, 1879-04-02

lover Lila herCenthrE tliE jilIllgr W0Ilu ne iHH
lax TWAS believed by tho adyoe,tes Of this tll
that, an tl.e yuluc of money n,rl al property
iuctuatcl iron' year to year It tvn'.!'l n1t o po
iust to Ok l1iR percentage within east.ison
ll,nits II rs not prnbnb!o sslHt On an average
the industrIns ,Ihf agricultural interests OF !o
State realizc i por ccrt per anu,'tn; r,ct. on INC
Amounts Invested anu expended. bilt, IN pnieI
TINT no injsttcH L. done, let It llc ashtltGn t.as
tic ratlr1al9s Of tic Stato ought TO he atlowea
10 per, eent on their tnYcstfnents. WHICH ouYl+
ously gives them
* pHcrDEp ADVANTAGE
over apy other class Of business or Industry;
,rhrn, eilppuso tint thu pDiunk d sprt'Ettit!
Railroad Company was reported hy Tug 'oent
Assessors ot tG n e9n1dcs n t,nS u Nr wft ~ nn o
cyty. The sworn returns inedc by It's of'lccrs
nhpy It's actual net cummings Inst ycnr to havo
bccn 22O0, 600. Ten per cent having been agrccd
upot as tug fae "c tre ess yais" y q en- ~
e. DOOUAN The Stale ratio Tor purposes Of taxa-
iion Is TO per cent OF tlit, willei would Eivct
g, 900 O0U Nov deduct tllerefroln the value OF
thc tangIplc property" al'l ,ts assessed o val;
Mt $500, ,tEu, tho taxes upon which nre to DO Ola"
trlh,tcl usl,oug the several counties, etc., IN
proportion tp tho mileage VI the rond In. taci.
hccauso The taxcs thcrron, beoug to the eoun.
ties In which Il ~ asscsscd, ,,.......
The theory OF the law Is shat The asscsacd va1ua
Of The tangnIu property renresents Its INTRINSIC
value, what # would s:li fr w!lethcr tlc roaa '
f5N, ,0O0, III thu casc supposed. might be- rcprc::
scented by tic Compnny's machine shoos, located
III Que county, willie ule aslIoluiny county per-
haus would mt Justly 10 entitled to any taxes
capital etock. THIS explains why the
yaluu OF thutaugblc property is deducted In tho
calculation. T!e bill further provides tllnt the
rate Of per cent agreed upon shalf apply equally
to all roatlst auu tils
WOULD ltxEIEvE THE nANEHurT HoAps
from their Unjust proportion Of the burden. In
fact, tho rule Ind down III The bill was originally
devised tu benefit hun1e o! these struggling
roa,'s without nny purpose Q! Interfering with Tie
larger corporations. But when the rulc came to
be apptcIl to sut,e t,f llrsc other ruads, thu re-
suits wcrc absolutely. starll!lg, and 1t ecrnnc
clear TINT tho grcnt rai,road rofrorn.tons Of the
State wcre cfau!ng the ntgcr pnrt of Their STARE
of tho burdens Of taxation. ald Increasing tile
taxes upot nl other interests nropnrtionatgly.
How t'ls tas been accomplished 1t viii bo
proper to inquire IN due time. When this bill
wns brought up ia the House Revenue Commit.
tee, ur.i tho objects and cfIocts uf the proposed
OF tic Committee. It was unanimously tndurscd.
| Tho tcntin.uut Of tho Committed wns orc
OF surprise Tint no ono had III, upon
this rule bcforc. 1ts simplicity .;I'.! nnu
| commended II at once to oyerY member Of the
! Cummittpo. ~ tt,Ia time tic friends OF the
bi1 submitted to tho Committee some eafo,nl'
ly-prepart1 tahcs, showing tto" e9eh falroau ~
IL. s,atc wouId be Affected BY tic passngo ol
| this bill.
Tie total yaluc Of tho railroad property q ths
State last year was assessed BY lhc ssa'e boa1d a
Of Equalization Ut, In rouud nnmocfs, saV,'
THE UTTER 1NApEouAcr
OF sucl, valuation Is demonstrated by the fact
tlmt, II the entire raironl property Of 1lliiois
wus worth but S4D 50s, ,00O last ycar, The reporss
OF tl,u, net earnings Of ali tbs soatls combined
| OF ucarly 10 pcr cent on tho stnto valuation
| And this, too, after eyery. cxpcusn las hec',
paid, including the snlurica Of nil employees nd
| nil operating expenses. II. other prorrrty waf
for conlplaiot. But what farmer can sl.ow net
profit OF 10 pGr cent IN the nssessc'l valuc 81 tia
| property Inst year, after 5Myi1lG taxes mi q!
other pxpeuscs, nnl without allowing himself
nnt his fatnlly my salar!esf
CHICAGO d ALTON.
