Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-08-15


existence, they have not been able at all tlnitA
! to meet and TO explain the charges that nave
: been made against them. They have been
| railroad builders and money-borrowers untii,
to-day, they owe SIS, 600 600 that they are indi,
yidually and personally responsible Tor, ana
! every dollar of which has been spent Tor the
/ benefit and welfare of this State, and without
which to-day ii would be the wilderness IhaI
! you and found it.
Their companies ask that its roads be as
sesSed by divisions, and then in Court claim
that the assessment for that reason was Illegai.
| That is true. The company ask that ITS Centrai
Pacific Railroad should be assessed by DIVISIONS
and it was proper so to assess II because
these divisions have different liabilities ana are
of different valuations; and | hold that tnat
assessment was legally and properly made IN
| that way. In Court that was attacked. why
| Because at the very instance of these gentlemen
| in the San Mateo case, which raised out one
| single question, and that was: Can this BOARD,
| under any circumstances, make an assessment !
| Under any circumstances they did not question
| the form of the assessment presented oy one
| case, managed by a man who is the peer
| in integrity and ability OF any lawyer i'll this
| State, Mr.. Justice Rhoades. From all SIDES ana
from all quarters came an attack upon Ihal case.
| The Supreme Court was flooded with newspaper
articles and affidayits and appllcatlonS saying
| that it was fraudulent case; that we had paid
| San Mateo, which in truth and fact we had, be-
cause we never denied that we intended TO pay
| beginning to this hour. We acknow ledge,
| as no corporation ever did acknowledge,
| and no corporation or man living has any better
record on our moral obligation TO this state, and
when any man states to the contrary he states
| that which is absolutely and wilfully false.
| Now why did we make that2 Because the SUI
preme Court OF the United States III view of
these facts, made an order directing MI Justice
| Field to come here and take his seat upon the
| sacred bench, and try enough OF these
cases to present all the questions arts
| ing under this revenue law, and then to bring
! ali of those eases there aud they would advance
nd hp pA
| that hour TO this. And yet from the beginning
l have offered 10 pay the cost and expense of
| taking them there. Now, there is no question
about this gentlemen; but said one day to my
| friend III the Courtroom" You have done great
| injustice TO our side by saying that we had
delayed these cases have been told
| that this was the understanding. My
| friend said not, and in his presence
| | called upon Judge Sawyer for a statement of
what that order was. and he stated it there.
Now then, we always intended to pay more
than any railroad company ever paid, whether
| we won or lost. 1t was the question of the
right 10 be heard that we were lighting for. But
here was q question of vital Importance TO us,
which gave TO your Board, if you should finally
have the power the right to make this division,
and we wanted that power passed upon. And
say here without hesitation, and shall state that
| ii | argue it III the supreme Court, that my be-
| lief and Judgment is that that assessment was
properly made. But, gentlemen, when has II
become crime in this country for n man 10 ap-
peal 10 the Courts of justice? remember that
the brightest halo thrown around the Crown
of Glory upon the heads of our ancestors was the
fact that they had resisted the payment of lille
gal. taxes When q man has right under
the Constitution and laws of this country TO con-
test every claim that has been made against
him. if he contests that claim and puts his
pronertv out of his hands, il he seeks to cvadc
Judgment why then it is dish0norable; but all
along the line of history we have found that
this very same power was the most dangerous
that ever has been welded in any country, and
that it has been considered a virtue instead of II
vice TO make the contest. You have no right to
say that | shall pay $1,000 taxes, nor has any
tribunal that ever existed in this country, with
out have the right to question its validity. 1t
Is a INDUSTRIOUS doctrine. IL is like great many
of the new tangled doctrines that are heard in
the land to-day-none SO monstrous, however,
as it is Then, again, it is stated that
the railroad company have refused to
take out patents for their lands,
in order that they might be exempt
| from taxation. l do not know what that has to
| do with the question but it is published broad
| cast over this land, and it is absolutely false
| The Federal Government has absolute title to
| these lands and no State Government has Il
| right 20 interfere. Now, then, from the very
hour that We sent that road down that valley
we have been met by Mussel slough and every
other impcdimeut that could be thrown in our
way. Although these lands were ours, a. the
gentleman says, by as clear and indefeasible
title as this Government could vest in them. yet
we have not been permitted in peace to enjoy
scarcely single foot OF that territory. We have
|
| Land Commissioner by everybody who saw fit
| to go upon it, and we cannot get patents for
| those lands. We have tried best,
| exhausted our power, to have bill
passed to compel the making of these patents.
