Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1870-05-19
AND FEDERAL
sfA TAXATION.

r,o decision Of the United States
s,nreme Court, in the case Of Thomson
~ h Union Pacific Railway Com
..rv, Eastern Division, is important
o. establishing certain principles, the
opinions upon which were somewhat
confused. We understand from the
Judgment of the Court that where a
CORPORATION is originally created oy
Stote laws. If Congress shall afterward
au,hor;ze Il to do its original work or
extend its powers, such authority does
Ut CHANGE the condition Of the Com
norv 60 as to make 1t n Federal and
not n State corporation. The Union
Pacific Railway Company, Eastern
Division, was originally chartered by
the Legislature of the Territory Of
Kansas, as the L~eayenworth, Pawnee
and Westeyn Railway Company. In
1862, seven years afterward, the State
of Kansas confirmed the Territorial
statute, and gave to the Company the
present name. The State of Kansas,
BY various resolutions, solicited Con-
gress to extend aid and to give new
power to. that Railway Company.
Finally Congress, by general act,
gave the Company, in connection with
others, a right to build a railroad to
the Pacific, and conferred upon it GER
tain privileges and large grants Of
lands. The State Of Kansas now I'M
poses taxes upon the road, and the
argument used against the payment of
those assessments is that the Company
is a Federal corporation and not liable
to taxation by the State of Kansas.
The Supreme Court decides that what
ever legislation was effected by Con-
gress was with the State corporation
already created, and did not supercede
the franchises which were originally
created by the State Of Kansas. 1t is
true that this railway is to a very
great extent a national road, that its
authorities, under the United States
Government, were granted by reason
Of the Constitutional powers Of Con-
gress to regulate commerce, establish
postofices and postroads, to raise and
support armies and repel invasion.
The United States may use the rail-
road in pursuance of those powers
and for such purposes, but such
occupation and use cannot of them
selves create a franchise. Every
| State road In the country is used, or
may be used, for commercial and pos
tai purposes, and for the transportation
of troops, but no one ever supposed
that the United States, by having their
mails conveyed over a railroad route,
or their troops carried from terminus
to terminus, Invested the State charter
of incorporation to the companies upon
whose road the service was done. The
case of Mccullough VS.. Maryland, in
which it was decided that State could
not tax a Federal corporation for State
purposes, has been q constant incen-
tive to many corporations claiming to
have the least authority or employ
ment from the United States to resist
those contributions to the support OF
the Governments which created them
which were justly due. But in that
particular case the Bank Of the United
States was entirely a Federal corpora
ton, not created by State authority,
and in fact originated by Congress in
defiance of the desires Of many Of the
States. There is no similarity between
such n case and that Of an ordinary
railroad company which does work for
the Government. The Supreme Court
saws, in effect, that it is its duty to up
hold State rights and State interests as
far as possible. If the principle con-
tended for by the railroad company
could be established, large amounts Of
corporation property which ought to
contribute to the general burdens Of
each State would be exempted from
contribution, and the expenses which
they ought to bear would be thrust
upon citizens. This would be unjust,
and in time become such an evil that
the exemption Of corporate property
from taxation would pile State debts