Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1861-03-16
The Railroad Swindles.


Tonnage Tax on the Pennsylvania Rail.
road, which has been passed by our State
Legislature, having last week given his
speech on the bill for the relief of the Sun
bury and Erie Railroad. Both are swim.
dies of the first water, and outrages upon
the taxpayers of the State. In the first
place, the bill for the commuta,ion of the
Tonnage Tax is deception and cheat
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company pur.
chased the Main Line for $500 ,OOO.-
The interest on this sum would be S45O,.
600 annually. The tonnage tax now
amounts to nearly 100000 per annum,
and would in year or two amount to prob
ably s45O, 900, which the company ought
to pay the State. Now the bill which has
passed the House proposes to takO the sum
of s460,OO0 annually until 1890, in lieu
of the interest and tonnage tax, thus Civ.
ing annually to the company, (allowing
the tonnage tax to be the sum named y
$3.50 900 or about So, ,41O 900, in that Pc
riod Of time "a sum that would reduce one
fourth of the entire State debt. The bill
for the relief of the Sunbury and Erie
Railroad company is also a stupcndous
swindle. When the State disposed of the
Delaware Division and North Branch Ca
nails to this Company in 1858, for the sum
of So 10000, she took a mortgage on the
Railroad for this sum. Now the Compa.
ny comes and asks that the State shall can
eel this first mortgage in order that they
can borrow s., ,ooO,O 900 which amount they
allege to be necessary to complete their
road. To raise and secure this sum the
Company proposes to give a frs, mortgage
on the whole road to the parties advancing
the money, the State to take srcena mort.
gage for its s3,5OO,O0O. In other words
the State shall exchange its first mortgage
for second mortgage, and in event of the
Company failing, the Commonwealth will
come out at the little end of the horn, and
get-noihing. Her ss,5OO,OOO will be
sunk. AHentopn Den,ofyat.
The Wyoming intelHgencer says:-
The Sunbury and Erie Rail Road bill
and the bill committing the tonnage tax,
have passed both Houses of our Legisla-
ture, thus taking $40, 100000 from our
State Treasury at one grasp. We admit
that the passage of those bills was only a
question of time, for there has not been n
Legislature during the past thirty years,
and probably not since the adoption of the
Constitution, that could not have bcen
bnnsht, sody and breechcs, Governor and
all with one quarter that sum. But while
admitting that, We say to those Keprcscn
tativcs and Senators who supported those
measures, you must look your constituents,
full in the face upon the questions Involved
in them. The irresistible and legitimate
conclusion is, that every one of you whose
constituents are not contiguous to the Rail.
roads named in those bills, have sold your
integrity and the interests fthc common.
wealth for money or Railroad bonds. The
people are ready and willing to be con-
vinced that such conclusion is unjust, but
unless they arc SO convinced, you may
congratulate yourselves upon being per.
mitted, in the future, to enjoy your "thiI T..
tg pieces of silver" at home, in the bosom
ofyour families, with the gratifying refcc.
tion, that you "ri,hel we'll for your coun.
try" but acted better for yourselves.
The Easton Argus, says In order
that our readers may properly und derstand
the nature of these bills, We will again state
their character. When the Pennsylvania
Central Railroad Company asked the Leg.
islaturc of our State for charter, it was
granted subject to the payment of tax to
the State on the freight that should pass
over the road. This tax has been called
"the tonnage tax" and amounted to nearly
s25O,0OO year. When the Pennsylvania
Canal was sold to this Company in 1858,
it was given TO them at half its real value
on account of tho company being subject
to this tax. This amount went far toward
paying the annual interest on our State
debt. The company paid it one year and
then refused paying it any longer, alleging
that il was unconstitutional The State
authorities brought suit against the com.
pany and the Supreme Court declared that
ut 'oas constitutional. The Company next
applied to the Legislature to be released
THIS tax and it was we'll known year ago
that an attempt would be made this winter
to have bill for that purpose forced
through the Legislature. Some of the
professional borers who hung round
Harrisburg in the employ of this company,