Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-01-12
RAILROAD TAXATION.
The Great Test Case In the Supreme
Court.
A Rich Source of State and County
Revenue Involved.

The Supreme Court took ND. Yesterday
the case Of the Louisville and Nashville
Railroad Company vs.. the State Of Tennes
see, involving the all-important question O
taxing the rOad-beds, rolling stock ana
other property Of railroads in the different
counties Of the State. The cause is aD
/ pealed by the company from the Circuit
/ Court Of Sumner county.
THE DECISION BELOW.
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad
filed two petitions before Judge Guild, sit.
/ ting at Gallatin in August, 1874, PRAYING
/ for WTits Of certiOrdri and superSedeas t0
set aside the assessment Of taxes upon the
road, made by the Judge of the County
| Court, in favor of the State and Of Sumner
county. The two petitions gave rise to two
cases, viz: the Louisville and Nashville
RAILROAD vs.. the State Of Tennessee and the
| County Of Summer, and the same vs.. the
Cumberland and Ohio Railroad and the
county CT Summer. The court permitted
an answer to be fled with the exhibit
thereto attached.
The road was assessed in Sumner county
to pay taxes upon the thiIty-two miles Of
her track in said county, upon her iron
rails, andupOn herdepOt grounds aDdroIling
stock used in said county. Upon these three
items there were levied State and county
tax and tax to pay the interest on county
bonds issued to the Cumberland and Ohio
RallrOad, amounting in all to about 5000.
The question before the court was,
whether the railroad was liable to such tax
alton, considering that individual stock
holders Of the county had already been as
sesSed and had regularly paid taxes upon
their stock in the road. In other words,
whether it would not be a double taxation,
and, therefore, prohibited by the Constitu-
ton Of the State, to tax the capital stock
after having taxed the individual stock
owned in the county.
Following the decision Of the case Of the
Union Bank, reported in o Humphreys, the
decision of the Supreme Court in Wal
lace, and decisions in other States, in all of
which it was decided not to be double tax
alton to tax the capital stock OF a corpora
ton and the Individual stock owned BY
members Of the company, the court decided
that the taxation Of the individual stock
IN the Louisville and Nashville road, owned
by persons in Sumner county, did not ex-
empt from taxation the capital stock Of the
railroad which belonged to a corporation.
And the-eupOn the petitions were dis
missed.
IN THE SUPREME COURT.
The Louisville and Nashville road is
represented in the Supreme Court by
Messrs. Wilson, Vertrees, and G. r. &
Lee Head, anu the State and Sumner
county BY Attorney General Heiskell, with
Judge James W. McHenry retained. The
Cumberland and Ohio is represented by ].
j. Turner Mr.. Vertrees made an argu-
ment yesterday, and was followed by Judge
McHenTy for the State, who read a cOmpre-
hensiye brief After discussing the grounds
taken by the road at length, and in a man
ner displaying great research, Judge
McHenry summarized his conclusions, the
leading Of which are as follows:
l. The Louisville and Nashville Rail-
road Company is corporation, incorpOra-
ted by the Legislature of Tennessee, and
derives its franchises, powers and privileges
from the legislation of this State, to the ex-
tent said corporation is operated within its
limits.
2. The stock in said corporation, owned
by individuals is their separate, distinct
and individual personal property; and such
Of them as reside in Sumner county are
taxable on said shares, according to their
real value, as on their other personal prop
erty.
5. The provisions contained in the
charter Of incorporation, passed by the
Legislature Of Kentucky, in regard to the
taxation Of the Louisville and Nashville
Railroad Company, are not in force in this
State.
The following language occurs in the
portion Of the brief:
"The magnitude and Importance Of these |
questions cannot be over-eStimated, as they /
regard the people Of Tennessee. Their |
public debt Of all kinds will not vary from |
S25,000,OO0. This large debt, in the main, |
has been incurred in aiding in the cOnstruc- |
lion Of the railroad system Of Tennessee.
Good faith, public honesty, and a wise public |
policy demand that this debt shall be paid. |
How can this be done, unless all the prop |
sTty in the State, subject 10 taxation, shall /
pay its proportion? 1t has been officially /
stated that the value Of the railroad cOrpO-
ate property, which will be subject to tax
alton during the present year is S70,OOO,-
)O0."
The hours Of meeting and adjournment
adopted by the Supreme Court are 9:45 A.
VI. and l:lj p. 81.