THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY , MOKNraQ, SEPTEMBER 21, 1913.
8
CLEVELAND READJUSTS TAX ASSESSMENTS
NEW PULP AND PAPER MILL TO UTILIZE MILL WASTE
, ' : . ' '
TO ERECT GIRLS' HOME
- i- . '. , ' . . 4 ... i
r ..'..'.'. ;
Volunteers of America Have
Secured Over Half of Nec
essary Amount.
BY TECHNICAL APPRAISAL OF REAL ESTATE
-
Burden-Shifted From Outlying Residence Districts to Bus
,?'.,; iness Section of the City; Valuation Increased,
Rate Reduction Follows.
MONEY
BEING
RAISED
-V
l i
i.
$
t
From the Christian Science Monitor.
The fight made by the late Tom U.
Johnson as mayor of Cleveland that re
, suited, three years ago. In giving Cleve
land its first technical appraisal of
real estate, made it. for n brief time.
the nly technically appraised city in
America. A number of other cities
, now share the distinction.
' It is just and natural that Cleveland
should be first to clear a apace through
the Jungle of gueaswork that no iccn
eraTly obscured tax assessments. Tom
" Johnson nas out of office before the
, work was done, but it was largely his
triumph that Cleveland was able to
' bring to light $550,890,160 in realty val
ines in 1910 as against 142,768.000 in the
, last preceding appraisal, that of 1900.
More than J100.000.000 of the Increase,
it may be added, was procured in the
congested down town section.
The task was done under Immense
difficulties. A state law allowed only
0 days in which to organize a board of
assessors, train 600 assistants and ex
amine 147,000 pieces of property, let
' the task was done in such a way as
to usher in what every one now greets
nr and enliahtened era in tax val-
nation. The result can only bo taken
as an illustration of what every city
.n An If It chooses to throw off the
vnlro of nnlitlcal incompetence and be
gins to think and act in modern terms.
, - r school Ooentd.
' In his tent meetings and elsewhere
the mayor hammered nome me iaci .
the tax dodger is. himself, the greatest
rtrsvn ranrc that any city can tolerate.
Tt mmm nntnrlous that favored Cleve-
,. land taxpayers controlled the assessing
and equalizing macmnerv. a cou.n;
..' fiinetinn wielded bv Mayor Johnson's
political opponents. The mayor s first
- move was to found a "tax school" and to
Install as teacher one Peter Witt, a
blacklisted, union molder, whose geniua
fnr H.mnrrai-v and for "figures" has
nine made him city traction commls
- sioner. Ward maps. 18 feet square, with
equalised tax values set forth on each
lot, opened the eyes of citizens to the
fact that there is more than one place to
hunt for graft. They had been so ex-
! cited about the money which got out of
the treasury that they had rorgouen
tn notice the money which never cot in.
Of course the tax school was "viewed
with alarm" in the conservative press.
Of course a property owner rushed into
court to stop it and the tax school was
no more, and its lessons weni ior
naught, so far as reform at that time
was concerned.
Eut the foundation had been laid for
a new state tax law providing for more
frequent appraisal of realty and for the
listing: of actual values. Previously
Ohio assessors had dodged complaints
by aiming in a general way to list prop.
' erty at 60 or 60 per cent of its value.
' One who objected to his assessment
. could always be told that it was low,
regardless of the fact that others were
proportionatery much lower. This cus
tom waa supplemented by court decis
ions to the effect that no taxpayer had
any interest in the appraisal of any
, other taxpayer.
Through Mayor Johnson's Influence,
the board of assessors in Cleveland se
cured the services of W. A. Somers, then
, living In New York, as chief clerk. He
had developed, by years of study, a sys-
- tern and a set of mathematical ' tables
for the computing of related land val
ues, once the common unit of value was
' ascertained and valued. He did not
value the land. In a very true sense
the city valued itself.
System Is Described.
Ward associations; real estate boards,
Improvement societies and groups of
neighbors decided. upon values in the lo
calities where they had knowledge.
Their judgment was not applied to in
dividual lots, except for illustration, but
was translated into terms of a unit of
frontage, one foot wide and 100 feel
deep, wtiich became the measure for
each blcck, with mathematical allow
ance for corner influence, alley influ
ence, depth, shape, grade and the other
modifying factors. ithout this puo
llclty and cooperation, no such radical
advance in value could have been se
cured. Instead of the old customs of
hiding each man's appraisal from his
neighbor, district maps were generally
distributed, Bhowlng the proposed street
units and criticism was invited.
Most citizens said, "Treat me like thd
others and I will make no complaint."
But of course privilege is never up
rooted without a wail from some of Its
favorites. One of the first and loudest
protests came from manufacturing a.id
. , mercantile corporations, who Insists
- that local industry was being throttled.
