Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, June 6, 1883, Page 4

1 The Omaha Bee.| Published ¢ ay. The enly morning, except Sune onday morning daily, TERMS BY MAIL— Year,...810.00 | Three Months,83.00 :&‘M:::hl.. 5,00 | One Month.... 1.00 CHE WEEXLY BEE, published every Weinesday. TERMS POST PAID— $2.00 | Three Months, 50 1.00 | One Month.... 20 zr10AN Nxws CouPaNy, Sole Agents A;-wlduhn in the United States, CORRESPONDENCE: -All Commaunl. atfons relating to News and Editorial '--mn should fn to the Enrron or Tax Bee, BUSINESS LETTERS—AIll Busines Botters and Remittances sheuld be ad 4Aressed to THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY OuaHA, Drafts, Checks and Postoffice Urders to be made payable to the order of $he Company, The BER PUBLISHING 00., Props. E. ROSEWATER Editor. Ir begins to look now as if we would have paving after all. Vireinia is drylng up with drought and Iowa and Nebraska are drenched with raln. Mr. Hazan and his buresn have much to answer for at the hands of an outraged people. A NEw number of the nihilist jour- mal, “The Will of the People,” has appeared in 8t. Potersburg, and the czar ls shaking with another fit of the ague. Tre New Hampshire leglslature meets to~day to elect a successor to Senator Rollins, If cheek and money, ‘backed by corporation inflaencss, can carry the day, Rollins will be his own successor, [ Tre Inquest on the Brooklyn bridge accident shows a great deal of hindsight on the part of the managers of that structure who are now show- ing why it ought not to have hap- pened. Tae Herald chuckles over the an- nouncement made by & York county rallroad organ that antl-monopoly is dead. Wehave heard the same re- mark a good many times during the past alx years, A B0ARD of officlal vieltors aro ex- amining the naval academy. They have not yet succeeded in discovering » cadet who s willing to trust his lifo on board one of Robeson & Caandler's new monitors, Tae Omeha branch of the Irlsh na- tlonal league was successfully organ-— 1zed last night. Omaha hasmore edu- cated and couservatlvo Irishmon in proportion to her population than any . cily inthe west JouN SHERMAN {8 reported to have made ‘‘a powerfal republioan speech” on Satorday, at Manefield, Ohlo, Something more than power{ul speech- en will be needed to carry the Backeye state in the fall campalgn, ONE THOUSAND doctors are in mes- slon in Cleveland. The chlef topic of disousefon {3 whether patients shall have the right to call whatever phyai- ctans they please In consultation, re gardless of scho Missouki followed Iowa, yesterday, with another neck-tle scciable. Law and order has to give place to the pre- vailing fashions In localitles whero murderers run locse and courts seem organized not to convict. S— Warcn the sssesament. The coun- ty commissioners are now sitting as a board of equalization over the returns a8 handed in by the assessors. Ths Bz will keep an open eye on their proceedings and will have something 10 say on the assessment of 1883 as compared with last year's lists. GRrEAT surprise is sald to be ex- pressed in Washington over develop- ments in the Hill case, which show that the government has been flseced in the erection of public bulldings. Greater surprise would be felt if it was proved that government contractors were any more honest than men doing private work without a fat treasury to fall back upon. Tue Kansas rallroad law went into effect on the first of the month, and much Interest is felt in its operation. By lts provisions all passenger vates in the state are fixed at & maximum rate of three cents a mile. Witha view to making the law obnoxlons, the rallroads will refase all excarslon rates, Agricultural aszoclations, ple- nlc parties and clerical conventlons will be required to pay the regulation three cents s mile without rebate. The Nebraska rallroads attempted to makethe Doane law obnoxious with the «ffect of creating an anti-monopoly party which polled 17,000 votes at the last election, When corporations try to make just laws obnoxious to the cltizens it Is high time for the people to make law breakiog and defiance of law obnoxicus to the corporations. If we are not mistaken the next leglala- ture in Kansas will go several steps fariher in the way of antl-monopoly leglslation than the last, It rarely pays to arouse the law making power of the state to apply the extreme remedles which they possess, for the correction of erylng abuses. THE OMAR A DAILY BEE~WEDNESDAY JUNE 6 1883, THE LAND TAX DECISION. Exoeption s taken to our strictures on the actlon of Judge Dandy in grantiog a perpetual b junctlon to re- straln the eounty commissloners and treasarer of B flalo connty from levy- ing or ¢ollecting taxes on the unpat- ented lands belonging to the Unlon Pactfic rallroad. 