St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-17
A LAND TAX CASE.
Opinion Of Col. Clough in Regard to the
Recent Decision on Taxing I'm
patented Lands.
Future Earnings of the Northern Pacific
Road Will Not Be Affected By
the Decision.
The Canadian Pacific Contemplating
Extending its Calf Branch
to Butte.
Reply of Eastern Passenger Agents "
the Western Men--General
Miscellany.


ColW. P. Clough, counsel for the North
ern Pacific Railroad company, returned
from Washington yesterday after an ap'
sence of two months, looking aiter llle al
fairs of the Northern Paclhc COM
nany in the suit brought against it by liver
I, Rockers. county treasurer OF 1ralli
county Dakota. to make the company pay
tayes on lands which have not yet been pat
ented TO il by the government. The decl-
sion favored the Northern Pacific, and IN
regard TO the case, Col Clough in an inter-
view said:
IT. would seem, from kilograms emanaung
from points in Dakota that some people nave
fallen into great nisapprehenslon coneern-
ing the scope and effect of the recent oeclslon
of the supreme court of the United STATES III
the Trail county tax case IL Is not oene, ga
possible that very many people feel dlsturpeu
over this decision. AS q matter OF TACT, ilo
effect will be confined to perhaps a dozen laiN-
title spectators and possibly hail GoAen
county treasurers. l say possibly WIN 70
spect to the county treaSurerS, pul not Pioo
ably. The supreme court mercy ueoIuou t -
the expense incurred by the government III
surveying the lands granted to the company
constitute q lien upon those lands Whlcn JUS
titles the executive officers OF the govern,
Irent in Withholding patents tnefeiot UNI. ~
such costs have been repaid, anu tnsI ui. ia
do not fail within the body of taxable prop
ertv within the state or territory IN Whicn
they lie. The court did not decide that the
company has not title to the lanus' Jul
mere bv that its title will be incomplete uutii
after Ihepayment of the expenses mentioned.
These fees will not, in any case, amount W
five cents per acre of the lands. Anypooy
who derives title through the company can
make payment of the surveying 1ees al any
lime and procure patents II he desires W uo
so. but as a matter of fact the company ltselI
commenced two or three years ago 10 haAo
these payments and undoubtedly Within Tue
next twelve months such payments VIII Dc
rornnleted unon every acre of land within
the territory of Dakota which the company
shall have sold or contracted to sell. SO thaI
purchasers from the company need not nave
the slightest uneasiness concerning tneir u
ties in any event, on account of this declsloh'
With reference to the
EFFECT OF THE DECISION
upon county and municipal finances, the pre-
lenses contained in the kilograms referred 10
are all bosh. At the session OF the terrltorial
legislature held in January and feDruary'
1888 law for the taxation OF rallroaos
within the territory was passed, by Wmcn Tue
railroad companies are TO pay into the lerrf
torial treasury 3 Ger cent. of their gross earn
ings which payment Is to be in lieu or all
taxes upon their property OF every descrlp-
ton l observe from the kilograms that the
greatest .spanic' over the decision exists at
Mandan in Norton county. think am not
mistaken in saying that the county OF Norton
has never attempted to collect dollar or ol-
rect taxes upon the lands OF the company. L
believe that the city of Mandan, situated In
that county, did levy taxes upon certain lots
of the company lying within its limits, out
the whole could not have amounted TO more
than 800 or $500. The passage OF the gross
earnings tax law of 1888 put an end IN most
counties to the attempts to levy direct taxes
upon the companys lands, and the contro-
yersy between the company and the counties
relates mainly to the taxes assessed prior to
the latter year.
have heard it rumored that purchasers
from the railroad company, who have hereto
fore paid taxes upon their lands, threaten to
bring suits against the counties to recover
them. There is nothing in this. The supreme
eourt-of the United States, in the case of Lam
bern against the county commissioners
decided that taxes which had been
paid could not be recovered by the payers
1t must not be supposed that the company IS,
in any way, trying to evade its just proper
ton of the burdens of government within
the territory. On the contrary, the company
has been much the largest taxpayer in the
territory since the enactment OF the gross
earnings tax law of 1888. In the year 1883
the total railroad mileage in tho territory was
2,46l miles, of which mileage 6l3 miles De-
longed 10 the NorInern RACINE ~ s'e.n aI Al
I,S4s miles to other systems. But the North
ern Pacific company that year paid into the
treasury, upon its mileage, 500, 255.32 as
against S65, 457 Al paid by all the other sys-
tens in the aggregate. In the year 1884 the
total railroad mileage of the territory had in
creased to 1854 miles, of which 613 miles be-
louged to the Northern Pacific system and
1920 miles belonged to the other systems.
Bnt in that year the Northern Pacific system
paid into the territorial treasury SI9, 5SS.2l,
as against only $76, 723 SO paid by ali the other
systems in the aggregate.
These figures show that the Northern Pa
cific company is paying, in proportion to
mileage, three times the amount of taxes of
any other railroad concern in the territory,
and also the counties through which the road
runs are, on an average, receiving from that
company's tax about three times as much as
counties lying upon any other system.