, 1886-11-04
Che as'eekln Ar9us.
The Gross Farnlrr. Law,
SoS. EreTSE CASFIELp GIVES BIS vIEHs
on IT AND Discusses The GENERAL
QUESTION o. -.rLESAD TAXATION.


card II your Issue Of the 10th instant.
n reply 10 an .!t:cle n the Press as
sailing me personally and because Of
my supposed opposition TO the repeal
Of tie gross earnings tax law. l said
that l might discuss ths subject of
taxation and the position had taken
on the stulnpin latter article. Con
slant travel and speaking have kept
me from the leisure 7 needed for so
grave a subject; hut requests from
different quarters which ! have no
right to ignore induce me to DO what
! can with tho time l have at com
rland.
As I said in ny former article, my
position has been wholly nisstatcd
by Mr.. VOORHEES, and llr- Hubbard
on the stump, and by the latter in the
Press Of this city and later IL the Gail
OF Port Townsend, The assertion
that do not stand upon every plank
of the republican platform IS wholly
untrue es also what ! Included IL
the general denial, that l am opposed
10 the repeal Of the gross earnings
tax law
l am squacely II favor Of tie re-
peal of that taI law Tor two amply
sufficient reasons:
First-The tax cf TWO per cent on
the gross earnings of railways is de
clared to he in lieu q al other taxes.
This is all wrong. since i i wholly
unfair not only a- between different
railroads but as between any particu
lar railroad and individual taxpaying
citizens The Northern Pacific Rail
road Company claim TO own the al
ternate sections on each side of its
lines of railroad built or projected in
this Territory for 10 miles. The mar
row gage railroad between Olympia
and Ten;no owns no land SO far as
l can learn, except, if you please, its
rOadbed. To tax both on their gross
earnings alike and to exempt the
Northern Pacific as to its land. is the
sheerest and plainest inequality as
between these two railways. 1t is
equally unfair ms between the North
ern Pacific and the Psup.a, since the
tax paid 10y the former Is wholly too
small in proportion to the vast amount
of It's property
Second-The act IS so drawn that
1t includes what we call logging rail
roads. Suppose We take the Blanch-
ard railroad as q sample and as an
illustration: Blanchard Il Co. own
some thousands of acres of fine tim
her land near the Samish. To get
tue timber out that firm have built
private logging railroad. They haul
thelr own logs on their own railroad
aud likely charge themselves nothing
for freight, and 30 the railroad they
have, while IL makes them rich, has
no gross errnings TO tax, or If that
does not work and they wish to evade
taxation, all they have got to do is to
charge themselves two bits year for
hauling logs and pay into the Terri
toriai treasury two per cent OF that
sum. OF Just one half OF one cent, aud
their gross earnings tax shall be in
lieu OF all other taxes.
For either OF the above reasons the
law in question should be repealed.
1t is both wicked and loose.
But / have gone further in my
talks to the people from the stump.
l have tried to awaken attention to
the grave difficulties which Surround
the fair and equal distribution of the
burden OF supporting the Govern
ment Taxation should he equal and
uniform, or, as our platform has it,
just There can be no question about
the correctness Of that principle. In
its application. though, there arises a
difficulty, OF, rather. a great many
difficulties. IL u Vely easy to say
that railroads should Jc taxed Just as
individuals are, but tho question Is,
can You DO that successfullyf If It
can IL should ha done II you can
not, then the query CONES up wGeth
rr you will iry - use t,o or even
half dozen WAYS - got YOUR taxes
until you succeed. or Whother you
viii stick to the one Ngy 1ad fail to
get part OF them. and ,o favor cor
porations.
1t IS of corsSe easy to say, and, in
facts, easy to do, that all lands owned
hy railroads can and shall be assess
ed and taxed where they lie the same
rs those owned by individuals. 1t is
right to say 50 and DO so. but has on
ly become possible since the act OF
congress. which became a law last
spainG' that yoU could do that Won
conld do that 80 far as land grant
lands were concerned. Now it can
be done, find ii ouchs to he done.
But night here the easiuess ceases.
The right of way of the Northern Pa
cliic Hallway = expressly exempt
from taxation ~ the territories of tie
United States by the very act which
created that company Ia the DOlph
bill. which has been 81 much discus
sed, section 4, this exemption clause
was sought to be repealed That bill
was defeated by the democratic house
and the exemption still How about
the right,of way and road bed, track
and superstructure of that company ?
How will you tax them?
Then there is the rolling stock.
Are you certain you can make a tax
stick on that in the same way you
can on your printing press or my
horses and cattle
Individuals are assessed hV the as
SCISSOR when he gets around on and
for all the personal property of every
description which they owned on the
first day of April IN that year. Can
yoa get the rolling stock of rail
road in that way. On that day a
iidlh VI NdiS HtttOlSIl DS a locomotive
is made up at Tacoma. tt is then in
Pierce county. Steam Is gotten up
and the train runs south out of that
county into Thurston county. out of
that into Lewis, across that into
Cowlitz, across that to the Columbia
river, then on to the great transfer
boat and across the river into Oregon.
and then through the different conn-
ties III that state until Portland is
reached, all on the same day. An
other train leaves Portland on the
same day. 1t speeds east along the
Columbia river until it gets to Wal
lula in this territory. II keeps on
until it passes Spokane Falls, and
finally, on the sane first dsyof ADrlI.
1t crosses the line into Idaho. Now,
won't some of my assailauts try 10
make it clear to the people that there
Is no difficulty about how and when.
in what county, or III which county,
these moving tra!nS shall be taxed?
lf,4 IhaV 2 a.