1'wo points sre made to sustaln tho condust of the jadge In this case. First: that Buffalo connty made no defense agalnst this injanc- tlon; and second: that the declsion of Judge Dandy slmply carried into effect the rullng of the United S'ates Supreme Court In the case of McShane va. Unfon Paclfic. We were not aware that the com - missloners of Baffalo county had neglected or failed to defend through an attorney thelr sction In levying this just tax, and if ample time was glven them to make such a defense a large part of the blame rests upon them, But even though this was an - other jag handled sffair, It does nct neceasarily follow that the court was bound to grant a perpetual tnjunction, This was not merely u case involving the Interests of Buffalo county, bat 1t lnvolved the state taxes as well, and it the judge had been as spxlous to protect the Interests of the state as he seems to be to protect the Interests of the railroad, he would have caused the attorney general of the state to be clted and given the fullest latitude to the discussion of the vital question whether the largest land owner in Nebraska s to be exempt from taxa- tlon, And why did Buftalo county allow the case to go by default? Per- haps for the same reason that the commlssloners of San Ma- teo county permitted the tax case agalnst the Central Pacific to go by default In the Ualted States circalt court in Californle. For weeks and weoks the commissloners of Baffalo county have been harassed by the lackeys and shysters of the Union Pacific road, and every cftort has been mads to prevent them from ordering the treasurer to levy a tax on the un- patented lands, Thelr refussl to be Ioflaenced In the first 1Instance and thelr fallare now .to defond thelr action can only be aceounted for on the ground that they have since been corruptly manipulated, or that sufficient time has not been given them for defonse. That matter thepeo- ple of Baffalo county must settle for themselves, The deslsion in the McShane care, which is clted as the basls of the in- junction, does not seem to us, to afford the propar ground. When that declslon was ren- dered, twelve years ago, the Unlon Pacific road had not been accepted by the government as completed, and heuco its land grant was still in doubt, But now the owaership of the lands 1s abaolate. By a later deoclsion of the suprems court in tho ‘'Platt” case the road was daclared to by thosole owa- ers of the lands, which cannot be taken from them by the faflure to comply with any conditfon in thelr charter, Right here let us say that Judge Dan- dy'a action in the Platt oase, which is sald to have no bearing apon the Baf- falo county injunection, should the Injunction. The Platc case, as we have stated, was & put up job that should never have been allowed to go through any court, The supreme court of the United States was made to pass upon the facts presented, which were in- genlously distorted to conceal the eql- tles involved. The supreme ocourt cou'd not know the fact that Willlam Platt was a land agent the ends of justice, know that Me, oific and was employed at thelr In. Schurz in the Dadymott case, that this purposely to know » bogus sult charter, grant bond, Jadge Dandy ented land. der any pretext, paylng his taxes? Suppose further. in Nebraska would go untaxed. in equity have been a bar agalnst of the Ualon Pacific acting in con- jonotion with his employers to defeat They could not Platt's attorney had been an attorney for the Unlon Pa- stance. They could not know that Platt was not a bona fide settler on the land, but was merely playing a part to offset the declsion of Seoretary But Judge Dandy, who has lived In Ne- braska a life time, had every reason was gotten up o use him and his court to rob the settlors of Amerloa of mlllions of acres upon which they had a right to make a home uader the original U, P, Having held that the lands had been disposed of by belng mort- geged