The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-10-08

that fact. The other side say am too
much of Democrat. Ny disposition is
that whenever l am anything l am posi-
lively that thing and not milk and
water substitute.
THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS.
"And in this campaign also appeal to
the people of this State who are interested
in the great questions that now agitnte
the people-questions which are beyond
any party limitations, questions which
affect every individual, no matter to what
party he belongs. / stand as the repre-
sentative Of equal taxation and shall
battle for it for the benefit not only of the
Democracy, but for all the people OF this
State. And / am for a secret and pure
ballot, not only for the Democratic party,
but for all the citizens of this StSte; yea,
for all the citizens of this vast nation.
And upon those questions and upon the
great questions that interest the in
dustrial masses of this State, toll
they ON the farms, in the factories or in
the workshops, they should have equal
rights and justice before the law as Ten
as the wealthiest citizens of the State.
EQUAL TAXATION.
"Now upon the first questi0n-that OF
equal taxation-which affects every inter
est-not alone the man who pays the taxes
directly, but every man that must have
home for his family. Upon this question,
which appeals to every citizen OF this
State with wife, family and home,
the Republicans have taken two positions.
They take the position, first, that the laws
of this State as they stood before 1884,
gave to the treasury sufficient money for
the purposes of the State, and at the same
time declare that the revenue of the State
should be derived from the taxation of
railroads and other corporations.
"Prior to 1884, so far as legislation was
concerned, the great majority of our Leg
islatures-all, with but one or two excep-
4 t-1 k%A1 Inrs fhxa
laws to so district the State as not to per
NIT the Democratic majority to speak in
it's Legislature. They had ample oppor-
tunity to bring this question up,
they had power to pass the
required legislation, for, under the con-
stitution OF this State, no matter what
the Governor may think, il the Legisla-
ture chooses to pass a law, all he can do
is to interpose the moral effect of a veto.
But if the Legislature desires to oppose
the veto by the same vote by which the
bill originally passed they can override
the veto of the Governor. so that, II the
Republican party prior to 1884 had desired
to have equal taxation, if they had de-
sired to approach it in any way, SO far as
the property of corporations was con-
cerned, they had the power to do it in
repeated Republican Legislatures.
"But Republican Legislatures came and
Republican Legislatures went, and not
single Republican presented a measure OF
attempted to form one on this subject.
But in 1S81-three years before this law
of 1884 was brought to the attention of the
Legislature, offered, as a member of the
Constitutional Convention, an amend
ment to the constitution of this State that
corporate property should be taxed the
same as the property of individuals. This
did when l was private citizen, acting
under executive appointment. And when
in 1888 the people OF this State elected me
Governor, on taking my office in 1884,
presented in my inaugural this question
to the Legislature and demanded that
they pass law on this subject.
THE LAW OF 1884.
II waited for some member of the Legis-
lature to draft q law. The House was
Democratic; the Senate Republican. No
law was formed, no law was introduced,
to the Legislature by member from
Passaic. 1t was presented and passed by
the Democratic House of Assembly, and
that law said in effect that all property of
corporations should pay the same tax as
the property of individuals That was
the position of matters before the Legis-
lature. And when that bill went to the
Republican Legislature. what do you
think they did? This same Senate which
the Republican press of the State now
claim was the father of this law, and
gave to the State its benefit, what did
Gucy Nv! AIIQ OAOS pass uhlo AnW AL
equal taxation? No, they did not. They
framed a substitute for it, in
which they limited the operation
of that law SO that it should
not be q law for equal taxation. They
did not dare refuse to act upon this ques-
Jion declared then that unless this law
was passed | should go upon every plat
form in every city and hamlet in this
State and denounce the man-be he
Democrat or Republican--who would re-
fuse this relief to the people, and said to
these men that they would have to meet
was passed, and they didn't dare refuse to
act.
"But when they began action, their pur-
pose was not to give a law for equal taxa
tion, but to make discrimination in favor
of corporate property. And how did they
do itP, They put provisions in that law
by which the property of these corpora
tions should be taxed for State
purposes only one-half of one
per cent, and that for municipal pur-
poses the tax should not exceed one per
cent. Yea, more than that-they said
that for municipal purposes the tax would
exempt the roadbeds of the railroads
and the waterways of the canals and the
depots and all personal property of these
corporations from taxation. Now that
bill as passed by the House and sent to
this Republican Senate was returned to
the House.
"With these exemptions and with this
tax limitation you could pay as you did
in 1884, S29.40. The railroad companies
need only pay $40. You could pay it on
all your property, while the railroad COM
panies were exempted on millions of
property invested in road beds, water
ways and personal property of every de-
scription.
WHAT THEY COULD GET.
''Now what is the difference between
equal taxation and what they gave us?
/ will show you exactly what You lose by
the action of this Republican Senate of
1884. But they say Democratic House
also passed that law Yes, they did, and
by my request. saw that the Republi-
can Senate would have bill with these
limitations or nothing, and believed
they were leagued with the corporations
of the State for the purpose of destroying
legislation on this subject, and / said
sYou would better take what you can get,
for even this will save the people of the
State from an individual State tax; and
then appeal hereafter to public sentiment
nntil the corporations stand before the
law only as the equals of the individuals.
(applause) n..o., ~.
acquiesced, committee, composed of two
Democrats and one Republican, the latter
gentleman being Mr.. Cole from this
county, presented a report to the House of
Assembly protesting against the action of
the Senate. And acting on the report of
this committee the Democratic House
passed a resolution protesting against the
action of the Senate in limiting this tax