Threats were made to remove factories,
and tha prophecy was uttered that
, Cleveland could get no new industries
under such harsh treatment,
.v In answer, the board prepared a table
showing the old and nw valuations of
100 corporations, as weil as their cap',
tallzation. The old realty valuations
were more than tripled, J35.727.770 be-
, ins; listed where only 911,161,700 ex
isted before. The lighting company, f )r
'. example, was compelled to stand an
advance f : o i $727,970 to $3,318,470. A
: prominent nut and bolt company w.u
appraised 1184,410 under the eld reglms
and 11,610:920 under the new, an ad
vance of nearly nine to one. On the
Other hand, a certain factory of moder
ate size had been listed at about $12,00j
. which was a 76 per cent appraisal, as
j. compared with the new figure 'of $16,
000. A certain foundry was advanced
only from $71,000 to $103,000. A var-
tilth concern was (.dually lowered from
$24,140 to $22,200. All of these era-
.-vcerns saved a vast portion of tin-ir
- taxes by the lowered rat PS 1 mil or Ihn '
pew. appraisal. The city ice trust, n
the other hand, had been listed at $60(K
In realty values and underwnt a 10 to 1
adance, being placed o, the books for
$67,000.
Discoveries Made.
The outstanding facts In the Hit
were:
. Undervaluation under old methods;
vast discrepancies In old valuation!
generally in favor of the larrcr corpo.
ations as against the smaller and lous
I if.uentlal.
Now as to the charge of opposition,
the. table showed that, by adding the
personal property asset sment to the oid
and tha new realty appraisals alike, the
, gross advance was from $25,000,000 to
mi.-a than $50,000,000. At the same
time, the outstanding capitalization of
. the listed companies fell on deaf ears
Another class of objectors were the
owners of downtown property. Their
: first concerted effort was to have rent
als adopted as a basis of tax value in
keeping with the discredited system of
English landlordism. The board prompt
ly 'declined tor put any such premium on
Idleness. Rent figures were compiled
ajid given due weight Information re
garding sale prices was sought and di
gested. Careful counts were made of
the traffic past given sites. All of this
was a recognition that lot values are
measured by the use and occiipanoy of
the streets. Hence the mathematical
Miatlou between values on the same
street and hence a cheap lot can no
more exist on a high-priced street.
Critics Stcure Review.
Guesswork has been eliminated In the
valuation of buildings us well as land.
A minute description of each building In
town was secured on abbreviated record
curds. The description served to fix the
class of the building, und its .value was
computed trom its measurements,
through the application of well-tried
units of building cost Depreciation was
allowed for ae and use. An uildltional
depreciation was deducted from dwell
ing houses according to districts, the
theory being that two ulinllar houses in
different neighborhoods had different
values. This principle was criticized,
but at least It was done in the open.
Later a board of review, hostile politi
cally to the appraising board, restored
a part of this district discount. The re
viewing board felt called upon to ro-
duce downtown business values by some
$S. 000, 000, and In looking for a place to
stow the excess value the poor man's
house, as usual, bore the brunt of tho
advance.
From an educational standpoint, no
part of the work was more interesting
than the Informal appraisal of railroads
made by the board. Honest valuations
for railroads had, been one of Mayor
Johnson's hobbies.'and his friends on th3
board could not forbear to follow lit
erally tho instructions of the law and
value all of the real property within
tha city limits. The work was purely
educational, for the valuation of rail
roads has always been a district or state
function In Ohio, and the value is dis
tributed by counties according to mile
age, a discrimination in favor of the
rural counties as against the terminal
cities. Under the Somers" plan every
foot of track was measured, every cut
or fill .recorded, every bridge appraised
at its reproductive cost, and the value
of right-of-way determined on the same
unit basis as the abutting property. Tha
result showed more than $2 3,000,000
worth of railroad realty, without count
ing buildings. The former valuation
was about $4,000,000.
To complete the work of education,
this railroad value was distributed by
districts.
Besulta of Appraisal.
The reduction of the tax rate, from
35 mills to 13.6 mills was one of the
direct results of the reappraisal. Th
revenue of the city, nevertheless, was
Increased. Many of the property own
ers who objected loudest found them
selves actually paying less than they
did under the old regime. The general
effect of the Introduction of aystem
has been that the valuation was shifted
from the outlying residence districts to
the down town sections, which are al
ways undervalued under a guesswork
method. In Cleveland the proportion of
increase In realty valuation over the city
as a whole was 28S per cent, as com
pared with the preceding decennial ap
praisal. In the business district the in
crease waa 333 per cent. The discrep
ancy between these two figures la even!
greater than it seems, since the former
includes the latter, and since the gen
eral increase Is partly accounted for by
outlying growth and expansion of the
city limits. The size of the built up
area down town was not appreciably
larger in 1910 than it was in 1900.