through the lssue of a land stands committed to the theory that the road 1a the absolute owner of the unpat- Taklng out a patent is a mere formality, the absence of which should not deprive the state of Nebraska of the due shares of taxes from lts owner un. Sappose & home- steader should refuse to take out his patent after living five yoars on his land what protection would he have in the United States courts agalnst more that he had receivea his patent and falled to pay the fee for recording as the Unlon Paclfic has failed to pay for surveying, would the commiestun— ers of the county be evjolued from taxlog his land! If they weore so enjolned, then one-third of the farms Viewlng thls question purely from » standpolut of equity and with no personal feeling towards any judge we insist that this Injanciion has done a grave wrong t» Nobraska, THE BOARD OF EQUALIZA. TION. The county commissioners are now in sesslon as & board of egualzition, Thelr datles under the law are plain and imperative, The board sits in reviaw of the condust of the assessors and ls expeoted to plase tho property of every cltizen on an c¢qaal baris, The statute reqnires that all properiy shall bo assessed at the full market value but wiliful perjury seems to be no crime in Douglas ocounty and Nebraska. The assessors clalm that they are not bound by the plain letter of thelr oath of offica, because otherassessorsin other sections are violating the statute, 8o they as- sens property at ratesvarying from one. fourth to one-tenth according to per- sons and localitles, The objsct ¢f a board of equalization Is to make these sssessments uniform. It one-third or one-fourth s to be the basls, then all property should be assessed at that ratls, Thirteen years ago the assessed valaation of this clty was about $10,- 000,000, and of the city and county $13,000,000. Slnce then the assessed valuation has been steadlly decreas- {og, in spite of our steady growth in wealth and population. Two years ago it had got down to a fraction over seven milllons, Luat year, by a vig- orous effort on the part of Tue Bee, it was ralsed about a million. Now evorybody knows that there is not a foot of ground ip Omaha to-day that is not valued at from 50 to 500 per cent more than it was in 1870, Omaha real estate alone s worth from forty to fifty milllons. In the county lands that five years ago were selling at §6 an acre, are held at $30. Ia the last thirteen years we have built more than 6 000 dwelling houses and 500 business houses, besides hun- dreds of farm houses. Add to this the great public improvemonts owned by private corporatione, such as water works, gas worke, manufactories, street rallways, hotels and opera houses, and it certalnly surp 11 bellef that in the year 1883 the total valuation of Douglas, as roturned by the assessors, foots up only $10,000,000. It is not expected, of course, that the board can go over every lut, but they can and ought to correct glaring discrepancles between the wards. It is reported on good authorlty that the Third and Fourth ward assessors are the only ones tn the county that have made material advances in the valuz- tlon over last year, while the First and Szcond wardsare stationary and an inappreciable advance has been made in the Sixth, Tae anthority of the board of equalization to ralse the aggregate valuation of property in separate wards {s full and complete, The statute of 1833, p 275, saye: *‘It shall ascertain whether the vala- atlons in one township, precinet cr district bear just relation to all the townehips, precincta or districia in the county, and may incresse or diminish the aggregate valuatlon of property o any township, precinet or distriot by adding or deducting such sum upon the hundred as may be necessary to produce a just relation betweoen all the valuations of property In the coanty, but shall fu no {ostance reduce the ag- gregate valuation of all the townships, proclncts or alstricts below the aggre- gate valuation thereof as made by the assossors, Nothiug can be plainer than that. If the Firat, Second, Fifth and Sixth wards are asseased lower proportlon- ately than the Third and Fourth, it is the duty of the board to equalizo the total oty assessment by raising the valuation, And it all the wards are sssessed at less than thelr market value, it is equally thelr duty to ralse the assessment