Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-19
Communication From the Pleasantly al
ley Board.

|
ley Board.
Editor Pittsburg Dispatch:
AT a meeting of the Board of Directors
the Federal Street and Pleasant ValleI
Passenger Railway Company, held on sep
tenber 18, 1891, the following resolution
was passed unanimously:
Whereas, The publication of report py
an Auditing Committee in Allegheny Clty
Councils is calculated to prejudice Councils
and the people of Allegheny against this
company, therefore be it
| Resolved, That the following statement
be issued to the public:
The alleged Indebtedness of the Federal
Street and Pleasant Valley Passenger Rail
! way Company and its merged lines TO Allie
| gheny City is without foundation, and with.
out even the color of justice or law, and
| evidently intended to prejudice the people
and Councils against this company, and can
not be considered as Indebtedness due from
the company in light of facts.
The allegation that the company is in
debted to the city in the sum of forty-fve
| thousand ($45, 200 00) dollars as dividend
without knowledge of the rulings of the
| Supreme Court upon this subject, and SO
long as the Supreme Court of the State does
not change its decision upon this question
the company is not disposed to recognize
| this claim.
The items enumerated in the so-called
claim of S63, 900 as tax on cars and div1-
dend tax on the Peoples Park Passenger
Railway Company, the Observatory Hill
Passenger Railway Company, and the Gross
Town Company, and car tax on the Pleasant
Valley Company are stated without refer
ence to the ordinances of the city imposing
these taxes and charge dividend tax and car
tax not only on the cars of the People
Park, the Observatory Hill and the Cross
Town, but also charge them against the
same cars operated by the Pleasant Valley
Company, or in other words a double taxa
tion.
The Pleasant Valley Company for itself,
and for all its merge lines, is indebted to the
city of Allegheny for car taxes and dividend
taxes in the sum of 81, 100. This sum, to-
gether with the number of cars, dividends
earned, and full information was duly re-
ported to the Controller of Allegheny City
by the Pleasant Valley Company on May
81, 1891. This sum the company is ready
and willing to pay and has been all along.
But any further claim or charge it disputes,
and will contest in the courts to final judg-
ment.
The enumeration of items for street clean
ing is wholly without foundation. The Or
dinance of the Peoples Park Passenger
Railway, it is true, imposed an annual tax
to reimburse the city for cleaning the
streets That tax has only been paid in
part for the simple reason that the city has
refused and neglected to keep the streets in
repair on various occasions after repeated
requests, and for the comfort and safety of
the passenger and people the company were
compelled to expend on this route this
money, intended for the city, and much
more, in keeping the streets in repair.
The committee entirely forget that re-
ports made to the State are by the Pleasant
Valley Company for all the cars operated
by it, the taxes to the State being imposed
by uniform law, the taxes to the city Of
Allegheny are imposed by several ordi-
nances, and they are not alike in any two
of them, and in some of them no tax at all
is imposed.
The Peoples Line and the Park Passen-
ger Railway Company were merged or con-
solidated before the roads were constructed,
and yet the committee seek to recover taxes
from both, which amounts to an effort to
make the company pay taxes three times for
each year on the same car, as the Peoples
Line and the park were subsequently
merged into the Pleasant Valley Company.
And besides, neither the Peoples Park, the
Peoples or the Park, nor the two after their
merger, ever paid dividend until they
were merged with the Pleasant Valley Com
pany.
The items enumerated against the Perry
street and Troy Hill are not yet due and
payable under the ordinances.
No member of this committee ever called
upon the President of the Pleasant Valley
Company, or any of its officers, for any in
formation or explanation of these items. No
city officer has made such demand. Had
they done SO full information would have
been cheerfully given, our books would have
been exposed to them, and we would have
taken pleasure in pointing out the ordi-
nances that govern US.
And in conclusion we may be permitted
to suggest that whatever taxes the officers
of the city may fairly find due from the
Pleasant Valley Company, or whatever the
conrts may determine as due, the same are
amply secured, being lien upon all the
roads of the company and bearing interest
at the rate of 6 per cent.
WIN. H. GRAHAM, Secretary.