Errors, of course, occurred in the ap
plication of the new system. Consider
ing that only two months was allowed
in wnicn to train 600 employes for an
almost revolutionary task the result can
only be viewed as a triumph for system
under the most trying conditions. The
cost of the work was $126,470, or 87
cents per parcel of land. Philadelphia's
cost of appraisal for the same year was
reported at $3.40 per parcel.
Above all, a city which had been
stirred for years on tax questions is
satisfied with the substantial Justice of
its last appraisal. It enjoys tho moral
consciousness that always follows the
dislodgment of favoritism. Men neither
fear discrimination nor seek its Bur
posed advantages for themselves. The
cry of "tax dodger" has disappeared
from local politics. For its future ad
vance, the city looks to the state for the
repeal of a uniform rule, so-called, and
the Institution of home rule In taxation.
With this right granted it may do many
things, perhaps encourage Industry In
stead of fining it while it collects for
the public those values which the public
creates. Whatever It does will be done
systematically and In the open.
OIL PLANT MANAGER
SHOT THROUGH HEART
Walla 'Walla, Wash., Sept. 30. Stand
ing on a ladder by the side of tho tankn
at the Standard Oil company's station
In this city yesterday morning, Louis
H. Wade, manager of the plant, shot
himself through the heart with a 38
caliber automatic pistol. Wade was
taking tank readings from L. L. Sher
rod, an employe, and it is thought that
the gun was accidentally discharged.
One of Wade's uncles traded him tho
gun some months ago, because he
feared it would go off accidentally.
Coroner J. W. Cookerly pronounced
death accidental. Thursday, Wade trans
ferred his life Insurance from his estate
to his daughter Helen. The life in
surance had been used as security on a
loan.
Teeth Without Plates
As solid and firm as your own teeth. Eat anything. All you need is
xwo or more roots or teeth in
SB. W. A. WISH
President and Manager
28 Years in Portland
v 1
WISE DENTAL -CO.
VhAitgVslM
T A TT.T Wrt FTrnng nlw
Sntiance on Third stretr
Top General view of
Bottom Drying room
Manufacturing Plant, Unique
in Its Field, Soon to Open
at Marshfield,
(Special to The Journal.)
Marshfleld, Or., Sept. 20. The new
paper pulp mill which has been in
course of construction for the past year
adjoining the sawmill of the C. A. Smith
Lumber & Manufacturing company In
this city is new completed and It Is an
nounced that the plant will begin opera
tions about October 1.
The pulp plant will use the waste
wood from the sawmill to make paper
pulp, but it will be operated as a sepa
rate company, tho corporation name be
ing' known as the Coos Cay PuJg &
Paper company.
C. A. Smith Is president of the com
pany, Vernon Smith is vica president
and Charles Trabert secretary. H. Ner
drun is general manager for the com
pany, and also secretary. Arno Mereen
of tha Smith lumber concern Is a di
rector. Mr. Nerdrum, the manager, came to
this country from Finland, where ha
was engaged in the pulp business. He
designed and built the mill here. The
plant cost about $600,000. For the pres
ent pulp will be made, but later the
manufacture of paper may be taken up.
This would require additional buildings.
Forty Tons Sally Capacity.
The pulp plant will have a capacity
of making 40 tons of pulp every 24
hours and it Is expected to sell the out
put in Japan and China. The plant dif
fers from most other pulp mills In sev
eral respects. Salt water Is used in
making the pulp and will be pumped
from the bay, thus saving the expense
of bringing fresh water a great dis-
COMMITS SUICIDE AS
DAUGHTER DID BEFORE
Belllngham, Wash., Sept. 20. J. M.
Warriner, a pioneer of South Belllng
ham, and well known in Seattle and Ta
coma, committed suicide at noon today
by drowning In Cluickanut bay. Brood
ing over the death of his daughter,
Marjorle, a year ago. who committed
suicide in the same body of water, is
said to have unbalanced his mind. Mrs.
warriner, aaugnter ana two sons are
in Honolulu, and one son resides in
racoma.
U. S. JUDGE, ATTORNEY
AT NOME, ALASKA, QUIT
Washington, Sept. 20. The resigns
tlons of United States Judge Murane
ana unnea estates .District Attorney
Rodey of Nome. Alaska, today are in
me nnnas or government officials here.
ine wiison administration asked for
their resignations "for the good of the
service." Both Murane and Rodey are
nepuuueans.
either jaw. Fully guaranteed.
A GOLD
CROWN
A WHITE
CROWN
A BRIDGE
TOOTH
9s
.ftTHATiwrrimi
Plates. With Flexible Rnotloa
The very best and latest In modern
dentistry. No more falling plates.
OrVA A rrn
wTXTi
Portland o- i
the C. A. Smith plant at Marshfleld.