In each to a sam which will represent something like an ap- proximation to a falr assessable valua- tlon. The statute provides that the board all, upon the complaint of a oltizen that property has been awsessed too low, review the assessment and cor- rect the valuation, but it does not provide that no changes shall be made in the returns of the assessors unless such specific complaint is filed for reo- ord, Itls one of the dutles of the board, for which they recelve thelr salaries, to ascertaln through the oounty clerk’s office the actual valua. tion of property in the county., With the data there obtained they can per- form thelr duties as & board of equall- zatlon understandingly and compe- tently, Tt will be an {nfamous outrage if the next tax levy on property in Douglas county Is made on a valuation of less than $15,000,000. That will bo about one-fourth of the present market value of real estate alone. It the board cf equalization expeots to sit like stough- ton bottles, walting for complaints that tho assessmont Is too low, they have a very low idea of thelr powers and dutles, What the tax-payers of Douglas county are anxlous to know, . | 18 whether they are to continue to be bled by the tax shirkers. Taelr only appeal now is to the board of equali. mtlon, Thelr next appeal, if the firet fails to obtaln rellef, will be made at the polls, It the board of commls. sioners feel that they have been olected to serve the Interosts of the tax shirking capltalists and public and private corporations, at the expense of the people, It Is high time that they should be taught a lesson, WHERE IS THE BLAME? A groat deal of howl {s being raised about the number cf burglaries, high- way robborles and crimes agalnst per- sons snd property In Omaba, and wholesale charges are made of the in- efticicncy and demoralizstion of our polles force, There Is no doubt that oar police have been both demoralized and {ncficlent, but If every officer waa ns effislent as the best, the present force could not begin to patrol our oity, We have only sixteen police- men fn a city of 46,000 Inhabitante, and our revenue will not permit any materlal Increase of the force. Where Is the blame? With a prop- erty veluation of fally $50.000,000 sur city government {a tlod hand and foot through the gross violatlon of the law regarding assessments, Laat year the levy was made on a basls of less than €8 000000, while taking one- third as the ratio of assessment, at least seven milllons of real estate and personal property escaped tex free. The houses and cottages of our labor- ors, and clerks, and mechanics were very generally assessed at a third of their market valus, but our wealthy property owners and private corpora- tions shirked their taxes on the shoul- ders of the men who were least able to bear the burden. As matters now stand, the property of our best tax- payers, our mechanics and laboring men who list all they cwn, Is entirely without police proteciion, and every demand for an Increase of the force {s met with the reply of ‘‘no funds.” Omaha will never be a city worthy the name until she learns from the experience of other cltles how to de- rive a revenue sufficlcnt to meet her necessities, Tax shirking and tax shirkers have done more to retard our growth than all other irflaences com- bined. A merclless ralsing of the assessments on all properiy which has not borne its share cf taxation is due a8 much to the maso of our taxpayers as it is to the nsme and reputation of Omaha sbroad. THE BUFFALU COUN1Y DECISION. To the Elitor of the Bax, Uader the head of “An Infamouns Deolsion” last night's Bee published an ltem from some interlor nowspaper with respect of a declslon recently rendered by Judge Dandy, In the Unlted States clrcuit court, in the caee of the U. P. R. R. Co. against Baffalo county, and in the same con- nectlon tenders the oplnion of the ed- itor of the Bek In the premises, It is clearly evident from the statement made, and the concluelons drawn therefrom, that both the country newapaper and the editor of the Bk wore ignorant of the facts in the case, and while the writer, baleving no in- telligent man will consider any sop- port of the purity of Judge Dandy’s Jjudlcial character necessary, disowns auy (fiort in that dlrection, it wounld be urjus! to the judge pot to mako pubilo tho true facts in the case from