Omaha daily bee., 1891-12-27
RlttRoIp rir snLnKIYa.

TO list for municipal taxation all lots and
lands owned by railroad companies out
side OF their right Of way. which the
charter defines to be fifty feet Of land
abutting on each side OF the main tracks
Of any railroad. In compliance with
this provision Of the charter the city
clerk has recently placed upon the tax
list aolne 600 lots and parcels Of land be
longing TO the various railroads that
converge in this city. These lots and
lands have been assessed "a fraction
over S3OO,OO O, which in reality
Is about one-tenth OF the actual
value of railroad property within
the city limits of Omaha But the rail-
road managers do not know when they
are well treated. Although the taxes.
that were to be collected under this as
sessment we're a mere bagatelle they
have invoked the powers OF the courts
TO enioin their collection under the pre-
text thatthi would be double taxation
since these properties are alleged to be
included as part Of the railrold right Of
way returned to the state auditor with
the whole plant and appraised at so
much a milo by the State Board Of
Equalization. This action striktngly
illustrates the old adage, whom the
gods wish to destroy they first make
mad.
The vast area Of real estate which the
railroads W and occupy in Omaha has
for the most part been an outright
donation. The railroad companies have
been given the free use of our streets,
alleys and ~thorOughfares for their
tracks, and several of our principal
streets have been illegally closed for
their benefit and without a dollar Of
compensation either to the city or W
ers of property that has been damaged.
Any other individual or corporation
hat had been so generously treated
and enjoyed such valuible privileges at
the public expense would have cheer
fully paid their proportion Of city taxes.
especially on the property which was
acquired as a free gift. Not so with the
r~pilroad companies.
For twenty years these railroads have
been permitted to shirk their city taxes
in defiance of the plain mandate of the
constitution. Section 6. article tx,
entitled, Revenue and Finance" reads
as follows: THE legislature may vest
the corporate authorities of cities,
towns and villages with power to make
local improvements by special assess
ments, or by special taxation of property
benefited, For all other corporate pur-
poses, all municipal corporations may
(shall) be vested with authority to assess
and collect taxes, but such taxes shall be
uniform in respect to persons and prop
erty within the jurisdiction of the body
imposing the same"
Now the constitution plainly declares
in so many words that all property, per-
sonal and real, shall pay taxes
for corporate purposes, and these taxes
must be uniform. Any law or system of
taxation that eXempts railroad property
from municipal taxation or relieves such
property from assessment is void on its
face. There il no doubt that the city Of
Omaha could legally compel the railroads
to pay their city taxes, even if the lcgis-
lature had not enacted a specific law to
that effect. They can and ought to be
taxed, not only upon the property out
side of the right of way but upon every
inch of ground they W within the city
limits, whether it is used for railroads or
has been leased by the railroads to
other corporations or individuals. Mr..
Desty's Digest on Taxation lays
down the following rule as regards
railroad taxation, as sustained by numer-
Gus decisions by various state courts us
we'll as by the federal supreme court:
The real estate of a railroad is taxable
in the county, city or town where it is
situated and their personally at the
place where their principal Office is
situated. The rails, sleepers, bridges, etc,
of a railroad company, together with its
easement in the lands within the located
limits Of the road, are real estate, and as
such are liable to taxation in toe towns
where they are situated" This view
was also sustained by a very eminent
authority, Judge Dillon, now general
solicitor of the Union Pacific railroad
company, while he occupi ed tho United
States bench of this circuit.
And why should not the railroads pay
city taxes exactly on the same method
of assessment and levy as pre-
walls with regard to the property of
other corporations and individuals? Do
not the railroads enjoy all the benefits
of municipal government? Do they not
receive equal protection from our police
and our fire department? Do they not
enjoy the use of oar fire hydrants and
our street lighting? Why. then, should
they be permitted to shirk their city
taxes? Why should they invoke the
power of the courts to uphold them in
perpetrating II high handed imposition
on other taxpayers?