The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1873-11-01

turn shall deal justly and fairly with
the people; that their rates be reason
able but remunerative; that their
shall not be relieved from its
equal proportion of the public burdens;
that they shall not be recipients Of
special legislative favors; shall not be
to take such form or grow
into such proportions as to endanger
the liberties of the country. In some
way or other, these corporations have
to practically escape taxation.
l quote from the editorial that recent
ly appeared in the Indianapolis Jour-
nal: HThey have never, SO far as we
can learn, met their obligations to
Stste governments honestly. They
have appraised and procured apprais-
ments OF their property at rates which
exempt them from taxation,
and honest men have to make up the
default by paying more. The effect is
an increased burden on everybody but
the owners, who are nine times in ten
rich stock jobbers or vast Eastern mo-
nopolies. The farmer and mechanic
Of Indiana is made to save taxes for
Vanderbilt and Jay Gould, and their
kidney, by paying from fifteen to
twenty per cent. more than they would
have to pay if the railroads paid their
share. In this State, for instance, the
total taxable value of railway proper
ty, reported by Auditor Shoemaker in
1872, was only 1,22S,O Twelve
years before, in the census Of 1860, the
railroad property in the State was re
ported at more than $40, 600 900, near
ly seven times as much as it was ap-
praised at for taxation when it had
been increased by twelve years of
prosperous growth and by the addi-
tion Of o thousand miles Of new lines"
This property, actually worth over
$140, GOO, 600, was put down for taxa
ton at less than $12OOO,OOO; thus al
lowing nearly $l3O, ,OO0, 600 Of railroad
property to escape taxation altogether.
New York, Ohio, Illinois and many of
the other States have been cheated In
the same way. 81 g6-4sL, 55.sf5 II
/ see that Governor Hendricks in
his dedicatory address at the Exposi-
ton, the other day, puts the present
taxable value of the property of rail-
ways, in this State at forty million dol
lars. This sum nearly quadruples the
assessment Of two years ago, but it is
certainly largely below fair taxable
| valuation of the property of these cor
ruptions in Indiana. IF the census
does not put an extrayagant value up
ON this preQerty, quite one hundred
millIi0ns q u to-day escape the tax
lists. The recent increase in the rail-
road assessment for the purposes OF
taxation gives ne promise Of q better
order Of sfkines II the fiiture, but the
people nill rot Be content until rail-
road propertR shall b made TO con-
tribute i6s 16ll and equal share Of tax
es ~ the stre1Gnry. This demand il
just, ard I11glsno fears but that i,
will b aocoldSd at no distant day.
sThe.txanaDertation question, which
| y60sAavo under ftSken 10 solve, is, in.
deed, 4 most tlimeult one. That you
need larger facilities for sending your
products to market and cheaper
freights is unquestionably true. In at
tanning these ends syouDwill find man,
and serious difficulties, which yol
must meet calmly and discreetly.
can better inform you Of the obstacles
that lie athwart your track than ad
wise you of a judicious plan by which
to remove them. You have less t,
apprehend from Legislatures thai
from the Judiciary, for politicians ar,
ever ready to follow in the lead Of tn
people and accept counsels from
popular movement. They will be ev
er ready to accord even your most ex
travHgant demands. The, danger is
that in the zeal to court your favo
and forward your interests they viii
20 much too far and thwart the YER
objects you have in view. On the 9th
4 er hand, the courts are trammelled b.
q long and unbrOken line of judicia
precedents, holding that the corporal
| franchise is contract between tn
sovereignty that grants it and the cor
porators TO whom it is given, and tina
being a contract it is under the pro
lection Of both National and Stat
4 constitutions, which provide that tn
validity of q contract shall not b
impaired by legislation. Tn
newer and poorer scompanies-thos
] that have been organized under tn
general laws of the State, possibly ma
not be entitled to this protection, b,
tAe older and richer ones undoubted
1 ly are. If, therefore, the Legislatul
preccribe freight rates to the forme
which cannot be applied to the latte
it.would fail to accomplish any goo
result and might cripple or even d.
stroy important railroad interests, ar
you lose the benefit Of their compel
ton. The Legislature may, / thin
as to those roads exclusively with
the State, prevent by statute discrim
nations against either classes or plt
ces in providing the means of tran
portation. Congress, under the co..
stitutional provision that commits
it the power to regulate commerce b
tween the States, may apply simil
regulations to those roads that pa
from the interior Of one State in
that of another The legislative po,
er may also, unquestionably, provi,
measures by which to prevent the CO
s0lidation of railroad corporations, al
thus avert the danger that threate
US from building up monster railrO
monOpolies. Ii not some active mea
ures are not Immediately adopted, Il
day is not far distant when the N,
. York Central, the Erie and the Pen
sylvania Central will absorb all t
lines in the Northwest, and thus
most if not entirely destroy compe
: tion. What more may be accomplis
: ed by legislation than has been su
3 gested, am unable to say, but t
!; agitation of these questions will like
{ develop remedies for all the evils
{ which the people now so justly COZ
! plain. -sSl
. 1t has been suggested by emine
: gentlemen in the Southwest that che
q freig hts can only be certainly secur
: by the construction by the Cover
. ment of water channels of transpor
a ton. 1t is urged by them that sub
4 dies should be granted by Congress
= aid in the construction of gigan
!, canal from the lakes or some point
, the Mississippi to the Gulf. This
: iObnOxiOus to the objection that