit thereby should
contribute to the expense to the extent
of these benefits than that the burden
should be plated upon others who have
received no bucIi benefits." (P. Vf.). As
already lndicattd, the municipal revenues
lu Greater New York for l!Xil-2 were swelled
by over $T),n(iO.0if received as special assess
ments, in Chicago by i. early fl.OCd.CGO. In
Pittsburg and Cleveland by nearly $1,0(10.0(0
each, and in other cities In smuller yet
significant amounts. Special assessments
constitute a thoroughly established feature
fif municipal taxation In America without
which the rapid enlargement or the per
manent plant of our cities could not have
taken place.
As to the numerous franchlsed corpora
tions, which for years have enjoyed most
valuable privileges not only without ad"
quate compensation, but In many instances
without baa ring even their fair proportion
of the tax burdens, much recent Improve
ment may be noted Irrespective of the
ed In ny tnonn
tl.aj. "where an
' "iy a local nu-
;ement which
municipal ownership Idea, where these pub
lic services remuln In private hands the,
disfwettlnw is to repair sawessmewt for
rvxaflon oa the basis of market value as
gausred by stock, aad boad awotatlisM ami
the repeated efforts to evade these obliga
tiima by appeal to the. courts have been
generally defeated. Th diaVwItlea pre
sented where th fraachtwes aad property
extend ht part cfatde of th city's taxing
JarnsfVtlnei are terhairal owty.
With th railroads aaa therr terminal
facilttira. th sraatcm baa not btcn so pittis
fsctrwtty aarved. Th maat vahiedd por
tion of a hkK railroad system at fownd In
Ha terminal farltrtUrS whWh giv ewtrance
to great pnpabtiMS ceatera and foraliae
tram at th pomtn of bawiaesa. Th rall
ronda share eaaUIy in aV the benefits of
niumtripal government aad often retraire in
addHbm speci.il servk-es at th hamls of
th city autma-itlea, but fas few. If any, of
our citiea do they contrlhwte hi taxes In
nywfcere aear their st propnTtiun. Tho
evastnn nt asun&rpal taxea y th raib-oHds
has nsuiAny inn acrnenprinhed natter pre
teaee that the lire muit be valued aa a unit
tvy nr revrtral Btate ssnem merit (ward and
the trrnatmt sad fraaehss vahtva distrib
ntd m-er the entire length on a mileage
rattw. As a result, thu terminal values are
taken out of the mtinh-irsl wren -for taxa
tion and In theory strung along rural dis
tricts where no municipal taxes are Im
posed at all In Orsaba. for example, tho
property of ttve great railroads converging
tbere, with costly bridges, freight ami pas
sengr r V-p"sv rrorhage. etr whh-h rail
way experts had themsetves testified to bo
worth mvM-e than 125. m certltb-d up
by the State Hoard fee MonaripMt Taxntlon
oa an ssaesnsaeat of less than ,0W, and
the dlserepamry explsvlned hy th ftctlon of
dltstrllmttrMV slthnugh no signs of the dis
tributed vabtes are visible ia the assess
ments apportioned to the rural counties.
The true syrtem sbowhi provfaae for the
toeal assesssnent of railway terminals for
raanWicktl 2xatlost th saase as other
property, no matter how rafrways may be
taxed foe stale and general parpen i?a,
On other weak point aa th aresent
scheme fas the praetWsJ laxmonrty of the
men ha peofesstoaal Hfe aad ha certain lines
rnvoivmst pwrarmel servtye aa th sole In
gredient of their business in contrast with
th merehaat and asaawtaetarer. The law
yer, the phystvbus,. th dentist, the engi
neer, th broke, the rental agent, the
enunvfascoet man, are cootpletety dependent
upon the conditions of urban life made pos
sible by the maintenance of municipal gov
ernment, yet contribute almost nothing to
Its support. It might not be popular, but
It would be nom-tnt'lesx In the direction of
greater Justice to impose a special necu
pittiou tax or license fee upon these classes
suirrieinental to the usual taxes on their
property holdings.
Whether assessments should bo at a frilc'"i
tlonal part of market value and tax rates
high or assessments at fall vnhte and tax
rates low, there seems to me to be bnt one
answer. Full value assessment alone gives
an Invariable nnd definite standard and
offers no disguise to cover up tax shirking;
it misleads no one and requires no explana
tion, while a high tax rate on n percentage
valuntlon Is delusive and repellant to pop
ulation and Investment.
The r-'ttl question in the end la not so
much whether the taxes are high or lowj
but whether they sre equitably distributed
and whether the taxpayer gets good return
for his money. To expect the expenses of
municipal government to be materially re
duced for the future Is to expect csir cities'
to stand stilt or to contract their rminh-fpal
functions. "What we must work for Is to
eradicate abuses !n our existing system of
muplcrpal taxation nnd at tfie same time to
innke sure every dollar Is well spent, r.a
that the best possible results are secured at
the least possible outlay.
