In Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Denver the amount collected shrinks but little from the
TABLE 4.—RETURNS FROM SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS ON STREET IMPROVEMENTS. SEATTLE
| COST OF LAND TAKING AND LAND DAMAGE | ||||||
| Location of improvement | Regrading | Widening | Cost of Construction | Total Cost | Amount assessed on property specially benefited[81] | Amount paid out of general appropriation |
| Second Ave. from Pike St. to Denny Way | $20,501.00 | $32,165.00 | $91,579.06 | $168,100.97 | $144,245.06 | $23,855.91 |
| Third Ave. from Yesler Way to Pike St. | 27,959.00 | 1,533,888.00 | 42,175.55 | 1,612,074.55 | 1,604,022.55 | 8,052.00 |
| Fourth Ave. from Washington to Park St. | 64,007.00 | 623,158.00 | 299,547.16 | 987,212.16 | 986,712.16 | 500.00 |
| Fifth Ave. from Washington St. to Madison St.[82] | 217,824.56 | .... | 155,058.92 | 377,461.48 | 372,883.48 | 4,578.00 |
| Pine St. from First Ave. to Twelfth Ave. | 54,871.50 | 592,773.36 | 108,297.68 | 761,065.68 | 755,942.54 | 5,123.14 |
| Dearborn St. from Seattle Boulevard to Rainier Ave. | 15,945.00 | 277,509.50 | 343,063.18 | 678,218.11 | 636,517.68 | 41,700.43 |
| Total | $401,108.06 | $3,059,493.86 | $1,039,721.55 | $4,584,132.95 | $4,500,323.47 | $83,809.48 |
TABLE 5.—RETURNS FROM SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS ON IMPROVEMENTS. MINNEAPOLIS, 1889-1908
| Location of improvement | Year | Cost of improvement | Amount assessed | Amount paid |
| Glenwood Park | 1889 | $295,825 | $100,000 | $100,000 |
| Van Cleve Park | 1890 | 75,348 | 75,000 | 75,000 |
| Loring Park | 1890 | 343,693 | 105,000 | 105,000 |
| Powderhorn Lake Park | 1891 | 262,387 | 145,099 | 145,099 |
| Columbia Park | 1892 | 220,447 | 213,041 | 213,041 |
| St. Anthony Parkway | 1893 | 150,337 | 102,911 | 102,911 |
| The Parade | 1904 | 280,225 | 103,127 | 72,189[83] |
| Kenwood Park | 1907 | 162,846 | 162,187 | 64,875[84] |
| The Gateway | 1908 | 634,510 | 634,510 | 126,902[85] |
amount assessed. In Indianapolis and in Chicago a five per cent delinquency is figured in the amount of the total assessment, so that the return adequately meets the cost of the improvement. Indianapolis has collected in the past three years (1909 to 1912) by the assessment method $476,487. Kansas City has collected $8,724,919 in twenty years.
CONCLUSION
Special assessments as an equitable method of distributing the cost of land acquirement have the great advantage of a thorough testing. Judicial decisions universally sustain their legality. Ample precedents prove their practicability as financial expedients. Several cities in the United States are so completely satisfied with the results of an experience of from five to fifteen years with this “American device” that the suggestion of experimenting with the European method of distributing the cost known as excess condemnation meets with little enthusiasm. It remains, however, to consider the applicability of excess condemnation to American conditions.
FOOTNOTES:
[29] Constitution of Wisconsin, Article XI, Section 3.