The Placer herald., 1870-04-09

railroad corporations
The present State officers were elected
in eigbteeo hundred and sky seven, upon =
platform which declared "tha,, in view oi
the enormous weight Of State and nations al
taxation, it is imperatvey y necessary TO pre-
vent any increase Of the State debt, and to
reduce our State and county expenses to the
lowest standard compatible with good gov
ernment.
Both parties united, last fall, in opposi-
ton to the policy Of State aid TO railroads.
One party resolved that it was "opposed to
the policy of lending the credit of the State,
and squanderng The Stale property upon
railway or other corporations, 10 the detri-
ment OF the public ioteres.s and the over
whe'ning increase Of the State debt and
taxation" The ether party resolved that it
was opposed ITO giants Of State aid to rail-
roads, and IN taror of limiting taxation 10
the amount Of revenues absolutely requisite to
pay the actual expenses of the STATE Govern
ment, and TO maintain the financial credit of
the State"
These declarations were, 10 my judgment,
most wise. The time for the people to be
mlsed into loading themselves with griev-
ous burdens, by any plausible arguments 10
favor OF railroad system, it is to be hoped,
has passed by. The reason for this concur
renee of opinion by both parties was that
there was no limit to debt aud taxation If
such career was entered upon. The
pledges given were accepted by the people,
not merely in their letter, but in their spirit.
All the reasons against State aid apply with
double force against county aid. Most Of
The mem ers who vote on these propositions
for county aid have no direct interest or re-
sponsiblily, and the burden falls frequently
upon counties least able to bear it. What
is also an important consideration is that a
powerful railroad corporation, in sparssly
settled county, can almost anvariaby con
irol The result, in spite Of every effort Of res
ident taxpayers. The latter are virtually
tied hand aud foot, and handed over for
sacrifice.
1t bas been seriously questioned whether,
under our State Constitution, the Legsla-
ture can shift the responsibility of legisla-
ton, with which they are charged, to a
mass meeting Of county or district. The
duty OF making laws is imposed by the Con
stitulon upon the Legislature, under certain
restrictions, aud it admits Of grave doubt
whether that duty can be relinquished in
any other way than is Indicated 10y its pro
visions. The practical evils Of such au
abandonment OF respous blllty are obvious
There are cases in which a proposition is
made for moderate subscription, by a town
or city, to a local railroad, where the popu
lar sentiment is so unanimous that it pre-
sents itself almost in the light Of general
voluntary subscription by the tax payers
equalized by he local authorities acting for
the body polite This is the most plausible
shape in which the proposal can be made,
aud leaves httle Obj ec,icn hey ond those that
exist TO the whole system, and such as are
of a legal and constitutional character.
The measures under review, however, are
not OF this harmless nature.
The first OF the bill whose titles are given
provides that the voters Of Stanislaus, Mer-
ced, Fresno, Tuare and Kern Counties shall
vote upon the proposition to donate their
bonds to the San Joaquin Valley Railroad
Company Tor to any other company first
constructing railroad through those coun'
ties), at the rate Of six thousand dollars per
mile, except that in Kern county The amount
is limited 10 four hundred and eighty thou
sand dollars, and in Staoislaus county, to
one hundred and eighty thousand dollars.
Formerly, such propositions were in The
shape Of loan Of bonds, but 10 the progress
OF the railroad system, they begin TO assume
the form Of donations. The difference, per-
haps, is not material, for a loan usually ends
10 a gift. The assessed value Of real and
personal property in Kern County for eigh
lhe Controllers report, was one million one
hundred and ninety one thousand eight hun
dred and ninety-tive dollars aud eighty.
three cents (Sl,l9l, ,695 s3), Of which only
four hundred and tbirty-oue thousand five
hundred and eighteen dollars and eight
cents (S43l ,5l8 0s) was real estate. 10
other words, the bill proposes to afford an
opportunity for voters from abroad, on tbir-
~ days residence, in the present. or expected
employ of the corporation, TO iucumber tue
real estate OF that county TO an amount equal
to more than one hundred per cent. of its
assessed value The San Joaquin Valley
Railroad Company is not new and feeble
association. 1t is understood to be, and
doubtless is. the Central Pacific Railroad
Com pany under another name--a corpora
ton Of vast wealth, Of franchises such as are
perhaps held by no corporation on the con-
tinsnt, managed By gentlemen Of great en-.
ergy, enterprise and business ability. The.
total vote of Kern County, at the judicial
election in 1860, is given as 23s, though at
the Presidential election $50 votes we're
poied. Is it not plain that if the corpora
ton chose to make an effort the result 10
such county would be a foregone conclu-
sion, without reference to the wishes of the
tax payelsl The same proportion of debt
on the whole State would give US a debt Of
more than one hundred and fifty millions of
dollars, and woula sink the State into hope
less bankruptcy.
The same proportion Of debt which this bill
proposes to place on Stauisaus county, would
give US State debt Of about thirteen millions.
Ia Eresno Marced and Tulara counties the