The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1886-11-14
NO COMPROMISE POSSIBLE.
THE STATE WILL MAINTAIN ITS STAND
AGAINST THE MORRIS AND ESSEX.


Its Boots Lest The Courts May De-
clare Its Charter RepeaIabIe ard
Anxious 10 Compromise on Withheld
Taxes-Other Nuts to Crack.
Special to the SUNDAY MORNING NEws,1
TRENTON, Nov. 13. The readers Of your
valuable paper in Hudson County will
doubtless be gratided beyond measure to
get at scme of the facts relating to the
complications existing between the State
and that meanest of all the railroad corpor-
alton in this little railroad ridden State
the Morris & Essex. Especially will these
facts interest them when it is made known
to them that the chances are ten to one
that the energetic and persistent action of
Governor Albeit in the premises will
shortly have been the means whereby no
less than half million of dollars and
from that up to O full million will have
been covered into the State treasury by
this concern, which by Misrepresentation
and fraud has kept the State out of its Just
revenue for the past twenty years 1t will
no doubt be remembered by many of your
readers that up to and for some time pre-
ceding election this gigantic cormorant cor
poration, or its agents we're loudly and
blatantly proclaming from the house tops,
SO to speak, that the position taken by
Governor Albeit was false one, and that
an examination of the railroad company's
hooks would satisfy the most skeptical that
the State had received from the company
in the shaps of taxes every penny to which
she had ever been justly entitled. But the
II. ENNtN .1sl,k
was made and won OF thequestion of equal
taxation and therefore against the rail
roads. Consequently the spirits that an
inmate the Morrls& Essex are less broyant
than they were two weeks ago. Now, ter
rifed lost an equal Taxation" Legislature
1uay pass an act repeating their charter, the
copnpanys counsel walk around the State
House corrid or5 smiling at every state
official in moss angelic manner, and when
the question Of back taxes is preached, ex-
claim in q most suaye and lamb like man
ner:
Job, if the Morris & Essex owes the
State anything it will pay. We don't want
TO quarrel with the State"
Having thus relieved himself to the
agents of tAe power that now has its heel
on the neck OF his client, the counsel goes
on his way rejoicing. Finally he meets o
group of two or three newspaper men, hay
ing in the meantime been making an argu
ment before the State Board of Assessors.
One of the reporters, pretty we'll up on
general topics, but as innocent as the babe
unborn on railroad taxation matters, re-
presents the New York IForld; the other
utterly ignorant of what newspaper work
il. represents the Evening Journal Of your
CITY. Knowing that reporters are always
looking after anything new" especially as
I. l<-ck i p
Essex Railroad Company, that dignatary
preets the reporters and when the latter
ask him s'any thing new to-day he grasps
the opportunity and exclaims:
ssShould think there was something new!
Didn't YOU hear the latest? The state is
anxious to compromise with the Morris &
Essex and if their figures meet the views of
the company the chances are that she will
nav rather than engage in almost endless
litigation"
Anxious to lengthen their slips, the scrihes
hasten to the telegraph office and wire to
their respective prints-one about as reli-
allie as the other, but neither neted for re-
l;aIility-the fact that the question OF
taves between the State and the Morris <
Essex Railroad Company will III all prob
abilitv be compromised and all the htiga-
ton cease.
Now. the true facts of the case are these:
IF there is any anxiety on the part of any
one fer compromise 1t is on the part OF
the railroad company. It knows that the
Stata is on top and is liable to win hands
down. routing the railroad company at
every point. The company's representa-
tiyes tremble in their boots lest the Su-
nreme Court should decide that their char
ter is repealable and they think by noising
abroad the statement that the State is
anxious to compromise with them on the
oneation OF back taxes, compromise may
be effected whereby they may be relieved
of the payment of large part of tho
amount actually due. But the State IS not
anxious and will not compromise. 1t has
tha unper hand and if it is finally deter
mined that the Morris u Essex Railroad
Company has withheld from the ! t tie
taxes amounting to 100000, 100000 or
s1 00) 900. the Morris 4 Essex Railroad
Company will pay to the State $780, coo,
& $1,000 or 81, 100000 as the case may be.
Elk Governor Bsdle, on behalf of the
railroad company appeared before the
State Board of Assessors here on Thursday
last with 6 statement showing how the re-
turns of the company had been made to the
State Comptroller each year since 1872, and
attempted to explain the discrepancies set
forth in Governor Abbett's special message
of last June. An examination of the state
ment presented bv Mr.. Bedle, is sufficient
evidence in itself that Governor Albeit
was absolutely correct in his statement
that it is impossible thas the equipm snt val
ue Of the road is any thing like $l3, 600 Geo.
The statement shows that no more than
S5.000G0O can by any possibility be
charged up to equipment account, as over
s7,00O000 Of the sl3, 100000 charged to
equipment is made up of interest and dis
counts, and even the item OF real estate
The amount charged to equi alnent has not
always been so Large as $4,000 900, but it
has grown every year LOT me o pos &c fourteen
the amount been $7,000,0O0 for fourteen