The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1875-03-17
Total value of the concesslon..... 5 5,OSi,OOO


Total ynluo of the concesslon.,o,o 5 5,OSi,0OO
The reader will bear In mind, that
this latter sum $50, 0Sl, 000) IL not money
raised by taxation, and to be paid out
by the state from her treasury to this
company, like the amounts footed UP
in the first and second table. AS stated
before, the concession to the company
does not involve the collection Of u
dollar by the state, nor the payment of
n dollar out OF the treasury; and yet
the value of this concession is less than
one-half the sum that would have be-
come necessary for the state to raise,
under the bill vetoed by the governor.
When we deduct from this amount,
| the value of the sixteen sections OF
land, to which all railroads are entitled,
we find that the extra concession to
this company only amounts in reality
to 50 $4,000, not u dollar of which the
people pay, and which secures the
building of the road from Jefferson TO
the Rio Grande.
The values are not believed to be un-
derestimated but rather the reverse.
Land certificates are Offering to-day
for one hundred dollars per section, yet
they are estimated at two hundred dol
lars. The average valuation of rail.
roads throughout the United States for
taxation is ten thousand dollars per
mile, and government has hitherto
failed in its attempts to increase this
valuation. The lands are valued ut fifty
cents per acre dating from the passage
OF the bill, whel any reasonable crea-
ture knows they are utterly valueeSs,
and must continue so for many years.
None of the Texas railways are able to
sell their lands, though located and pat
ented years ago under much more ia
vorable circumstances than these eau
be, aud none of them pay any taxes as
yet upon such class of lands. The tax
es are estimated ut one per cent FOR the
full twenty-five years, when the state
tax and county tax amount to only sew
enty-tive cents on the hundred dollars,
and there il q reasonable hope that
they may soon be reduced. AS for the
state derivinga benefit from compound
ed interest on taxes, that is the veriest
stuff and worthy only of an idiot.
But the great prominent feature of
the settlement passes beyond the do
main Of dollars and cents, and looms
up before all eyes as vindication of
the true principle of government, that
no mans means may be taken from
him by government and given to an
other, under the guise of regular en-
actment, and against his consent. The
firm establishment of this principle is
worth untold millions to the people of
the state, aud yet it has been secured
without the cost to them of dollar.
In securing it, the state has given en-
couragement to an enterprise deemed
vital to its prosperity by many of its
citizens. 1t has manifested q sense of
justice to all It's sections, and calmed
all thought of acknowledgements. Ii
has eliminated a vexed question from
its councils, and, withOutinjury to SIN
gle nitizen, it has iwelt fairly aud mag
unanimously even with capital invested
within her borders.
lfthe fourteenth legislature hud done
nothing else, 1t could afford to pass
into history pointing proudly to this
one act as conclusive evid ance of It's
firmness, its craftsmanship, and its
patriotism, and posterity cannot gain
say II.