The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-04-25
The Railroad Tax.

Our Augusta special gives the basis of the
tax assessed upon the railroads in this State
by the Governor and Council, together with
the amounts of such assessments. The basis
seems to be a just one. The stock OF sucn
railroads as have marketable value Is asses
sed upon that value as reported In the slocA
markets April 1st, the same DAY that ihu-
nicipal assessors put valuation upon tne
other property of the State. The tax is but
one and one-haf of one per cent on the valu-
alton. while on other property in the State as
taxed by municipal regulations, it varies
from two to four per cent In view OF the
unusual privileges granted railroads in taking
the valuable property of individuals, the
amount of valuable property SUCH corpora
tions hold in the State, the tax is very light
and should be paid as promptly and freely as
any obligation of the kind.
1t is evident, however, that several of these
corporations do not think so and have al
ready indicated to the people, or ratLer their
constituted authorities, that they propose to
contest the question of the right of the
State to tax railroads to the bitter end.
We have not yet heard the line OF argu-
ment persued by railroads in defense of this
position, but infer that aside from the main
point that they are exempt from taxation
under their charters, they plead that railroad
investments in Maine pay nothing and have
no present value. If this is true it is very
strange that such stocks have a permanent
value in the markets and that the value of
some of them have more than doubled dur
ing the past half dozen years. They will
also urge as a reason for their exemption the
great aid they have rendered in developing
the resources of the State. While we recog-
nize to the fullest extent the Importance of
the railroads to the State, we are by no means
prepared to believe that the men who built
them were only melted by the idea that such
enterprises would be good thing for the
State. But even if this were the case with
the original investors and stockholders, the
+ proprietorship has so changed hands that the
present stockholders cannot shelter them
selves under any such high toned but diaph-
anous pretext rsa -t
pol The main resistance to the tax on the part
of some roads will be that they are exempted
from such taxation by the terms of their
charters. Their lawyers depend upon the
somewhat famous Dartmouth College decis-
ion, which was that when State grants
privilege to corporation, It has no power to
annul it. If this decision is 10 hold good, the
railroad corporasIons might unite for single
year and by the free use of money and lobby
lists secure legislature which would grant
them nearly all the rights of the people and
no subsequent body could revoke such legis-
lation. If We are correctly informed, the
tendency of later decisions, particularly
where the rights of railroads are concerned,
has been to depart from the Dartmouth Col
lege precedent and to hold to the more sensi-
BILE view that the State is not debarred from
laying tax on railroad corporations by rea-
son of any provision in their charters except
a money or other valuable consideration is
named in tine grant Of the State as rental
nature Of a contract or lease.
The question is the most important one to
the people of Maine that has come. up for
many years, and if the railroads propose to
test this question of the right of the State to
tax property within its limits, we trust that
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