to be in possession of the data necessary to establish their point, but this was merely a defect in information; they were correct in fact. When the Assessors were questioned as to this point-the rate at which other property was assessed-their answers were evasive, a typical reply being, "I try to get fifty or sixty per cent, but do not succeed."

The actual valuations established in the case of the railroads in 1910 represent a compromise between those proposed by the Governor and those of the previous year, the Assessors doubtless being influenced by a knowledge that other valuations were pretty low. Moreover, they refused to assess the telegraph and telephone lines and the electric light and power lines. They did, however, fix the value for the first time for the Wells-Fargo and the Pullman Companies, using data furnished by the Railroad Commission. Further results from the effort of the Governor and of his successor are found in the rather marked increase in valuations established for railroads in the years 1911 and 1912 and in the inclusion of the property of Western Union Telegraph Company in the list of public utilities valued by the Board of Assessors.

PRACTICAL RESULTS

Did the State Board of Assessors accomplish the purpose for which it was created? Probably it did in some measure, but the reply in the affirmative needs some qualification. The outstanding facts are about as follows: The total assessed valuation of the State was increased very markedly from 1903 to 1912. But it was a period of rapid rise in actual values and it is not cer

tain that assessed valuations increased more rapidly than real values. It is an achievement, however, if, in such a time, assessments rise in equal proportions with market values. The valuations on small residence property and on the property of small owners generally were higher in the beginning and they continued higher to the end than the valuations on the big properties. The valuations on the big properties such as railroads and banks were, in 1912, higher in relation to real value than were the valuations of most public-service property other than railroads, and higher than the valuations on most agricultural land and on range live stock. The information relative to railroads and banks was more complete and accurate. The Public Service Commission had not as yet gotten as complete data relative to the value of telephone, telegraph, and electric light and power lines. The valuations established by the Board of Assessors on cattle, sheep, and other live stock were fairly high in relation to other valuations, but the defect lay in the count. It was impossible for the Assessors to determine the numbers by actual count, and so they continued to accept the statements of the stockmen or to assess the customary number without any statement. In the case of land and other property the old procedure of assessment continued and, since land values were rising rapidly, the unchanging or slowly changing assessment valuations became increasingly low in proportion to actual value. The fundamental defect in the system of assessment lay in the fact that the State Board of Assessors, taken in connection with the local Assessors who worked independently, had no method of achieving uni

formity of results. The following characterization of the system as it worked out is taken from the report of the Nevada Citizens' Economy and Taxation Committee, published in 1913. The statements refer to 1912 and earlier years:

DEFECTS IN ASSESSMENTS

1. There is a lack of uniformity as between counties. In some counties the property, excluding railroads, is assessed on the average at about twelve or fifteen per cent of its value. In other counties the property is assessed at approximately forty per cent of its value, and, in still others, at about one hundred per cent. This has the effect of reducing the burden of state taxation for some counties and putting an extra burden on others. For example: In one county each thousand dollars of real value, excluding railroads, pays about ninety cents state tax. In another county property of the same value pays on the average about $2.40 state tax; and in another an equal amount pays about $4.80.

2. There is a lack of uniformity in the assessment of different kinds of property. For example: In one county where agricultural and meadow land is commonly assessed at about ten per cent of its value, merchandise is assessed at from twenty to forty per cent, and small homes in town at about fifty per cent. In another county agricultural land is assessed at about one-third of its value, and much of the town property at over two-thirds of its value.

Alfalfa land varies in value from about seventy-five dollars an acre to about two hundred and fifty dollars, depending upon the quality of the land, the supply of water, and the nearness to market. Some such land is assessed at six dollars an acre; much of it at about ten dollars an acre; and in a few cases fifty dollars is the value assessed. In some cases only about five per cent of the estimated actual value is assessed;

in other instances the land is assessed at thirty or forty per cent of its value. It appears probable that most alfalfa and cultivated land is assessed at about ten or fifteen per cent of its selling value.

The descriptions of land on the Assessor's books often ignore the most important factor in determining value, namely, the existence or nonexistence of a water right in the case of "pasture lands” and desert lands,"" homestead land" and "patented land." In many cases there is no description of the cultural state of the land at all.

The assessed value of stocks of merchandise in relation to inventory value or estimated value varies from eleven per cent to forty-two per cent. Very commonly such property is assessed at about twenty or twenty-five per cent of its actual value.

are

Small homes in the more prosperous towns assessed, as a rule, at between forty-five per cent and sixty-five per cent of their real value, with about fifty per cent as the average. Larger residences are usually assessed at a lower rate, varying from twenty-five to forty-five per cent of actual value. In other towns the assessed valuation of homes in relation to real values is higher, in some cases approximating closely to actual values and in other cases exceeding actual values.

Banks are commonly assessed at about fifty or sixty per cent of the par value of the stock, plus the surplus, but in one instance a bank is assessed for only about twenty-three per cent of this amount.

The Central Pacific Railroad is assessed at about fifty per cent of its value as estimated by the State Railway Commission for purposes of rate-making, and at about twenty-seven per cent of the value claimed by the railroad for the same purpose.

The committee has not secured a sufficient amount of reliable information relative to livestock assessments to justify a definite conclusion, but there is some reason to believe that in some cases the number returned is not over one-third the actual number, while in other cases as

many as two-thirds of the real number are returned to the Assessor.

3. There is lack of uniformity as between different owners. Some Assessors practically leave each man to make his own assessment and some owners reduce valuations more than others. Again, it is much harder for the Assessor to estimate the value of very large property holdings than it is to estimate that of small holdings. As a consequence, there is a strong tendency for the large owners to escape a part of their taxes. Moreover, the man who insists on low valuations will usually have the advantage of the citizen who submits to his assessment without objections.

The preceding conclusions are based on information relative to a considerable number of assessments in each of six counties, and to a smaller number in other counties. From the large quantity of data collected the following illustrative cases are submitted:

1. A ranch of 820 acres with a considerable acreage under cultivation recently sold for $33,000. It was assessed at $3,240, or less than ten per cent of its sale price. This ranch, according to the committee's method of estimation, is worth $30,298. As this is less than the sale price, it appears that our estimate is fairly conservative.

2. Another ranch is offered for sale by the owner for $44,000. According to our estimate it is worth $37,455. It is assessed at $6,330, or less than fifteen per cent of the price set by the

owner.

3. Another ranch recently sold for $16,000. It is assessed at $2,000, or twelve and one-half per cent of the sale price.

4. Another ranch recently sold for $100,000. It is assessed at $10,500, or ten and one-half per cent of sale price.

5. Another ranch recently sold for $25,000. It is assessed at $2,000, or eight per cent of sale price.

6. Choice land of several ranches in a certain valley is assessed at $33 per acre. Several farms in this valley have sold in recent years at from $200 to $250 an acre. Best land is assessed at about twelve per cent of actual value.

The above instances are submitted as typical of agricultural land assessments in several important counties.