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The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917, November 11, 1914, LAST EDITION, Image 27

Image and text provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1914-11-11/ed-1/seq-27/

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JULIUS ROSENWALD ASSESSMENT IS UNDER
FIRE IN TAX WAR
Judge Kersten will hear argu
ments of State's Attorney Hoyne to
morrow morning for the calling of
a special -grand jury t odig into the
tax smear of Cook county. This is
($ the first time an attempt has been
made by a state's attorney here to
tear the lid loose and show the jug
gling of records' by which Chicago is
buncoed out of more than $50,000,
000 tax money every year.
Hoyne's action is rousing keen in
terest in many quarters. Unless more
tax money comes into the city treas
ury the 6,000 teachers of Chicago
can't draw the five per cent salary
increase voted them by the Board of
Education last May. And only as
more tax money comes in will the
kiddies now cramped in alleys and
streets have more playgrounds.
Roy O. West, the lawyer who be
came a millionaire since .he became
a member of the Board of Review
and handle tax assessments, has
made a statement in which he agrees
with State's Att'y Hoyne that the
present tax system needs repair
work. West says:
"The assessment of personal prop
erty in Illinois is a rotten farce. Only
about 20 per cent of the personality
is assessed that should be. Intan
gible assets, such as notes, bonds,
stock in foreign corporations, and
cash, are not discovered and as
sessed." West now goes on to say he wants
better tax laws. And he claims he
has tried at every session of the leg-
A islature to get better tax laws for
Illinois.
The point where the state's attor
ney's office clashes with West and
the tax officials now in office is right
here. Hoyne's assistants, Hayden
N. Bell, Henry Berger, Patrick J.
Murphy and Irwin N. Walker" have
all stated clearly that the big. vicious
evil of the tax system in Cook coun
ty is that the tax laws are ta,ken as I
a joke by the men elected to enforce
those laws.
"This is not a time for us to en
gage in a controversy with Mr. West,"
said Bell today. "All tax officials
shall have full opportunity to explain
themselves.
"We have pointed out how clear
the law is on the assessment of
shares of stock held by an individual.
It is as plain as daylight that the
law means such shares of stock shall
be assessed at full value.
"It would be impossible- for Mr.
West or anybody else to go to Spring
field and put on the statute books a
law more clear and specific than the
one we now have in this matter. Yet
Mr. West and his colleague, Mr. Fred
Blocki, both appeared before Judge
Olson a few weeks ago and under
oath stated that they don't enforce
this law, don't try to enforce it, and
to them it doesn't mean what it says.
"It was shown that Julius Rosen
wald owns $25,000,000 worth of
shares of stock in Sears-Roebuck &
Co. Mr. West and Mr. Blocki as
sessed the stock at one-tenth of its
market value. They admitted they
looked up the market value of the
shares and then knocked off nine
tenths of the value, In other words,
they reduced Julius Rosenwald's
taxes 'on this class of personal prop
erty exactly 90 per cent."
West's initials are written on the
Board of Review record cancelling an
assessment on the estate of Charles
Rakebrand. The widow, Mrs. Adele
Rakebrand, of 4732 N, Tripp av., tes
tified before Judge Owens yesterday
that she paid money to have the taxes
fixed.
"In July, 1913, I told a Board of
Review clerk $315 was too high an
assessment," said Mrs. Rakebrand.
"He told me he would fix it up. He
came to my house later and said it
has been reduced to $150 and I could
pay the $150 to him. I asked for an
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