Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1879-01-21
Dir. MIGHELSS LECTURE.
F~xa4ien. Direct and Iadireet, Including
the transportation Fax"

night and Nr. Mighels had moss attentive
audience, not only of members of the Senate
and Assembly, but of ladies', and gentlemen
not connected With the Legislature, as we'll.
We herewith append a very brief epitome of
the Discourse, the delivery of which con-
sumed about two hours
The theory of popular government, under
which every citizen taoitly agrees to bear his
saace of the burdens of taxation, was first
briefly discussed; and the lecturer read as
fitting texts to his disquisition certain apt
extracts from the writings of Adam Smith
Professor Perry and Amssa Walker.
Direct taxation is that which is periodical
saad brought to our attention by the assessor
and the tax -gstherer; indirect taxation is i'm
posed upon the community by vice, idleness
and crime This species of taxation also
comes through the system of customs duties
imposed by the general government, and, as
is not generally noticed, through the railroads.
This latter ia designated The transportation
Tax; aud in treating of this the lecturer pre-
sented some interesting facts relative to
freights and fares.
The first part of Mr.. Mighels's address
dealt somewhat at length with the COMPARE
tive burden of direct taxation as borne by the
people of several of the States of the Union;
and in this regard Nevada was shown to be
subjected to most grievous burden-far IN
excess of almost every other State. Also
.ome statistics. showing the relative proper
zion of crime, and illustrating that an exces
sive average of crimnality and great and
oppressive load of taxation are found to be
c.o-ely related
That wonderful exhibit of crime AS q result
Of heredity, presented III Mr., Dnsdales cele-
DRAFTED work entitled the Jukes, was briefly
quoted from to show how important it is, in a
business way, for the State to do what it
can to arrest the current of crime and vice in
its outset. The length of the lecture pre-
vented all extended reference to the facts and
figures coneaiued in this sadly interesting
work
In introducing the topic of railway trans
sortatiou and the burdens put upon the CON
rdnnity thereby, str. Miyhels read from a
book OF essays upon Railroads. by Mr. Charles
Francis Adams. Junior The Era ot Chang
which 80 suddenly came upon the civilized
world through the introduction of thu log
motive engine as the chief factor in the in
ternal commerce of Europe and America was
exemplitied by some extracts from one of
these essays; and the lecturer justified his
own conception of the character of railway
1,
essay upon the Transportation Tax. By these
timely quotations it was shown that as serious
q matter as any with which the Legislature
has to deal is the regulation Of fares and
freghts Oh the railroads doing business within
She State: and attention WAS called to the i'm
T,prtance of carefulness ia trusting the re-
s7onsibiities of public transportation i'll
trustworthy, honest and capable hands.
As to the power of the State to regulate
railroad freights and fares, this is indsp. table
1t was shown that both in fact aud in law,
Mining for the precious metal is regarded
here as the all important aud essential indus
Try of the State: and 81 illustrative of the
two assumptions indicated, namely, the
power OF the State to prescribe regulations
f9r the restraint and government Of the rail
road companies within its borders, the lecturer
read from the statute which confers upon
mining companies tho right of emnent-do
main, and in support of the validity of that
statute he read from Mr.. Justice Hswley's
sole opinion lin the Itch Of eyatia), wherein
the principle is clearly enunciated and sus-
tanned that mining in Nevada being public
interest and necessary to the prosperity if
not the existence of the State, is rightly
vested with the power to condemn to its
uses such private property as stands in it's
way on the line OF it's necessities. 1t being
declared by this decision las also by many
others), that private property may be con-
deinned for ''public USES" it follows as
matter of course that in their utilization of
ti,is right, the railroad companies, when thew
sezs upon and cause to be condemned private
Iperty, do i'll tho exercise of the power
t. take private property ''for public use.
The deduction. then, is Inevitable; that the
railway company is an agent Of the State, en-
a. sed with franchise To the end that it
prosecute public undertaking for and in the
the name Of the Commonwealth and subject
to such laws as the Legislature may, from
tima 10 time, prescribe.