(both)

In the

of the

188176 alots in Jin

lote the for 20

Agenta

tal assessed valuation. Of the 1.198 owners 340 were d 20.49 per cent of the pieces of property and 16.86 otal square feet.

nonresidents in the business section of the ery are amarized for the year 1894 according to the States in reside.

on between the assessed value of unimproved and hown by a series of tables giving a descripri. ani s by years, of a number of pieces of property in of Chicago that were vacant in 1892, 1893, and 1894. oved in one or two of these years but vacant in tables are summarized by years, and some of the wn are as follows:

F UNIMPROVED AND IMPROVED PROPERTY IN CHICAGO

1892

cent

dence The was 73

of the land

the tra portin

and

hould be $1.959; those given are, however according to tie om sinal. ould be $346.657; those given are, however, according to the original.

ition of certain property in the business district of years from 1890 to 1894, inclusive, the figures being ach piece of property, and summarized as follows:

›ED VALUATIONS IN CHICAGO, 1890 TO 1894.

PERCENTAGE OF VALUE OF GROUND AND OF BUILDINGS OF TOTAL VALUE, CHICAGO.

If for purposes of taxation sites are assessed at "say 5 per cent and buildings at 15 per cent of real value, it is clear that the owners of cheap residences will pay a great deal higher tax in proportion to the value of their property than any other class."

Continuing the comparison between the assessment values for different classes of property, the following statement summarizes the totals for a number of tables:

TRUE AND ASSESSED VALUE OF LAND AND OF IMPROVEMENTS IN CHICAGO.

a Not including two pieces of ground and one building which were exempt from taxation.

a 9.58

The centralization of land ownership is shown by a series of tables. The first table gives an alphabetical list of the owners of all the real estate in the business center of Chicago, except property owned by national and local governments, religious and educational institutions, and railroads. The number of pieces and the number of front and square feet owned by each are given, and the assessed valuations of ground and improvements, respectively, are shown for each of the years 1892, 1893, and 1894. In other tables the properties are grouped by classes according to the number of front feet owned. The number and percentage of square feet owned by each class and selected groups of classes are shown, and the assessed valuation of the ground and improvements for each of the years 1892, 1893, and 1894 is also given for each class, together with the per cent that this valuation is of the total assessed valuation. A little over 7 per cent of the owners own ground, the assessed valuation of which is more than 42 per cent of the total assessed valuation of the ground, while by another grouping of classes it appears that over two-thirds of the owners possess less than one-third of the ground, the assessed valuation of which is but a scant

quarter of the total assessed valuation. Of the 1,198 owners 340 were women, who owned 20.49 per cent of the pieces of property and 16.86 per cent of the total square feet.

The holdings of nonresidents in the business section of the city are described and summarized for the year 1894 according to the States in which the owners reside.

The disproportion between the assessed value of unimproved and improved land is shown by a series of tables giving a description, and the assessed values by years, of a number of pieces of property in the business section of Chicago that were vacant in 1892, 1893, and 1894, or that were improved in one or two of these years but vacant in the others. These tables are summarized by years, and some of the principal items shown are as follows:

ASSESSED VALUE OF UNIMPROVED AND IMPROVED PROPERTY IN CHICAGO.

a Figures here apparently should be $1.959; those given are, however, according to the original. 6 Figures here apparently should be $346.657; those given are, however, according to the original.

The assessed valuation of certain property in the business district of Chicago is shown by years from 1890 to 1894, inclusive, the figures being given separately for each piece of property, and summarized as follows:

Statements similar to the above, for the years 1892, 1893, and 1894, are given for the separate pieces of property owned by forty-two of the largest owners of property in the business district of the city.

A number of tables are presented which show the quantity and assessed value of real and personal property, also of railroad and other corporate property throughout the entire State of Illinois, with appropriate comparisons with similar values for the State of Indiana. These statistics are shown in detail by county totals, comparisons being made between the totals of 1873 and 1893. The two final summary tables are in substance as follows:

ASSESSED VALUATION, ALL CLASSES OF PROPERTY, ILLINOIS.

ASSESSED VALUATION, ALL CLASSES OF PROPERTY, ILLINOIS AND INDIANA.

a Figures here apparently should be 100.31; those given are, however, according to the original. b Includes telegraph, telephone, express and palace car companies only.

c Excess in favor of Illinois.

The population, according to the United States census of 1890, was for Illinois 3,826,351 and for Indiana 2,192,404.

The evils of the existing system of taxation and their remedies are discussed under appropriate heads. The impracticability of taxing personal property, the desirability of exempting improvements from taxation, and the practicability of site-value taxation are treated at length, the results of the statistical tables being used to support the arguments. In summarizing, it is stated that the statistics show that the tax laws of the State are systematically violated; that Cook County escapes a fair proportion of general taxes as compared with other counties, and Chicago as compared with the remainder of Cook County; that by the assessment of buildings at a higher proportionate valuation than land, buildings in Chicago are taxed much more than land, which forces an undue proportion of taxes upon the poor and people in moderate circumstances; that discriminating undervaluations, indirect taxes, and tenderness toward landed interests in Chicago, besides overburdening

the laboring class with taxes, are diminishing opportunities for employment, dangerously concentrating ownership of land, and generally promoting the interests of the very rich at the expense of the rest of the community. A number of recommendations are made for additional legislation to remedy these evils.

The report on taxation is closed with a series of tables giving in detail every sale of property coming under the investigation of the bureau for each of the years 1890, 1891, and 1892, and for the years 1893 and 1894 considered together, showing the amount of the consideration as expressed in the warranty deeds, and the assessments on the same property for each of the years in which the property was sold; also recapitulations showing the same facts by classes of property, according to value, for each year from 1870 to 1892, inclusive, and for the years 1893 and 1894 considered together.

MAINE.

The Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics of Maine for the year 1894 treats of the following subjects: Manufacturers' returns of the effects of the business depression, 51 pages; factories, mills, and shops built in 1894, 3 pages; census statistics, 10 pages; retail prices, 36 pages; pulp and paper making, 13 pages; publishing business, 12 pages; part of the proceedings of the tenth annual convention of the National Association of Officials of Bureaus of Labor Statistics, 24 pages; the labor laws of Maine, 10 pages; report of the inspector of factories, workshops, mines, and quarries, 46 pages.

MANUFACTURERS' RETURNS OF THE EFFECTS OF THE BUSINESS DEPRESSION.-These statistics are the result of two investigations, one in July and the other in October, 1894, the reports being collected by correspondence. Two hundred and twenty-four reports were received in answer to the first call, representing nearly all the cotton factories, large woolen mills, and other important manufacturing establishments in the State. While the replies to the second call were not so numerous and complete, they show an improved condition in some industries and but slight changes in others. The returns are presented in detail, and show for each establishment and industry the working time and number of employees when running on full time and during July, 1894; also whether wages have been reduced since April 1, 1893, and the per cent of reduction. The reports for July are followed by those for October, which show the changes that occurred in each estab lishment between July and October.

While the report does not present a statistical summary of the effects. of the industrial depression on all industries, the Commissioner states that "Maine has, undoubtedly, felt the bad effects of the business depression to a much less degree than other sections of the country." It appears