The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-11-22
GRAVEYARD FINANCE.
Dead MeE Pay No Taxes,
but They Roll Up Huge
Profits for Cor
porations.
QUEER NORTH HUDSON FACTS.
Sensational Developments Of the
State Taxation Commissioners
in H0bOken Yesterday.
QUEER NORTH HUDSON FACT'

1aXdtlOn at AoDOken Yesterday was IN
some respects the most important session
of the commission in Hudson county.
The meeting was attended by number
of representative Hoboken and North
Hudson county men. including Assessor
James E. Dollard. who has assessed
property in Hoboken for the past seven
years; Mr.. John Reid. Judge Smith and
Counselors Minturn and Russ
Assessor Dollard was first taken in
hand He told the Commission that he
assessed property to within 10 or Is per
cent. Of its top no tch value. though IN
some instances he admitted that property
may be assessed for only 20 per cent of
its true value. Like all the other asses
sors he admitted that q great deal of what
has been termed Invisible personal
property escapes taxation. He said that ev-
cry year the banks give him full informa-
tion concerning the owners OF their stock,
and that he communicated with other
banks in the State for the purpose OF find
ing out the owners Of the stock Of banks
located In other parts of the State, who
reside in Hoboken, and that this year
thirty of such bank stock owners had
failed to respond to his communication
enquiring as to their holdings in other
banks. Mr.. Dollard said that he assessed
bank stock at about its market value in
this way.--He assesses the bank build
ing. and then dedncts its value from the
par value Of the stock, and assesses the
stock at its selling price less the value
Of the bank building deducted from
the aggregate par value OF the stock he
coincided with Mr.. Corbin's IDEA that
bank stock should be assessed at its par
value directly to the bank. the bank TO
pay the whole tax to the municipality in
which the bank is located and deduct the
same from the dividend. Judge Smith,
OF North Bergen township. said that
while it may be all very well to assess
bank stock In that manner, IL seemed 70
him that the tax collected should be di-
vided pro rata among the municipalities
in which the stock was held.
General Albeit asked the assessor how
he taxed savings banks. to which Mr..
DollarG replied:-''We have only one saw
ings bank here / have taken their build
ing and the amount of surplus they had
on hand and taxed that By that means
got tax on about s25. 900 this year"
Mr.. Dollard said that he did not tax
the securities in which the money OF the
depositors had been inve sted. In answer
to a question by General Albeit, Mr..
Dollard said that he Thought the imposi-
tion of such law as they have in lndi-
aaa. requiring tae taxpayer 70 swear 70 a
statement containing list OF every con-
ceivaDle class of personal property would
have good effect in this State and would
result in getting at much larger amount
of personal property At the same time,
however, he doubted the practicability of
adopting any s1lch inQuisitorial process
John Reid gave his views in extenso
He said:-"I made up my mind long ago
that as general principle in relation 20
taxation there should be no exemptions,
except possibly that public buildings in
the city should be exempt. because 10 put
a tax on them would be simply transfer
ring money from one pocket 70 another.
But the moment you begin TO make ex-
emptions and exceptions in the ievyinR OF
assessments, that moment the fraud and
cheating commences. Iwould tax every
| thing. But would be czrsful not to impose
q double tax That is, If q man owned a
piece OF property worth SIC. 900 and had it
mortgaged for S., 900, would assess him
| for 5000 and | would assess the mort
gagee for s., 900. l think also that extra
efforts should be made to arrive at some
method by which the invisible wealth Of
| the country would be compelled to pay
| its proportion of the public BURDEN"
Judge Smith, of North Bergen Town
ship, was next called upon. de made
| long and exhaustive argument and
showed by facts and figures that the
claim that has been made that Hudson
| county keeps down her valuations is a
! delusion and snare, He showed that in
1 spite of the millions of dollars of prop
/ erty taken by the railroads and other
/ corporations out Of the ratables OF all the
municipalities in Hudson county, the in
| crease in real estate valuations hetwee n
| 1874 and 1857 for purposes of taxation was
| 81. 600 900, while during the same period
/ the taxable property in Bergen 1.-THE al :
| joining county had decreased =, ,0o0, 900,
and in Burlington county the decrease
| was nearly &, 600 coo, and that the decrease
in Essex county during the same period
about $40 000, 600. On behalf OF his own
township he claimed that the increase in
| the rateables there rose from 81, ia, 900 in
1866 TO s., 1so 900 in 1855, and this in spite
| of the fact that the county buildings, the
estimated value of which IS $500, 900, a
| large block Of sinking fund property and
over one hundred acres OF property used
| for cemetery purposes are not excluded IN
| the tax levy. being exempt from local
| taxation under the law. But 1t was con-
cerning the exemption OF this ceneIery
property upon which Judge Smith laid
particular stress. In relation TO this be
/ said
..In North Bergen Township we have
/ six cemeteries. private organizations used
exclusively for the purpose OF making
/ money They are exempt from taxation
Now the township of North Bergen, as IS
nearly all OF Hudson county. Is directl J
| opposite New YORK, and as we have this
| otherwise uDproduotife land. private
capital seeking for place Tor cemeteries
l IN which TO Dury Lne New 4 OK ucttus
| have located in that township. These
| corporations are made up almost entirel y
/ of specnlators from New York city Tn e
result is we have, as say. this hundred
! acres of land devoted to cemetery pur-
| poses, and they are increasing
their holdings all the time. and
| every acre of land they acquire takes so
| much out of the taxable property OF the
township. Each acre OF this land pays
these organizations from S24. 900 TO $50.
600: that is, they sell fourteen square
feet for SO for one interment. ana they
get q for opening the grave, ana all they
pay ont is g., and TINS they make Siz net.
and they put 2.400 graves IN an acre,
which, al $l2 a plot makes in the neigh
borhood OF -, 900 profit And that :
| what they make out OF each OF those
| acres. Aud they don't pay one single
cent of tax TO the county. township OF
State These people come in here and
| buy piece of property conf aiming ten, On
| fifteen or twenty acres and one or Two
| acres IS used for the burial OF the dezd,
and the balance is used for garden rut,
| poses, but it IS all within the limits
the cemetery and cannot be taxed. My
idea is thai such part of the censefery
property as In actual use for the inter
! mepr Of the dead should probably b. 50
A century Of progress has not produced !
/ remedy equal 10 Eiy,s Cream 8ai1n for c4taFrb
-. h.-nA sr.44 has f4.xss = U0 4