Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-08-15
RAILROAD ASSESSMENTS.
THE SUBJECT ABLY DISCUSSED BY
HON. CREED RAYMOND.
Statement of Cost, Financial Con
dition and Present Value of
California Railroads.

SafitOfn1a
On Tuesday last D. NJ. Delmas appeared
before the State Board OF Equalization and
made a lengthy argument on the subject of
taxation of the Central and Southern Pa
cifc Railroads but addressing himself par
ticularly to the Southern Pacific. L. B..
Ryan, tax agent for the road, commenced
to reply to some of his remarks, when he
was shut off by Mr.. Delmas, who said, 81
will not talk with you, sir, but with an at
torney of your company" 1t was then ar
ranged that Hon. Creed Raymond would at
some future time reply, which he did yes
terday afternoon, commencing at P. NJ.
Mr.. Haymond-Mr. Chairman and gentlemen
of the Board: appear before you the As
sistant Solicitor of the Southern Pacific Railroad
Company TO reply to some observations that
have been presented TO the Board relating to
the GsseSsable value of the Southern Pacific
Railroad in this State. understand that ap-
pear by invitation of my learned friend, who
was willing and DESTROYS that an attorney of the
company should reply to anything that he had
said, but should object to the Tax Agent being
| heard l hardly think it nccesSary-I would
| not think it necessary under all the ciTcum
stanceS-to make this appearance, and am en-
barrassed by two facts, first the want of prepa-
| ration, you were compelled to act before Sat
urday night, and second, because | feel some
| thing like one who has been invited to a
| wedding feast and all the good things have been
hidden from him. have not been able to see
| the document upon which am expected to ad-
| dress myself and have only gathered its points
| from newspaper reports and from the report OF
| persons who heard 1t. And in the outset, as the
| gentleman is present who made it, will state
what understand to be the points Of that ar
| gument
First-That the Southern Pacific is mortgaged
| for about S.; 600 000 that the bonds are above
par, and therefore the road is worth and should
| be assessed for SIS 100000.
| Second-That it is the duty of the State Board
to assess railroad property at its full cash value,
notwithstanding the fact that the County As
| SCISSORS have assessed other property for 10 per
| cent. below its value.
Third-That the mortgage and the bonds OF
| the Southern Pacific are considered first-claSS
| securities: that the Pacific Improvement Com
pany within sixty days, bought from the Cen
! tral Pacific Railroad Company sS,0Oo,r0 of these
| bonds at par.
| FouthIThat the least valuable portion of the
| Southern Pacific Railroad has been sold to the
| Atchson and Topeka Company for more than
! what the company claim the whole road Is
| worth.
Fifth-That these railroad companies will
| only pay their taxes by compulson, be they
| high or low, and will, TO every extent possible,
| defeat their collection.
: ClAt0-lilt tohs lIlit IT'S iOdtlS We
| assessed by division, and in Court claimed that
the assessment for that reason, was illegal
! Seventh-That the company has refused to
take out patents in order to keep their lands
| from being taxed, and have tried 10 kill Senate
| Bill No. 80.
Eighth-That the men who have built these
roads have become wealthy and arrogant From
| poverty, within twenty years they have come TO
| fortunes now of over / 0,000,0O0
! Nnth-That there is power in the State I'M
dcrmining the people and the best interests of
| the State, and that power is railroad companies.
| Tenth-A commentator Of the Illinois sys-
! TEN for your consideration.
| If have misStatcd any of these propositions
| OF course it is due to me that the Board or the
| gentleman who was present should correct me.
| Mr. DelmaS-i suppose that suggestion is adj
| dressed To me, and as to the first point that you
have made Mr.. Raymond, did not state as a
| fact that the Mohavc branch was sold. stated
| that had no douDt that such WAS the fact but
| disclaiGed any knowledge and asked the Board
| or anybody to produce the correct figures 10
| verify my assertion. As 10 the mortgage of the
| Southern Pacific Railroad. | did not state that
| the road was mortgaged for 100000; but l
did state that it mortgaged for SIS 900, 600.
| Your sixth point did not get, and consequently
| do not know whether
| Mr. Haymond-The company asks that its
| roads be assessed by divisions and in Court
| claimed that the assessment for that reason was
illegal. Now, may it please the Board, it is ma
| teral for the purposes of this argument and the
argument that shall make, whether the mort
| gage about which the gentleman speaks is Tor
SO 600 900 or SIC 900 900. have the statement
| right before Inc, and it is $40, SIS, 900.
