The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-01-14
GheGttteILfqet1ter.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
Il =. II z tSi u
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A Card from MIR. Lamb, touching
the Marshall County Tax Cases.
Ellltoper1t Regiaitr a 1faHk
| q Gdv, staptonS article publishel Is eait
Orial In the lNTRLLIGENCRR OF Wcdnesday
and his supplement in the paper Of yester
day, in explanation of the Marshall coun
ty tax cases, Gare imperfect by reason .
their omissions, and somewhat inacclratI
in their statements,A L. AfVlOAL
The cases originally involved the ques
ton Of State taxes as wellas county taxes
but the.StALe, more than year ago, not
withstapding WhAt the Governor calls
lHthe infinite importance Establishing hel
right Of taxation for all time" compr0mls
ed her claim against the, Railroad Compa
ny, for past.due taxes, without settling
the right for The future, In the adjust
ment, ithe State, like Marshall. county
threw off the interest and part Of th(
principal, due, her,Jwithout binding ,tht
| Company to pay, taxes ~ future, :, - 4 40,
y By joint resolution adopted March a
1SB5, the Legislature authorized the Boart
Of Supervisors fofleYery county through
which the Railroad runs, to compromise
on fair and liberal terms the taxes assess
ed by the county against the Company.
The, other COUNTIES, Interested had
though onSlJ Gppli " refused y give
any aid or support TO Marshall county
during six years of litigation. have
been told tllat some Of them eyenclafmet
local favor from the Railroad Company
because they had taken no part in the
controversy! However thlsmay, be, thej
were willing To- permit Marshall county
TO establish the right, for their benefit as
well as her own, but slle3fllst do II o.
lihef own riskand expense.
|, Vita said by. the Governor that for The
| future Marshall county can collect moth
| ing tlll'she runs another suit through al
the courts, Us she did this one.
The sum which has been paid to Mar
shall county will meet the ordinary OK
penses Of the county for two years Il
come, Unless 1t is to provide for extra
ordinary expenses, 1t will not be neces
sary, therefore. for her supervisors 70 make
any county levy until August, 1879, aud
until the end Of that year no question
will arise respecting her right to collect
county lcvics from the railroad company
because there will be no county levies IA
collect from any one. In the meantime
| If the right be 50 perfectly certain as the
Governor, assures us andia decision Ia lis
favor can be so easily obtained, pthel
counties, under Ills auspices, will have Ia
ken IN the controversy with proper yea
and energy, and established the right at
their own risk and expense. Though they
were heretofore unwilling that the litiga
ton should be carried on at the. joint risk
and expense Of all who were Interested
Marshall county, nm sure, will net oh
jcct to their doing itSat their own cost
and rs We have shown them how 10 make
the egg stand on It's end, II they succeed
we may Justly, claim 10 participate In tht
benefits q my decision which they MAJ
obtain. .9... ...,...,.
In both tho articles referred To-, 1t Il
said that,the Railroad Company made tht
proposition to pay $4,000 and oil TIT
costs, and that the committee accepted It
This Is not entirely accurate. The propo
silion of the Railroad Company was, frs
$4,000 and then $4,000. The commit
tee who had been authorized by the su
peryisos Of Marshall county to compro
promise the controversy, had, upon
deliberate survey Of the ground, deter
mined to take $4,000, with costs, and NJ
less. They announced that 10 the Presi
dent OF the Company rs tue proposition o
tho county; and, after every possible
effort for two days to obtain better terms
the Company accepted 1t.
It Is also said that the county accepted
somewhat more than half her claims a!
regards the past" and that the amour
due the county, including interest 70 Jan
uary 1881, was S4s ,641S0D$ These state
menls are also inacctnate Marshal
county his received somewhat moro thar
two.tiirds of her claim. The cxac
amount Of the claim, including interest Il
January I, 1871, was $37, 0G7 81, and two
thirds Of this sum would be $24, I'll 90
The table published in the lNTELL1GENcEI
yesterday PROCESSES TO state the county
levics In Marshall county for seven years
and In five Of those years out Of the sever
the amount Is Incorrectly stated!
The right 10 collect county levies iron
the railroad Is assumed Throughout thesI
articles to be beyond all doubt Tht
writer of this communication believes TIL
county would have succeeded, but he Il
not quite so positive In his opinion as the
Governor. There Is certainly something
to be said on both sides, independent Q
the inevitable uncertainty that attends
every law suit.
The question respecting county levies
Is very different from TINT Of the Statt
taxes. 1t may DO briefly stated, 50 tina
one not lawyer can understand Of leAs
what the material points must be. Undel
an act passed by the General Assembly o
Virginia, March Q, 1917, and accepted By
the railroad company, when tho net In
como Of the company exceeds six pei
cent per annum on their capital invested
their property in the State becomes sub
ect 10 general taxation" Surprising
the profits 70 exceed six per cent, thu
question then 10 be determined ls-Art
county leyies general taxationS"
1.-THE Legislature meant county lcviei
when they said general taxation 1t will
perhaps strike the reader not learned Ii
The law that they adopted m awkward
method Of expressing their meaning.
Prior to tho year 1S47, county leviei
were assessed on'the tithables and on par
tiCular articles of property designated BY
law. They could hardly, therefore, b
designated with any propriety by tn
terms general taxation"
Upon examining tho Virginia laws
from tho foundation oftlle State down, |
| L.. n.....,l a NI,a ,unnEla go.