Omaha, Neb.
Salt Water Sailor's Experience With a Shark
i Jt'ST believe tv.at story I see In
the papers about a shark biting
n man's hand nearly off after the
r'stl' own e-d had been cut off
mdJmmJ f Irilie vr1r wrrr-A rt it mrmn.
trvM;," oald an old salt water sailor,
nuot-.-I by the Washington Star.
"Why?" one of his listeners nsked.
"Why? lie cause a shark la the men nest,
orruirest sm of a aeacook tljtt swims In
the tcean, I know him. lie's cowardly,
too; but oa-ce get him at close quarters,
where you h:v the advantage of him.
Then lie- is as much like a rat as anything
I can tin ink of aad win fight to tho bitter
CBll
"I mind me of a light with one of there
feitew's in which a whole ships crew took
part, and if yoo waat to hx-itr about it I'll
upin yau the yara."
Of course every on was interest 0. and
the iim-fenl n.iinr proceeded.
A few years after the end of the war
1 was one of the crew of a pretty good
sized bark that sailed otrt of PhiladelpliU
in balfusf. beurtd for a port la Brazil,
where we were to load up wfth a eargo of
rosewood an.l other stuff. The old bark
hod a crew of first-class men. Every one
of them was a sailor uaan, front the cap
tain's steward up to the ship's cook, nnd
most of 'cm had seen liard service on
blockade duty aboard men-of-war when
the tight between the states wa goln' on.
"We got pretty well down in the south
Atlantic when one of tlve iiiea, a fellow
named O'Stawley. took sick Very sick he
was, and you'd hardly believe it, but the
day after lie was Uii' up In his bamnr.oi k
It was noticed that a big shark was tollTin'
the nhip.
"He was surely waitir.' for O'Stanley to
da That's a way sharks have. They
smell death and watt for a poor sailor man
to breathe bis Ust snd thea pounce oa Mm
when hia mates heave him overboard.
"Tbia Bhark waa one of them kind that
are alwayj attended by a ht t bill flsli,
tailed pilot fish. They guidu biiu to hi
prey, and pioMbl get the crumbs thail
f.tll from tbe big fish's table.
"Th eld man come out of Ida cabin when
th shark was reported aivl gave orders
for its to catch that ngly genileiiHtn. This
waa Just what w wanleiL. so we bent a.
stit rone o a big iron hkv balled it
wuh a big i ioce si sH paik, aiaUs th
lme fast to a stanchion and hove the meat
overboard.
"Did it take Mi'. Shark long to come to
dinner? I guess rot. lie must a been
very hungry.
"All hands that could bo spared got hold
of the rope, and I rwear we had the hard
est kmrl of work in getllng him ab'ard.
"Hut we got him and lwuled him over
th mil oti the starboard qmtrter. Fellcws,
tliut brut was bipyrei'ii any horse I ever
see.
"After w! et biin on deck the fight
lgan In irisl. The fld devll had no
Idea of driving lit r.nil prnnced aronnd worse
than a dancing master r. a waxed floor.
"He snorted snd grunted and thrashed
tlm deHc with his fury, snd It was danger
or.s to cotne nr him. Tlie hands beat hint
with Iron l- la in" pins and inarttnaptlvcs.
and the old nan pit tlie contents of two
rvefvers usiler Ms boraacle hlda; but h
wa In fir a fsM to lb finish.
"At last th ccek, wkli a sharp (ix. cut
hm Infernal b4 off wnt lieluw hia
should'rs; only be dldst have uny
shoulders.
"Well, tltat sort o' qiiiete.1 h.'m. but l.a
waa for aUU ahowin tight, and his Jaws
opened and snapped viciously. One of th
buys stuck an oor Into his mouth, and I
awrar that, although tho monster hadn't
Ivad o head for at least ten minutes, bo
Jiost rruTK-hed tlnit oar between bis teeth
as easily as you could a toothpick.
"The mess be made on the after part of
the deck while he was glviii up the ghost;
was awfuL It took about half the i. fler
n:xn to clenn up. dun't you discredit
any yarn akout a sliark using; hfc fans
when he's lieheadvd.
"The a:iddist thinvt about the whole busi
ness was that ptsir O'&tanley died Jurt
about eight bells tlw next afternoon. Thorn
pilot fishes knew he waa Kola' to- po out,
and Juat let th shark luuvw it. TbaVa a
way theia cruaiurea h is."
Resourceful Woman
Blie Oea-ge, dear. ru rau:uber that
lovely aideboard that 1 tuU yoa 1 btwiuli
like to buy because It was so clk-ayl Weil,
I've diwovered a pl.ia ti mitke ruwcik ir It.
lie lluw, my dettr?
ahe i;y tali lug a laru.ee ao-.-a. -3hH
k raacUa: Waash