Mr. 'Delmas-PardOn me, but the points you
have stated, with the exception of that one, are
| correct; that figure was correctly stated and is
now correct, but they are by no means all the
| points that / made.
Mr. Haymond-They arc all that know any
| thing about
Nj Delmas- If you desire, will state some
additional points which now occur to me.
| MI HaymOud-I would prefer TO Just close the
| argument now, because we have not time TO
| examine them. OF course the Board to-day.
| from my knowledge of the question, have more
| knowledge of all of these facts than any of US;
| think they have been laboring very hard to
| get M them, and my presence here may per
! haps be necessary to correct some misapprehen-
sions Now, the first point stated by the gentle
| man is correctly stated i'll one sense, for there
| is Il mortgage upon the Southern Pacific road
covering an Indebtedness OF 80, 900 900. But he
| intends to have you believe from that statement
| that the Southern Pacific road itself is worth
so SSS, go because il is nOrtgaged for that sum
and that property cannot be OF n less value than
the amount for which it was mortgaged, and nc
mortgage debt in the markets of the world com
| mand price.
| Now, may it please the Board, there has beer
| in this country in the last - years the most re
markabc development ever known in any
| country on earth. There has been n prosperity
| unexampled and unparalleled. The braves
| and most hopeful man that lived i'll this world
| 30 years ago never, at any time, dreamed that
he should live to see n nation so strong so pros
|
| looks upon now. My learned friend will beal
me out when state il TO be fact that.the me
chanics in the employ of the railroad compa
| MES IN this city are living today surrounded By
more comforts. enjoy life better than any prince
| or potentate, be he rich and powerful could
| have enjoyed at the beginning Of the century
which is nOg finding its close. That is, too, fol
| lowing upon the heels of the civil war, which
had involved this nation in a debt greater
than any nation has ever paid. 1t was be
| cause ofthc unbOundcd resources of this country
in immense tracts of agricultural land that laiC
| upon the frontier. and were entered nOminally
that il is the first country in the world the IRON
tier of which was in its center. This came be
cause of the genius and courage of our people
| Bold, energetic and enterpTsing, they were no
| looking to the past and falling in the line o
precedent, but they were looking TO the future
and against the judgment of thoughtful men
| against the Judgment, perhaps of a majority
| They were men who could 50 far read this fl
tuTc, have such
| USBoUSDED CONFIDENCE IN TIE COUNTRY
That lines of railroad were projected ant
built in advance of the settlement OF Thu
country, until the vast wheat fields of Dakota
were brought, so far as the costs of Transports
ton were concerned within forty miles Of tbs
great marts of Europe; until we have been per
mitted to see the day that the steel labOrcr il
Birmingham can by one single weeks work
earn money enough to transport all the
food which his family may use acros.
the Atlantic Ocean; until we have seer
the time when the skilled laborer il
|
single week, for himself and family, sufficient tC
transport brcadstuffs and the meats that he may
use from the Western plains. II is these thai
have developed and made this country great
| and TO enable it to handle and pay off and dis
| charge its debt made it to-day the most power
full nation that the world has ever seen. And
| great statesman has said that it is the first thai
| could build wall around itself and live within
itself. These railroads were built upon credit
The future was discounted and in time disas
trous results followed the most of them. for al
the men who engaged in these great enterprises
the people who controlled their system of road
alone have financially survived. They alone
| to-day reap the harvest which they have sown
| And that is true, in spite of the fact that thei
| roads were projected into the worst territory
| within the limits OF the United States-tht
| plains of Arizona and of New Mexico, anC
that skirting the southern boundary o
this State: the deserts that lie between
Ogden, in Utah, and the SUBMITS Of tn,
| Sierras.
| THESE ROADS WERE BUTT UPON CREDIT,
Upon the faith which mankind have in thei
| projectors Their ponds were 1oated, not be
| would sell in the markets of the world becaus,
perhaps any number of capitalists in the worlC
that would give for any leading railroad in the
United States, in 4 settled or unsettled country
| what its bonded debt calls for. And yet cap
! italists take these bonds and they scatter then
throughout the world. Many of them have
defaulted. some perhaps may in n great cris
default yet, but these debts will be maintained
for all time to come, and the future prosperity
| of the country NAV in the en- wine them on