| | can produce letters written by myself to
| Mr.. Huntington, and by the late b. b. Redding.
| advocating the passage of Il Senate bill to com
pel the United states to convey these lands,
| that we might remove from them the people
| who were then enjoying the property which
the Government had given us for building
| this road, and which was ours. do
not claim that any body upon the public
| lands shall not come into Court and question
| our right. l do not contend that he should not
| have an opportunity to prove up his claim. He
| should have q fair hearing but when we have
! accorded this right to them, when we have met
| them upon the law and evidence, and have
| been delayed year by year, in the enjoyment of
this property it is not to be said we have refused
| to take our patents. Jerome Madden, Land
| Agent of the Southern Pacific Railroad,
saws that he has used every effort to get the
| lands patented If we had a title we could sell
| them and discharge some of this Indebtedness.
| These lands were granted for the purpose OF
| constructing these roads, by the people az the
| United States and when this bonded indebted
ness shall have been paid of by the proceeds OF
the sale of these public lands, then those people
| can claim what will be fair income upon their
property. -,
| 1t has been SAID that these men who built
| those roads have become wealthy and arrogant.
| Those men did not come here in poverty, nor
| were they in poverty twenty years ago
| when this road started. All of them were men
of wealth at that time, and not one of them
] perhaps but what would have been weather
today II they had done what some of these
people are doing who are now bowling against
| them-it they had sat down and loaned their
money at fifteen and twenty four per cent. per
| annum and too't mortgages on poor mems
| farms and foreclosed them. Is there Il line
| to be drawn between the rich and the poor
| 1t is crime against the poor when the gentle
man asks for distinction; for all human ex-
| perience shows that If that is made the better
| rule will be given to wealth and power, because
they are more active and vigiiant Now, we
are told this was said in the interest of justice
but it is strange that the very one who tells you
| to-day here, and publishes it abroad in the State
| that these people are worth enc hundred mil
| lions of dollars, was the very same man who I'M
der the sanctity Of his oath as an attorney told
| Mr. Justice Temple on the 9th day of last June
that these men were insolvent. l don't believe
these men since the day the first locomotive
| crossed the American river bridge. these men
have had a dollar they could call their own
Then there is "A question about these roads re.
| vcrting to the State; and others say they belong
to the State Now, if that is so, You cannot tax
them at all. During the panic the New York
Central went down in one day from $50 to ia
whose terminal grounds in New York city are
worth more than all the railroads in this State.
He read aflidayits i'll the Cotton case showing
that they were worth nothing IN the estimation
of Mrs. Cotton and her attorneys. These values
are only ON paper. The Union Pacific, con
meeting road, is almost gone, and the Central
l
had they not risked all they had and more in
building the Southern Pacific Railroad. They
say corporations are running this State. There
| is not an honest man i'll this State who wishes to
labor that cannot get bread. a school house for
| every child, an insane asylum for every person
who has lost his mind. hospital for the sick
(Mr. Raymond then briefly gave Il history OF
the Placer county tax suits and the late tax iti
| CATION, and said, we depore this litigation; We
| have not been legally taxed, and so far we have
| won in the Courts. Mr.. Delmas and Mr.. Hay
| mond had some very hot words in regard to the
bonds ofthe Southern Pacific being secured by
the Central Pacific, and at time 1t looked as
| though there was going to be personal alterca-
| tiOn.)
| EVENING SESSION
! At 80 P, N. Mr.. Delmas proceeded TO reply TO
| the argument made by Mr.. Raymond. He said
| his argument of Tuesday had not been shaken
| value, and must be so assessed, no matter what
the action of the local Assessor. 1t is conceded
| here that in some cases Assessors have substan-
TALLY complied with their duty. The best of tax
laws can but approximate to the desirable end,
equal taxation. Under your oaths of office it is
actual value, and if local Assessors
have not done their duty you must
raise them to their proper value. He
discussed the value of the mortgage of the
troad its costs, income and bonds at length
going over the entire ground and reading the
1 same authorities that he did on Tuesday. He
took the reports of the road from 1879, and read
their official statement of affairs year by year to
the present time. After making many lengthy
mathematical calculations. he told the Board
THAT in his opinion he thought the
road was worth ST ,SS4 500 % and should
be assessed for the full amount. He
said the amount returned by the company
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