On This Date in Minnesota History: September 8

*September 8, 1905 – Marion Willis Savage, owner of Dan Patch, was considerably upset today that the valuations placed on horses in Scott County, the home of Dan Patch and the other Savage horses, was so low that the board of equalization is thinking of investigating the matter.

Marion Willis Savage1

Savage made a strong denial of the statements printed in St. Paul today to the effect that Dan had been valued at too low a figure. He said: “I can prove by the auditor of Scott County and by my return sheets that Dan has always been valued at $10,00. The board of equalization investigated the valuation of Dan Patch two years ago and at that time decided that $10,000 was a just and right one. No other harness horses in the United States were ever taxed at $10,000. In Indiana and other states the best harness horses are taxed at $1,500 at the most.”

Dan Patch²

The story that came from St. Paul stated that the average value of horses in Glendale Township was reported as $244, but did not mention the number of horses and seemed to intimate that Dan Patch was greatly undervalued. Savage especially objected to this as it makes it appear that he was trying to avoid the payment of just taxes on his pacer, which he has never tried to do.

The Minneapolis Tribune; “Values Dan Patch at Ten Thousand; Owner of Great Horse Takes Exception to Insinuation That He is Attempting to Evade Just Valuation.”; Sept. 9, 1905; p. 7.


¹http://www.danpatch.com/marion-w-savage.html

²https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Patch

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