The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1869-07-09
The Assessor snt OF the II. d. o. IL. X

The Assessrn emf of the u. d .. II. II
In referring few mornings ago to tht
assessment of the Baltimore and Ohit
Railroad, We spoke in general terms
not then designing to go into the dis
cussion with any minuteness, inns
much as it seemed to be one where al
argument was foreclosed. One or two
points, however, appear to merit more
specific reference. That provision o.
the Code whereunder this assesslheh'
has been made provided speclaI VII.
uation for all the property real anu
personal, which the Company Is alIo"eu
bv law to hold in this State Inc BAL
tinore and Ohio Company own large
amount ofreaI estate separate and apart
,r,n The Road, aud not at all essential
to its working. They have houses an"
lots which they rent TO their employees
,,,J hotels out of which they make
h.ndsou1e sums by feeding the public,
besides other property in the same cat
el,orv. 1t is true this real estate does
not aggregate avery large sum under
the fiyuriug of the Commissioners
They make it but $50. 600. Bat when
we find six houses and lots i'll this city
vYluqI at II Halle over five thousand,
md six houses and lots in Grafton, IN
Guiding that valuable and profitable
hotel, the alton House, put down al
ak thousand, we can understand why
the amount is 80 small.
But the point we want 10 call ntten-
ton TO is, why is this property Of the
Company favored with this special as
sassmenI? Ii is returned by the Com
misgioners rs owned by the Company
and not used for railroad purposes
1t is not railroad property. 1t Is simply
ordinary real estate, IN no respect diff
fereut from that owned by other people
Is the mere ownership by the Company
the reason? There can be- no other. II
IL an open question, to say the least OF
it, whether this corporation has any
right, under its charter, to acquire and
hold such property for any purpose moi
essential to the transaction OF its bust
nn,s. II is not chartered TO keep hotels
or rent houses, nor 10 own them. But
aside from that question, it is u vicious
law that provides that "a piece of real
estate, which in every body else's hands
was assessed and taxed in the ordinary
mode. just as soon as it is bought by
thi, corporation must be assessed in &
special way, at One-iCurth or tenth Its
value, although used for precisely the
same purposes as before. If it i!
admitted that railroad property is tE
be assessed differently from hotels
houses, lots and lands. pray why are
hotels, houses, lots and lands owned by
railroad company, but not connected
with the working of the road, to be as
sessed and taxed differently from hotels
houses, lots and lands owned by othel
people? The Law is unfair, and Ger
tutnly IL defiance of the State Constitu
ton.
Now surprising that Law 10 have bee
honestly intended, what Was its mai
uurnnsr3 II y.-",-ilaS two ways il
which the assessment of the Railroad
could be made. The Company was al
lowed TO make Il return under oath ant
failing TO do it, the valuation was 10 b.
made by Commissioners. What was
the manifest purpose of this arrange
mcnt? The object was of course to ge
fair aud fun valuation. An oppor
tuniiy was afforded tho Company t
make this. Thus they We're protected
against an excessive assessments; fol
all they had to do was to furnish
truthful one themselves. The Com
missiOners we're to protect the STATE
against an Untruthful and insuGIicien
return by the Company; and the pur-
pose OF the lazy must have beer
10 furnish the Company the Des
inducements for making an homes
return themselves, to protect theu
selves from an excessive assess.
meut at the hands of the Commission
ers. This is the reasonable design c
the law, if it has any. Yet for somt
reason it failed to have any such oper
alton, aud instead of protecting thu
public rs designed, il is turned into an
instrument to plumber the public and
favor the road. Tho Company
refused to make their own return
They preferred to have their pro-
perty valued by the Commission.
ers, whose specific duty it was to
protect the interests of theipublic, which
arc in this matter adverse to those OF
the Company. How is such fact to bt
accounted fol? We can do no moro
than ask the gu estiou. The Commits.
sioners must face it. No officer of the
road under oath would have made sucL
valuation as the Commissioners made
1t must have been then that the Com
pany expected the Commissioners tC
make lower assessment than thei
own officers would have dared make OF
oath. Why? This is an Inquiry tina
must strike the public with good dea
of force. 1t is one which the circum'
stances render inevitable.
THE Democratic party has more than
once shown a weakness for Generals OF
the Union army who we're failures-but
never until they had proven themselves
such; a fact that affords pretty good
evidence that the failure is what recon-
mends them. We have fresh illustra.
ton in Ohio. Nobody will pretend thai
the Democrats had any admiration for
Rosecrans during the early part