The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1885-01-04
PROTESTS OF THE ROADS.
WHAT THE RAILROADS URGE AGAINST
THE TAX ACT.
A Statement of the Principal Objections
60 the New BfIl Urged Before the
State Board OF Assessors.

A Statement Of the Principal Objections
60 the New BIN Urged Before the
state Board Of Assessors.
TRENTON, January 3--The time is fast
drawing near when the people of this State
will in all probability be enjoying the full
benefits Of the revenues derived from the
railroads, under the operation of the rail-
road tax bill, passed at the last session Of
the Legislature. AS has been repeatedly
stated, the taxes collected under this bill
the principal features of which Governor
Albeit himself was the originator adds
more than 5000, 900 annually to the State
treasury, to say nothing Of tho local treas
uries that will be aided by ir.
It is true that almost every railroad in
the State has entered its protest against the
valuations set by the Assessors, and it is
possible that some of the roads may GER
tiorari, but in almost every instance protest
is made merely for the purpose of adjust
ing valuations and the chances that re-
peal of the law. will be asked for by the in
coming Legislature are growing simmer
every day. ssIn fact" said party high in
authority Cd the subject to our correspond
ent to-day, ss.he Pennsylvania is willing to
come in and pay under the bill as soon as
her valuations are fairly adjusted, and you
take that road out of the Legislature as a
legislative factor and what has the State
got to contend with as against the rail-
roads? I answer, simply nothing. The
Pennsylv mia Company will pay; the other
roads will have to pay"
The railroads that have entered protest
are the entire Pennsylvania system, COM
prising twenty-four roads; the Philadelphia
and Reading system, comprising ~ roads;
the Erie system, comprising roads; the
D. L. & W. system, consisting of six roads;
and the Lehigh Valley system, con-
sisting of the main line, the Easton
Il Amboy Railroad, and the Morris Canal
and Barking Company. Then comes the
unclassifed roads, of which there are
about 35, part of which have fled their
protests. The complaints are varied and
interesting For instance, the fight With
the Pennsylvania is on the valuation Of its
main stem-in fact of all the real estate.
1t claims that its valuation should be fixed
by the local assessors, and what the State
expects to tax on should be classified by
the local assessors as adjoining property"
It claims that under the act this is the
governing standard of valuation. The
Pennsylvania protest is, however, only
matter of form to reserve whatever rights
of appeal or REIMBURSEMENT might be held
to have been surrendered by an uuprotest-
ing acquiescence. General Sewell says
that the company proposes to accept the
decision of the State Board CT Assessors as
final, and to pay the taxes upon the valua-
tons they fix. They will ask. however,
that in che event of the bill being over
turned. as the result of contests with other
RAILROAD corporations, they may allow q re-
bate to the extent of the over-payments
they may in the meantime make to the
States tax gatherers.
In the case of the Erie the contest is on
what are known as the Paterson and Ram
apo, and the Paterson and Hudson River
roads These are operated by the Erie at
certain percentage, less the tax bills on
the property they own. The stockholders
of the two roads claim that the Erie has
turned in their tax values at toe high
figure. The Erie, they say, thus kills two
birds with one stone. She makes reason
ably large showing Of railroad property
subject to taxation, and pays the tax with
the money of the other two roads. The
matter has been referred by the State
Board to special committee for adjust
mont.
bases its protest on its charter right, claim
ing that the charter of 1856 gives it the use
of that portion of its property devoted d.
rectly to canal purposes presumably the
water way) free of tax. This claim is of
the same nature as the claim made by the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western,
which also stands upon its charter rights.
That these claims will not in any way be
recognized by the State Board of Assessors
goes without the saying. The Jersey City
and Bergen Railroad contests on its fran
chise and may certiorari, but whatever it
may do will be done merely that il may
forfeit none of its rights of appeal. Presi-
dent Thurston said to your correspondent
yesterday that it has another ground of
complaint. Whatever franchises the Jer-
sey City and Bergen enjoys it has received
from Jersey City mainly, and he believes
that Jersey City, more than the State,
should receive the bulk of the taxes. I'm
der the old statutes she pays $500 per
year into the local treasury. The valu-
ations of the State Board increase her tax
to $3411. The increase of $500 in the total
is not worth fighting over, but of the s3411
the State will take $2889, and the citys re-
ceipts will be cut down from $2S76 to 1921.
Mr.. Thurston would prefer to have the
tak 1chu JNotC1f t0 eAat 0CAoCJ O4ty W AL ub
any rate lose none of her income. At the
same time the LEGAL road has no idea of re-
fusing to pay whatever the State Board
exacts.
OF all the railroads that have been assess
ed, there is only one which has entered
protest on the ground that it is exempt
under the act. That road is the Monmouth
Park Railroad. It claims, and Justly too,
that 1t is not railroad; that the railroad
that is upon its property is merely switch
road placed there for the convenience of
the public It is true that it is not a rail
road corporation in any sense of the term.
1t is merely track on the property Of a
private corporation which, besides paying
its full local tax, also pays as the Mon
mouth Street Park Association, tax under
the miscellaneous corporation tax law
passed by the last Legislature As mat
ter Of fact this association was the very
first corporation III the whole state to step
up to the captains Office, and without pro-
test, pay what was demanded of it under
that law That it would be unjust to tax
it as railroad company in addition, is ap-
parent, and the State Board will no doubt
demonstrate its fairness by throwing it out
of its jurisdiction altogether.
The claim of the Hoboken Land and I'M
provement Company in regard to what the
assessors have classified as the Weehaken
Branch Railroad, is similar TO the claim Of
the Monmouth Park Association, in that it
pays local tax az well as State tax under
the miscellaneous corporation tax bills but
differs from it in that it receives tolls for
the transportation of freight and passen-
gers, in which respect it is justly taxable
under the act with the other railroads in
| the State. It is safe to assume that the