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

R0ooR0 W tliC 1ApRaOa1t1 0ChRO u OOA
Cured in by the Democratic House only
under protest. The total real estate OF
railroads and canals as assessed in Jersey
City is $31, Al, on. so. That's real estate.
The amount paying a tax of one-ha1 of
one per cent. to b State, and n per
cent. to the municipalities is only S21,433,-
152. %, or d difference of exemption for
railroad property, between that and the
property of individuals, so far as munich
pal tax is concerned is $40, Ola, 1926. 10.
Only on real estate, that is; not on
personal property at all; not on the thous-
ands of cars; not on the hundreds of
thousands of dollars of personal property
that is stored here day after day and week
after week, but over $40, 900, 900 exemption
for Jersey City alone, that does not pay q
dollar of municipal tax, by reason OF the
action of the Republican Senate. The
railroad and canal companies of New Jer-
sey for 1885 were assessed on a valuation
Of $21, 800, 755.
TWO WAYS or FIGURING.
"Now, how much of that personal prop
erty we have the right to be credited
with as against the rest of the State Is q
vexed question. Railroad companies
claim that we are only entitled to the
mileage rule--tlat is, if there are 200 600
miles of rail In the whole State and in
Jersey City there Is an aggregate of 65, 0O0
miles Of rail, Jersey City is entitled only
to the proportion that 65,000 bears to
. 1000.
Then there is the rule insisted on by
the municipalities that as the real estate
of railroad and canal companies in Jersey
City amounts to S31, 446, 600, and the total
of such real estate throughout the State
amounts 70 $118, 05S, 900, the proportion
that those two bear to each other would
make the rule. But / am going to state
to you tonight the difference both ways
The loss, fellow citizens, to the people of
this city by reason of the exemptions and
limitations put into the act of 1884 by the
Republican Senate, taking the tax rate
at what it vas in 1884 1929. 40), would
amount under n rule to 1851, 752. That
is the additional tax you would have re-
ceived under one rule, fellow citizens,
had you had equal taxation instead of
these limitations and exemptions of the
Republican Senate.
Now apply the other rule and 1t
amounts to 1858 ,568 loss to the people of
this city. Let me ask you if you had that
additional income today would it not
lower the tax rate in this city IA voice,
s'certainly"), nay, more than this, | assert
tonight withoutfear of contradiction, that
the Republican Senate never would have
passed that law and given you even the
relief which you get under it today, a re-
lief, small as it is, that in five years has
amounted to over one million of dollars
to the people of this city in the way of
taxation, a relief which, ii it had
not come, bankruptcy would have stared
the people in the face, because of the
enormous Interest we were compelled to
pay on the debts that had been saddled
upon the city by corrupt and iniquitous
commissions, which was destroying the
value of our property and running men
who held it, raising the rents and injur-
ing the ~tenantry thereby. And without
that act of 1884 and the relief it brought
the city would have had to increase it's
tax rate over one per cent. or
face absolute and irretrievable bank
ruptcy. And today, fellow citizens,
half a million annually would be given to
this city by the corporations. l repeat,
the Republican party would never have
given the people of this State the act of
1884, except at the end of the bayonet.
They knew they did not dare to go into
the next campaign after they had defeated
this measure. They dared not meet this
issue, first promulgated in my inaugural
and afterwards acted upon by a Demo
cratic House, sustaining my views. They
were forced to do something, and they
gave a measure of partial relief. No be-
cause they wanted to, but because they
were driven to it. (Applause.)
Mr.. GR1GGs' DUE.
'"They say that the gentleman who was
K ICCl0ChU VI IL LOU ut Jl1dU blinC tlAlIs
Griggs) put this law in this shape, and he
should have the credit of it. Fellow citi-
zens, he should have the credit of emas-
culating the law passed by the Demo-
cratic House.; he should have the credit
of robbing the people of this city of over
q half million of taxes every year. Let
him take the benefit of that and see how
much good it will do him. (Applause).
"And | I'm willing to leave it to the peo-
pie of this State, not only to the people of
this county, but to the people of this
whole grand State, because this question
of equal taxation reaches out its arms in
beneticence from one end of the State to
the other. And while it is true that this
city may receive the greatest benefit, it is
because we are gridironed with railroads.
And not only that, but these same rail
roads are taking from us year after year
property which in the hands of individ-
uals would yield a tax and thus decrease
the tax rate.
FOR H HOL STATE.
stThough we do stand in the position of
getting more benefit than and other por-
ton of the State, yet there is no portion
of the State that is not benefited even to
the extent of the partial relief, brought
about by the act of 1884. You may go among
the farms of Sussex or the sandy shores
of Cape May and Atlantic, and wherever
you go O will find the taxes from this
act pouring in the to offers of the munich
palities and townships. And throughout
this State since the passage of that law
the people of New Jersey have paid no
direct State tax upon their property of
whatever Description. But having ac-
complished that much shall we stand
still, or shall we demand the full Measure
of our rights? That is one of the great
questions before the people. The
Republican platform says that the
fixed policy of the State is that contained
In the act Of 1884. The Democratic plat
form says:A.sWe want equal taxation
without exemptions or limitations against
municipalities. (Applause.) Let me ask
you, fellow citizens, If these Republican
gentlemen are entitled to any credit.
Why didn't some Senator (some of them
had been in office eight years, elected
again and AGAIN., why had not one of
them raised his voice in favor of some
measure to relieve the people? Why
hadn't some one lone this before a Demo-
cratic Governor had demanded and q
Democratic House Of Assembly had
echoed that demand by passing an equal
taxation law9 They didn't do it because
they did not have within them that grand
idea which is the embodiment of Democ-
racy-equality for all property and all
citizens before the law.
NOW, ] have expressed to you at
length exactly how we stand here in Jer-
sey City today--a loss of over a half mill
lion of dollars annually by reason OF the
exemptions and limitations put into the
law by a Republican Senate. Shall we
stand where we are, or shall we send to
Trenton Il Democratic Governor pledged
to equal taxation, and Democratic Sena-
49, @Nl ADtx 80 N ny nfa n 49,