Take four OF the largest roals III thc Statc
and sec how this proposed rule would hayc a.
fcctc(l them lust year. The net earnings 0f tllc
Chicago & Alton In Illinois wc.e y, l07:H7. Al
10 pcr cent this would giva ST ,O73,.i0 Aa thu
ps wi o.r S 9Srs sft tic fa'ss aa sn i t M
capital stuck nt,A franchise Of the COMPANY
Half Of this, ihn State rate. would bn sl0, ,53d,
t,S5, or the cqnalxcd value Of tho property ~
amount did the State l'oard comet IlIr,
"ca..alizel'' the value III this splcudid prup.
crty nj a. 07S,J ,J:7, nnd the Company earned H.!
per cent upon the amount IN which they "cr'
tnxcdl
in ls77, the earnings Of Tic same roal in III
nois were reported at *l,8i0,7U. Under ,h'
pyoppscd rule they should ilayv bcctI assceset
OH 90 203. 7s0 as the yaiuc Of tl'e'r capital stool
for PURPOSES of taxat!on %s tls '',egnallzsaa 81,
Isl, ST. anl dI1 they IL Nv sarnsd Ills per csns .!
tSe' tSe tssrss Ssns:s@ea wess: Nst earnas'
m maa wic!. 'i' !Gs' net esr'iI,ss e9u@l % per esat
Sl8.4lahD9; IL, per cent of isidtcatsd value
$u,20d, 80; ctnlnllzcd value determined by ,tI'
State 1Mrd, g, ,77i,N Nua; rato per ceut earued o1
equal!zcd value, 3l.S.
cItlcAuo & NORTHWESTERN.
Tie net earnings Of this Chicago & Nort,l
ported at ss,22o4, ~. Making tl1e samo calculu
ton, VIC lind lint 80 per cent q the inafeatc
value would 10 sll.B23,635, wnle thu: "eauaI
lzcl n valuation as determined By TIC stat
Boasd wns .ils tsiang sun q s3,2a1,955, thu
allowing tic Company tn rcaltzc TIC enosn,ntl
percentage Of T0.l uer cent npon tho nrluun
ol, whictii It waB laxad. LII 1871 and 1876 I'll
figures WGro as follows:
Net earning, In 1,!,no,. ,,sss so1 lasS IS
| Indicated vnlna VI. caEl' . ,,x ~,
gi9s, Il! ;'sss sss ssa; :; sa:: 's$s I!
| E1unlixed Ynlho, ....-.. J,GuJ,ulE 3,AJ3t ,
Nato earned I'll euuallz. ~
ca F@lue..s,+...t*t+'+ oA'" A.
T.. u. Q.
Tnkc next the Chicago. Burlington Il Qutnc
Iaailroad. It's earnings In ltiinois Inst yrar III
reported at sI,li3,5t1. Under the pronnse
rule It would l,ilyu been taxed OIL $2O7l7, ~
US the ynue ot ITS capital stock as,u irancll!s
II was taxel On 81, ~, ,6SU, uarIsfn, tho snrV nr
| cent OF 4bJ on the ntnUuRt on Wl!ch It VT
taxcl. For tho two preceding years the ilgnre
in the casp Of tho G., b. L. @. ato as foll0wss
1871. 1877.
Not earnings in
| l!l3n01s. 4.otd. 14c W , il, iuo, tod.A
, Indicated vRtuo Of . -
capital alock... AZ, 3S7, 180 90 81, Q57, b30.
same o...,..,.. Fl, G13, ,Gf10, 90 IL, R.H. .70s 4
Eqnnllzcd value.. 10, 0a0, UU0,00 0. A3., 4b0.
| NAtH tutAea OIL
eqMAIlzcd value. AL Is
CHICAGO RocK lsLAND.
Let US also consider the caAe OF the Ch!cag
!, Rock Island & Pacitic Railroad. Ita 1Iot cnr
lngs in Illinois last ycnr were IL e2 ,09, iDsllc
! tuy the yuine 0l its capital stock unI 1rnnchIs
at sl2.3sl99,aaya H. should l,ayo bceu saxe
Ihcreon III ,be sum Ut sUl2i,G45, hut ouLy ht
tn pay uu a3,Ba.t ''A;, earning 33 per cent IN Il
9 nuolsnt OIL which 1t was taxcd. sltnilsr'caIcul