People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1893-12-08
COY. TILLMAN'S MESSAGE.
RAILROAD RECEIvERSHIPS AND
THE DISPENSARY LAW.
The Document is Mainly Devoted to
These Two Topics - The New
Liquor Law a Success.

bic portions Of Governor Tillmans
message. After reviewing the finan-
cial condition Of the State as shown
BY the treasurer's report, he takes up
the subject of ''railroad taxes and re-
ceiyership." He. says;
During the year a question OF
vital Importance, and one more far
reaching in its consequences to the
States than any that has arisen since
the celebrated Virginia coupon cases,
has been passed upon by the Federal
courts and decided i'll measure that
must excite the alarm and resent
ment of every lover of liberty and
Justice. The issue involved the SOW
ereignty of the State and the equality
of all taxpayers before the law; and,
by the decision rendered by the Cir
cult Court in Charleston and sus-
tanned by the United States Supreme
Court, that sovereignty has been dis
regarded and, in effect, destroyed,
and a preferred class Of taxpayers
created with special privileges not
vouchsafed to other citizens.
RAILROAD LITIGATION.
e9The State Railroad Board Of
Equalization, in pursuance of its du-
lies. assessed the taxes on railroads
for the fiscal year, 1890-91, in ac-
cordance with It's understanding of
the constitution and the law. The
railroads made a return of their
property at a much lower value,
and, when the time for the payment
came, rendered only such taxes as
were due on their own assessment.
Iniunctions were granted by the
United States Court in every case
against the treasurers, prohibiting
The issue of executions and the col
ection Of the taxes in dispute. The
Acknowledgement and his associate
counsel denied the jurisdiction of
she Circuit Court in those cases
where the amount involved was less
,han $4,000, and denied the right of
he court to lump the amounts IN the
different counties so as to bring the
um up to the requirements for OBJ
aiming Jurisdiction; and the main
ssue as to the legality Of the taxes
was left to rest, pending the appeal
to the Supreme Court on this ques-
lion Of jurisdiction.
ONLY PARTIALLY ENDED.
ain January last the Supreme
Court decided the question in favor
Of the State, and decided that the
lower court had no jurisdiction where
he sum of taxes in dispute in any
one county was less than $4,000.
This at once ended the fight, SO far
as all the railroads not in the hands
of receivers were concerned, and
those roads paid the taxes due. But,
unfortunately, ont of total railroad
mileage in South Carolina of 1852
miles, l,419 miles, considerably more
than half, are in the hands of re-
ceivers, and the question which pre-
sents itself to us is, whether, during
the life of the receiverships, which
depends on the will Of the courts, the
State shall be denied the right to
collect the taxes assessed in accord
ance with her laws and shall receive
only what the alien owners of the
roads, who select the receivers, see
proper to pay.
THE LAW OF RECEIVERS.
"The law of receivers is altogether
modern. 1t rests almost wholly on
Judicial legislation. 1t took its rise
in the Court of Equity IN England
Yome hundred years ago, and up to
1860 the powers and duties Of re-
eeivers and the control of bankrupt
estates by judges thu, ugh them were
of small Importance and caused no
disquiet, The receiver held the
trust estate pending the litigation,
took care Of it, paid the taxes, when
necessary kept things in repair-and
that was about all. But during the
last thirty-tive years this small, insig-
nifcant power has spread and grown
with the rapidity of the banyan tree
in the tropic jungles of Asia, until it
now overshadows the land and
blights the sovereignty of the States,
becoming q veritable Upas tree,
which threatens the existance of
local self-government. This devel-
>pment has been owing to and has
kept pace with the construction. of
railroads and the numerous cases Of
bankruptcy in which they are in
volved by reassn Of bad manage
ment, watering of stock, or wreckage
wrought by bare majority of stock
holders, who seize a railroad and run
it in their own interests, with view
Of defrauding the minority stock
holders and stealing their property.
Too often, alas! the courts are IN
struments to carry out the rob-
berry.
STATE SOVEREIGNTY.
"The State had exercised its SOW
ereignty to levy taxes in accordance
IL - o,,,, Io.--, t. ar - :.