In new pulp mill.
tance. A filter which has a capacity of
4,000.000 gallons of waten a day is
maintained to use the salt water. This
is the only mill in the country which
will exclusively use waste lumber. Other
mills use waste, but also cut good lum
ber. The waste from the Smith sawmill,
which Is now consumed In a waste
"GARLAND" Stoves and Ranges
I I ; 7jL "For Forty Years the StanHara' 1 I
I tsSTjl "Garlands"., are tho most ex-
K . eL..M...i.gyiM.jf tensively sold and popular stove V
I i " A t. specialties in the world, because
II - fiilf I ky positive test of years they .
u Sj proven to be the best. V
J I jil sy "Garlands" are guaranteed by 1 j
J I --.lw'.....M..ttsitt dealer and manufacturer and will 1
I I S YaskX " ' ' LFMT operate perfectly, and with prop- I I
C 119 tz?-& er care last a lifetime. f I
VV aJSI s ) And, besides, "Garlands" pre- , II
fr-Ti 8- I sent the latest departures in or- a
1 If' 13S namentation and design and ex- I a
11 " II ' elusive features of advantage not
fi kt found elsewhere.
B J See Our "Garland" Line of Stoves, Ranges ancl Heating Stoves V
Jr J Before Making Your Purchase
mm.
burner, will give a sufficient supply so
that the cost of raw material is practi
cally nothing. The pulp mill takes all
waste excepting the bark and sawdust
which Is used as fuel in the electric
plant at the Smith mill, which supplies
power also to the pulp plant. -The near
ness of the two buildings makes possi
Second and Morrison Streets
ble this arrangement of power and ma
terial. ' Another feature In which the Marsh
fleld mill differs from other pulp mlllK
is In the use of the chemicals. The
sulphate of soda process is used in mak
ing the pulp, but while other mills ex
haust all the chemicals employed this
mill recovers 85 per cent of the chemi
cals, thus making a great saving. To
do this several big buildings were
needed, but tho extra outlay is war
ranted by the saving brought about.
Plant Is Tlrepcoof.
The pulp plant la fireproof through
out. A storehouse and a structure In
which the waste wood is first carried
are the only frame buildings. Concrete
is used in the interior for the large hop
pers and in every other way possible for
concrete to be employed. The roofs of
the buildings are all concrete, built on
the- plan of arch spans without rafters.
The plant consists of several large
buildings each individual in arrange
ment and yet connected. The plant
really carries on two separata processes,
one the making, of paper pulp and the
other- the handling of the chemicals
necessary to recover the saving.
The mill will employ 60 men while
most other mills operating on other
plans would require 76 men to produce
the same output
The work -of construction waa slow, as
much of the machinery waa brought
from Sweden and Germany, while ma
terial In the building and equipment In
cluded articles from practically every
state in the union.
... . .
A practical meane of helping to solve
the problem of a living wage for work
ing girls has been hit upon by the Vol
unteers of America,
It consists of a home, accommodating
waga earning - girls, affording them
room, board, laundry and sewing facili
ties for $3 per week. This home, known
as the Maud B. Booth home, is located
at 12 East Seventh street, the property
is paid for and the establishment ia so
carefully ojid economically conducted
that even at tl;e low price charged, the
home is practically self supporting.
Tl)e present home accommodate only
40 girls, and the demands upon it have .
become so great that a good friend has
offered $$000 toward the erection of a
more commodious home on condition
that a similar amount be raised. The
first $1000 of the 16000 needed has
been secured, the following being the
list of subscribers up to this time:
John S. Beall ,.A.$200
Henry L. Corbett 200
B. Lee Paget 100
U A. Lewis 100
M. ec I. N. Klelschner 100
Fred A. Kribs 100
J..R. Bowles . , ioo
Philip Huehner 100
Subscriptions for this very worthy
fund may be sent either to the Volun
teers of America, 6 Grand avenue north;
U. Lea Paget, S04 Falling building, or
John 8. Beall. 809 Yamhill street cor
ner East First street.
Following are the names of the ad
visory board, all of whom approve of
the new undertaking and commend It
to the generovjs impulses of the people
of Portland: ' B. Lee Paget, John 8.
Beall, Henry I Corbett I. N. Flelsch
ner, L. A. Lewis, Ernest F. Tucker, K.
K. Kubll and E. II. Mowre.
JUDGE TAYLOR LEFT
ESTATE OF $100,000
Astoria, Or., Sept 20. In the, will of
the late Judge F. J. Taylor," which was
filed for probate yesterday, the entire
estate is left to the widow, Mrs. Mary
B. Taylor and her two daughters. The
estate, including life Insurance, is esti
mated In the petition at not less than
$100,OQO. The will la to be probated at
once, for until thaf is done the re
organization of the Peninsula Land &
Trust Co., which has been under way
for some time, cannot be proceeded with.
Mrs. Taylor is named as executrix to
serve without bonds.
ill!