The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-07-10
Expensive craftsmanship.

A that its head and chief is not a |
tatesman, never was and never can |
)e. and that he is Dot entitled to an
,ther term of the governorship and
should not have it Few people recall
very wildly all the circumstances of
the settlement of the International
railroad claims, which occurred eleven
years since. Few people remember
that the then senator, John Ireland,en-
gineered the bill of settlement which.
was finally adopted. This he did,
however, and we want to point out to
our readers just what that piece OF
C )stly craftsmanship has set the state
back. We don't believe that in the
light of this single transaction alone,
his claim to reelection will be consid-
cred a good one by any fair, unpreJu-
diced man in all broad America.
At the second session of the Ia
legislature, in 1875, eleven years ago,
bill was introduced early in the ses''
sion to compromise with the Interna-
tional railway company by issuing to
them some three and one-half millions
of bonds. At the same time Senator
Ireland introduced bill to compro-
mise with the company by issuing TO
it straight land certificates OF 64O
acres each and twenty sections or
or 1880 acres per mile and to exempt
the railroad and all its property In
Guiding the land certificates and the
land located by virtue of these certlh-
Gates from taxation for twenty-five
years. The bond compromise measure
passed cut down to three millions OF
dollars. 1t was vetoed and upon re-
commentator of Gov. Coke in his
veto message the legislature offered
the company the Ireland compromise
In the first place it has cost the
school fund five millions of acres OF
land. The railroad obtained certltl-
Gates for five millions acres which
were at once located on the choicest
vacant lands in the state. In 1915 and
for several years after that time there
was great deal of choice land avail
able; but in 1875 the people by thell
new constitution set aside half OF al
the vacant domain for public schools
without, however, designating the
lands. These certificates issued just
before the adoption of the constitution
had priority, but all other certificates
contained the provision requiring the
holders in locating them to locate an
equal amount of land for the public
schools.
By these strait certificates the
school fund was deprived of the
location of five millions acres, which
if it had been insisted upon in the
compromise, the company Woulc
doubtless have agreed to locate. Tht
lands, had they then been located fol
the schools, would now be worth
from ten to twenty millions of dollars
Is not this sort of craftsmanship cost
ly enough? But the company OBJ
tanned exemption from taxation fol
about five millions acres and for al
its property for the term OF twenty
five years. The railroad property
measured by its bonded debt, is worth
SI7.5OOOOO and the land is worth per
haps more and could not be purchas
ed for less than ten millions of dollars
and by the close of the twenty-five
years will probably be worth S25, GOO,
600. For the first ten years the ex
emption is upon $27,500000 to $50,
100000 worth of lands and railwa..
properties. The exemption include
state and municipal taxes as decides
by the supreme court. The state ant
county taxes would have averaged y
cents on the one hundred dollars, o
S24O, 900 per annum. What amour
of property the company owns in Pal
estine; Longvlew, Austin, San Anto
J Mo and other places exempt from mu
nicipal taxes is not readily ascertain
ed, but certainly reaches a million
of dollars as it includes exten
sive machine shops, manufac
turing establishments and costl.
improvements everywhere save ant
except in this city. Its municipal
taxes would probably reach tel
thousand dollars year, Its tax ex
emptions have for the first ten year
cost about $25O.OO0, for that term
Expensive craftsmanship truly.
The next fifteen years the increased
value of the lands largely increase
the value of their exemption which
probably would reach in the year A
d. 1900, when the exemption ceases, a
least S325OOO, per annum. The aver
age annual value of the exemption
may be placed at $4,000 which il
TWENTY-FIVE years is worth the gran'
aggregate of $6.875,OOO. The interes
on the bonds would have amounted
to $4,000 per annum. Now IT it b
commended that the railroad itsel
would not have been valued at $685. O
per mile but at say $4,000 the ex
emption is reduced in value $4,000
per annum, which still leaves tn
combined exemption on lands ant
other railway properties $4,000 pc
annum, which is $4,000 per anRlln
| more than the interest. At the end o
that time the state would have had tn
SS,OOOOOO, the principal of the bond
to nav. but she would have had 5000,
600 acres of land worth from ten t.
TWENTY-FIVE millions Of dollars will
which to pay it, and the school funt
by the location of the alternates o.
other railroads would have had at leas
| five millions more acres of goot
lands.
Grouped in this fair and Legitimate
way these figures are startling, ant
they should be quite sufficient to con
sign the author of the bill and all O
its supporters to anever ending retire
ment as profound and impenetrable a.
ever hung a thick black curtain W
between empty, weak pretentions
and the people alasl too easily gullet
in this way. This is, it is true, cheaI
John craftsmanship, but its wastefu.
and costly extravaganza readily