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Show EDITORIAL TWO VALUATIONS I Saturday the Utah Power & Light company filed its sworn I statement with the Utah state board of equalisation stating that the valuation of its property in Utah is $13,239,433. The Bear River system of the company is 3ituated partially in Idaho and ' partially in Utah The Idaho state board of equalization fixed the total value of the power company com-pany s Idaho property at approximately approxi-mately $9,000,000. If these figure? are correct then the total value for taxation purposes of all the company com-pany s property in both states is $22,239,483. In case No. 248, known as the Utah Copper case, the Utah public utilities commission fixed as a basis for rate making" purposes the alue of the Bear River system at $19,000,000 and other property ot the company situated in Utah St $23,000,000, or .i total valuation of $42,000,000 aud fixed the rates that the people should pay for power ana light on the latter figure. fig-ure. If it is just and right for the people to pay rates to the power company to sustain a valuation of $42,000,000, it naturally follows that it is simple justice that the the public treasuries of Utah and Idaho on the same amount of valuation, val-uation, namely $9,000,000 m the state of Idaho, the amount fixed bv the state board of equalization of that state and on $33,000,000, the amount fixed as the value of the company s property in Utah by our own public utilities com-j com-j mission. William Bailey, the chairman of ; the state board of equalisation, spends a large portion of his time 'going about the state giving advice ad-vice as to how to raise sufficient taxes to meet the public expense. He was in Ogden several days ago and in a speech before the engineers engi-neers society he advocated a tax !of 2 cents per gallon on gasoline as one means of increasing the public revenue It is the duty of Chairman Bailey to see that the power company and other public service corporations of this state pay a fair and just tax before he gives advice as to other methods of raising public revenue Chairman Chair-man Bailey has the figures before" him Will be, as chairman of the board, fix the tax valuation the same a? the valuation fixed for rate making? The public will await his action with interest. |