The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-02-14

Appellcnts, Appeal from
The Rockford, Rock Isl 1'''
and & st. Louis Rail-
road Company, ~
This is bill brought by the Railroad
Company, which was organized under
special charter in 1865, to enjoln the collec.
ton of what is known as the Capital
Stock Tax" attempted to be imposed I'M
der the provisions of the consolidated reve-
nue. act of 1872. The circuit court, after a
very extended argument, enjoined the col
lection of this tax
The bill also tenders the taxes at the
rate of 26s cents on the 500 OF valuation
of the tangible property alleges that the
State authorities have required the levy of
&c cents on each 800, of valuation of such
property, and that such levy is not au-
thorized by law.
Upon this branch of the bill l propose to
make no argument, and only call attention
to it that my client may be entitled to any
decision of the court made in other cases
involving the same point,
The bill alleges that the appellee COM
piled with the law in making out the lists
and schedules required by the act and
that its property so scheduled was listed
by the Board of Equalization and directed
to be taxed at the gross sum of 50, 46, 932.
That the Board of Equalization had fur
Their directed that the road be taxed upon
the further sum of one million and four
thousand and lightweight dollars as the
value of its capial stock, over and above
its tangible property as above stated, and
that this tax was and is unconstitutional,
unequal, when compared with the taxa
ton of other corporations or with the taxa
ton of other property in the State, and not
authorized by the law under which that
board pretended to act And further that
it was a tax upon property or values
which the corporation did not hold or pos
sess, its whole property, including its
franchise, having been taxed at its full
value as tangible property.
That the Board of Equalization adopted
and acted upon general rule for the as
certainment of this value of the capital
stock. which was, to add together the mar
ket or fair cash value Of the capital stock
and the market or fair cash value of the
debts of the corporation, and deduct from
this sum the assessed value of the tangible
property, and the remainder they resolved
should be held to be the market or fair
cash value of the capital stock, including
the franchise, which the board were re-
CURED by law to assess, and that this valu-
alton of the capital stock of this corpora
ton was produced by, and is the direct re-
suit of the application of this rule.
That this rule is absurd and unjust in
principle, and necessarily produced unjust
and absurd results in it's application, and
that it has done so in this case by leading
to the taxation of the company upon over
one million of dollars of value which it did
not possess
That it did not and could not equalizt
taxes as between the corporations, regard
ed as property holders, and other holders
Of property nor between the classes, to-wit
corporations, or even railroad corpora
tons organized under special laws. an(
that it necessarily produced double taxa
ton.
That the indebtedness of this corpora
ton, deducting theretrom all credits anC
the Indebtedness incurred for current OPP
Grating expenses, amounted to the sum o
Sl,l7S,I56 49, Nine millions of which wa
represented by bonds bearing seven pc
cent interest in gold that these bond
were not worth more than twenty per cent
of their par value, and no quantity of theT
could have been sold for more than tina
sum, though occasional sales of a small nun
Der of said bonds had been made abou
the first of May. aforesaid, as high as twer
ty-eight per cent. of their par value, an
that such sales were based on fctitiou
or exaggerated idea of their value.
And that the capital stock Of complain
ant nominally amounted to Sc, 400, 1874
and that the shares thereof were of no ma
ket value.
The bill further states that the corpora
ton had never been called upon to stat
the value of it's capital stock, except it Wa
the value of the shares of stock as afOr,
said, and that it had never been Gale
upon, or had the opportunity to state IL
value of its Indebtedness in any form
that it did not know of the adoption Of sa
rule until said Board had adjourned, an
had no idea that any assessment of its ca
ital stock was contemplated, and cons
quently had no opportunity to resist
protest against said enormous assessmen
or the application of said outrageous rul
or to show that the Board had made SUE
excessive valuations of it's shares of capt.
stock or debt, one or both, as it must ha
done to produce said result.
That said Board Of Equalization prece'
er pdrte without any notice to the col
plainant, to guess at or by means u
known to complainant, determine the "
uc Oh Complainant uGDL anu dplldl SUI
and assesses the complainant upon t
sum so guessed at.
From this statement of the bill, the
legations of which, so far as they are W
pleaded are admitted by the demurrer
sufficiently appears that great wrong u
injustice has been done the complainant
this case.
And to further illustrate the Unequal
and injustice of the law in question, as c.
strued and put into operation by the Bo;
of Equalization, desire to call the att
ton of the court to few matters viii
though not specifically stated in the
are Of public notoriety, and within
knowledge of every member OF this col
All of the railroad companies are, un
the law, assessed upon their tangible |
perty, and this assessment is or ought
be equal, so that the amount of the tai
bic property does not matter in this {
nection. -..
1t appears from the report of the Be
of Equalization, that the c., r. !. & p
r. Co, is assessed upon its capital stt
over and above its tangable property
the rate Of .........$ 9,046.00 per n
The p & X. Ry. Con-. 1s,6ST00
The G. & n. W. r, K. Coz. $4,000
The c., b, & O. X. X. Co... 19s45OO
The 7 2. &W. X. X. Co... STl0O0
May be permitted to enquire III
what circumstances it can be just that
Peoria Il Rock Island Ry. Co. shoult