the declzion of which the Bee and the papae referred to draw arch rude snd fllogical conc'uslons. The absurdity of tho intimation made that thero exiats between tho Piatt oane 20 oalled and the case recently de- cided any inconsistency sufficlently glaring or ridiculous to justify any re- fizetion upon the court, will be clearly apparent to the ordinary reader when the vwo decisions are understood. Thae Pilatt caso referred to was one in which Platt clalmed ownorship undor the pre—2mption act, the railroad claiming by virtue of ite grant from congress. By tho terms of that grant any of the land covered by its terms undisposed of by the rallroad company afrer a certain length of time, became subject to entry by any settler undes the laws of the Uhited States. The time had slapsed; Platt tcok possession. The rallroad had, before the time elapyed, mortgaged the land with Its mndbcé, ete, 'fha question involved and declded was: Had the road dispos:d of the land within the meanlag of the land grant act, Judge Dandy held that a mortgage of the land wasa disposal wishin the aoct; therefore Puatt had no right of entry. The rall- road was the owner of the equity cf redemption like any other mortgagor but as between the government and the rallroad company, the company had complied with the termsof the land grant purchase, which declsion was afterwards affirmed by the su- preme court of the Ualted States, Now, what way the question in- volyea in the case of the railroad company va. Buffalo county referred to! The county claimed the right to tax certaln lands, and had exerolsed thelr powers of taxation, The rall- road company clalmed chat the land was not subject to taxation, because the raliroad not having yet pald the cost of sueveying the land ia ques. tion, nor the cost of the patents, the pateats had not yet issued from the government; that being so the gov- ernment had still an interest in the land, apd" the legal title. The bill was brought by the company to restrain the collectlon of the tax, The iojanctlon was granted on the grounc that the land was not subject to taxation. The deciston was based upon and followed the declelon of the Supreme Conit of the United States in the case cf McShane, treasurer of Douglas county, va. U, P, railroad, and in a later case teken from the district of Kansas, where the highest tribunal in the Unlted States hold that untll the cost of the patent and of survoying the land was paid the United States still had an futerest In the property and therefore the lands could uot be taxed The iands o controversy in the Platte sult were not the same lands de- scribed in the Buffalo couaty sult, and if thoy were the oue case declded that they had been disposed of within the lavgusge of the land grant and th second declded that aslong as the cost of the patent and fees for survey had not been pald they Wero not subject | to taxation, So it appears that tne suprome court of the United States in { reasonable prices. the McShane cate held precisely as Jadge Dandy did in the Baffalo coun- ty case, and the latter was bound to follow it. Happening to be la the clerk’s office of the United States court shorily after reading the artlcle referred to, upon reforence to the recorde, it was ascertalned that Baffalo county made no defense to the tc:lon referred to, not even fillng an answer or taking any steps toward defeating the object of the actlon, The board of commis- sloners and its attorneys evidently had more respect for the Invinotbility of the supreme court of the United States decislon, than the editors of the papers roferred to, C R. Repick, Kavramazoo, Micu , Feb, 2, 1883, I know Hop Bitters will bear rec- ommendation houestly. All who use them confer upon them the highest encom{ums, and give them credit for making cures—all the proprietors claim for them. I have kept them slnce they were firat offered to the publle. They took high rank from the first, and malntalned {t, and are more called for than all others com- bined. 