New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-12-19
c,rJ1 RIGHTS or C0RpORAT1OYS

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The controversy popularity known as tno
railroad tax cases." which has been assigheu
for argument during this week in the Supreme
Court at Washington, involves CONSTITUTIONS
questions OF the gravest interest III aloSo hi
California, where the taxes laid 10y the SCile upo"
railroad corporations during l oSOand 1901 "eio :,
SO heavy that several of the companies alieo'."
(the Southern Pacific Railroad Company III
narticuIar) determined on applying to the feu-
eral Courts for relief. A specific grievance
WAS that although the road was subject 10 "
Largo MORTGAGE. the assessors had appraised the
entire property at actual value yet they were ac-
customed to allow to ural persons nnder sllll-
lar circumstances deduction for deots' Many
readers will remember that n like c0mplaln'
was made n few years ago, b. National banks
in New-York State, which defeated the tax
laid by the State on bank shares, on the
oround that the owners had not been allowed
a deduction for debts such as the state Ia"
allows to individual taxpayers geheraIy.
This success was achieved under the
provisions of the Federal law pc
culiac to banks. The claim maue W
the California railroad companies Is muon
broader. tits founded on the declaration OF 1ne
Fourteenth Amendment that "no State snail
denv 70 apv person within its jurisdiction
the canal nrotection of the laws" and en-
braces. so far as we can discern, corporations
of all kinds throughout the country.
The claims of the railroads and tho positions
taken in their behalf by the Circuit Court
whose decision was in their favor, are SUI
stantially these 1. That corporations are
"personsr within the protection OF the
amendment. True the people Ill adopt
ing the amendment had the lately
freed negroes chiefly IN Vlew'
but the amendment cannot be limited to the
negrops-it protects all classes OF persons.
Now. corporations are " artificial persons and
there is nothing in the amendment to say that
natural persons only were intended. Moreover
corporation is only society Of natural persons,
and the purposes of the amendment would be
but partly accomplished il natural persons
were pro ccted as separate individuals only,
and might lie oppressed at pleasure ny the
: ates whenever they were found united III
firms. societies or companies. . mat equal
nrotection of the laws includes security in
Il ,bts of property as well rs IN life and per-
sona liberty, and forhlds the st ties to nm
pose unjust or unequal taxes. 1t cannot
be said tat I'll persons enjoy equal protec-
ton in a STATE whose laws allow different per
sons to be taxed on like property similarly
situated at different rates where, for instance,
one person is taxed at only one per cent be-
because he is white, another at two
per cent because he is black, a third
at five per cent because he IS yellow;
or where property-owners are taxed more
heavily on capital which they own in common
under The forms Of partnership or corporation
than they would be on corresponding
sums invested in a like enterprise, but owned
separately.
If these positions shall be permanently
established by decree of the Supreme Court
the result may be to give to corporations
resort to Federal Courts wherever they think
that State laws operate uncqually agains1
them. and to give like privilege to tax
payers complaining that the State system OF
taxation is not equal and uniform.