8o long as they keep up thelr reputation for purity and usefulness, 1 shall continue to recommend them— something I have never before done with any other patent med!cine, J J BABCOCK, M. D. Not Talkiog Business. Arkaisaw Traveler, A cattle dealer stopped at the house ofan Arkansaw small farmer,and called to a man who was drawing water with an old-fashioned wirdlass that orled out with an alarming cresk at every turn of the crank, ‘“'Light,” shoated the drawer cf water., The man dismounted and spproach- ed the well, “Iam a cattle buyer,” sald the man,‘‘and I'd like to telx bus. inees to you.” “‘Can’t talk business till I give these stecrs as much water as they want.” “How long will it take you?” “‘Blamed if I know. They ain't had no water for twodays,and thewell’s 76 feet deep, and the bucket leaks; now make the calk'iation,” “‘Why don’t you drlve them to the river?” “'Qcs they'd rush In an’ drown theirselves.” 3 “Don’t you want to sell them?”’ “I would if I had the ole woman's ccneent, an’ I think she's willin’.” ““Where {s she?’ ‘‘She’s jes’ gittin’ ready to go over to mee one of the neighbors.” “You'd better consult her before sho leaves.” “You don't know that woman like I do. Italn't eate to pestor her when she’s glttin’ ready to go auywhar, We'll hafter wait till she glts thar.” ““How far is 117" ‘‘About nine miler.” “I see you don't care to talk busi- ness.” “No, I aint so powful keen."” ““If you'd pay more attentlon to business you'd live better.” *Don't wanter live no better'n I am. Saite me.” ‘‘Aro you making spy attempt to educate your children?” “‘Yes, an’ they're gittin’ along fine. Jim hit & wigger with a brick yester day, Bob saseed a jestice of the peace an’ Buck ain’t afreerd of the devil. That's a wighty good showln’, let me tell you,” and the windless screaked and the steera walled thelr eyes. ‘‘Are all of your children boy:?" ¢They might have been of it hadn’t been fur one thing.” ““What was tha?” “One of 'em was a girl.” ““Well, there’s no use fooling with yeu, good-day.” “Good-day,” and he torned the crank, mattering to himself, ‘‘noisin’ 'round hero tryla’ to find ont who's gof whisky. A man haster be mighty swmart theso days.” e, “All ALL OTMER BODILY PAINS AND ACHES. E CHARLES A, VOGELER ©CO. Duseeors v A 'wlulAOHA "‘lu..... AL A M A 8kin of Beauty Is a Joy orever. DR. T. FELIX GOURAUDS QOriental Cream or Magical Eeautifier The Orlental Cream purifies as well as Reauti- fies the Skio, Removes Tan, Pimples, ame. The distinguished Dr. L. A, toe lady of the HAUT ON (s pationt)) Iadics will use them, I recommend 23 the least harwtul of all the Skin proparatic: One bottle will laat alx months, uslug it every day. Also Poudro Jub. Hle removes superfluous halr without injury $o the skin, MMx. M. D, T. GOURAUD, Sole prop., 4 Bond Bt, N. Y. Forwle by all Drucgists and Fancy Goods Dealers throvghout the United Statos, Canads and Europe. £ Bewaro of base Imitations. $1,000 roward i9F arrest and proof of avy ono selling the same. 14-weow 1 2t ow -6t HANSCUM 'ARK. B. HAAS, FLORIST, DEALER IN Flowers, Piants and Bouquets, Flower beds prepared for any one in the city st H. WESTERMANN & CO, IMFORTENS OF QUEENSWARE, China and Glass, 608 WASHINGTON AND 609 ST. CHARLES ST. St. Louis, Mo. 22.8m WHOLESALE DRY GOODS SAM’L C. DAVIS & CO., Washington Avenue and Fifth Street, 8T. LOUIS, - . = e S . - L * FELKER, BAUDER & CO, COMMISSION MERCHANTS AND PRCDUCE DEALERS 1622 Capitol Avenue, Omaha, Nebraska, Quotations sont on application. Consignments solicited and remittances promptly made. SALEM FLOUR. This Flour is made at Salem, Richardeon county, Neb., In the combin roller and stone system. We give EXCLUIVE sale of our flour to one firm in place. We have opened a branch at 1618 Oapltol avenue, Omaha. " St VALENTINE & REPPY, 4= et o C. F. GOODMAN, WHOLESAIE DRUGGIST AND DEALER IN PAINTS, OILSVARNISHES And Window Glass. OMAHA - - NEBRASKA, WHOLESALE OLOTHIERS, 1301 and 1308 Farnam St. Cor. I18th OMAHA, NEB. STEELE, JUHNSON & CO., WHOLESALE GROCERS AND JOBBERS IN Flecur, 8alt, Sugars, Canned GCoods, ana All Grocers' Supplies. A Full Line of the Best Brands of OIGARS AND MANUFACTURED TOBAGCO. Agents for BENWOOD RAILS AND LAFL.N & RAND POWDER G0 G ATH CITY PLANING MILLS. MANUFACTURKRS OF Carpenter’'s Materials SASH, IillflflS. BLINDS, STAIRS, Stair Railings, Balusters, Window and Door Frames, Etc. o facilitics for tly Manufacture of ull kinds of Monldings, Planing ama s Specialty. Ordgs from the country wiil be prompsly executed. e b 4 OVER. Propeletor A. M. CLARK 1Fainter&Paper Hanger SIGN WRITER & DRCGI'RATOR. WHOLESALE & RETAIL WALLL, PAPER: Window $hates aud Curtalng, QUR'MAIN POLES AND FIXTU J v, Oils Bouth 1 4th toeet AR S Quu.« . - NEDRASES / ’6' ‘ gt et -