The morning call., 1893-02-25
Senators Do the Bidding of
the Railroad.
REASSESSMENT DEFEATED.
Carpenters Substitute Bill Adopted
After the Formally of Debate.
nahoney's Pet Killed.
Special to THE MORNING CALL

demonstrated, as IL mas many times before,
that when it is closely pinched by
hostile legislation it is able to reach out
and gather into sits fold a sufficient num-
Der of Senators to save itself from loss.
The old story has been repeated and the
people are as far from compelling the rail-
road company TO pay its back taxes as ever.
II would be wrong TO dignity the contest
of to-day as a battle. for it was nothing OF
the kind. Everything had been programmed
long before the Senate convened this MORN
ing. and the words of the Senators IN favor
of Carpenters substitute bill were merely
bluff The vote had been fixed by
stronger power than Carpenters eloquencc,
and the talk that lasted for several hours
did not change one vote.
The sham fight was started by the reading
OF the Shanahan bill, which provided for
the resssessment of the railroads since 1852.
Then motion was made to substitute for 1t
the Carpenter bill, which provides for the
taxes only for the years 1886. 1886. 1887.
Seawell then moved to have his bill.
which goes back to 1879, take the place OF
both the others. Carpenter moved 10 adopt
the majority report of the Committee on
Corporations, and Ostrom moved the adop
ton of SeawelFs minority report
This started the debate.
Senator Seawell argued in favor OF the
latter motion. and in doing so said he had
no luminosity toward the railroad COM
panies of the State and conceded that they
had done a great deal of good in developing
California. But in the matter OF the pay
ment Of the taxes the Southern Pacific had
not done its duty, nor complied with the
Ia w ia CT
public mind that the railroads should pay
the full amounts due the State without
compromise Seawell argued that the CON-
pany owed taxes back as far as 1879, and
there was no reason why they should be
forgiven the debt from that period until
1884. There was a difference of nearly
100000 between the two bills, which was
large amount of money for the State to
lose. He wished to see the matter adjusted
in an honest and proper way. so that the
controversy might be end ed forever.
Carpenter then took the fight In favor
Of the Southern Pacific and made the state
ment-which cannot be borne out by the
facts-that his bill would produce between
$780, 000 and s., $50. coo instead of 81, 100 600.
He took Senator Seawell to task for having
quoted in his report pages Of the decision Of
Judge Hebbard of the Superior Court of
San Francisco as to the legality of the old
assessments against the railroad, and for
not quoting one line OF the United States
Supreme Court, the United States Circuit
Court and the State Supreme Court, which
were ali directly opposed to the Hebbard
decision. He declared that the Hebbard de-
cision had been made since the committees
majority report. Senator Seawell," he con-
tinued, proposes to make the railroads pay
penalties, costs. interests, etc, on taxes
which all these courts have declared ille-
galiy assessed. 1t proposed to repeat an
assessment. Illegal because in it was in
eluded the Federal franchise, and excessive
for the same reason"
Seawell interrupted to say that the bill
provided that the railroad should DE as
sessed at the same rate, but not necessarily
at the same amount.
Carpenter rej0ined that the assessment
was different thing from levy, and there
was a mixture of terms. Continuing, he
said that the Supreme Court of the United
States and Of the State OF California had
decided there was no law under which the
railroad could be made TO pay its taxes. and
IL was worse than useless for the Legisla-
which would do no good, but only tend to
fan the blaze of i'll feeling between the rail-
roads and the public and further retard the
growth and prosperity of the State.
Ostrom said that If the railroads do owe
the State for period fu rther back than the
majority bill extends the minority bill should
be substituted; if they 10 not the bill could
do them no harm. He therefore urged the
-
State passes laws to protect the railroads In
all their rights aud privileges. and has the
right 20 exact from them the same cOmpli-
ance with the laws that it exacts from indi-
vIduals. For himself. he believed that the
reassessment should go back to the very
beginning, but he would favor the minority
substitute, hoping that it would prove
fnaliiy of The vexed question.
Wilson also addressed the Senate in favor
of the minority substitute
Berry said it was not to be considered
whether or not the railroad had been a bene-
fit to the State, but only as to what time
back the reassessment should extend. lie
called attention to the fact that tie minor
ity substitute goes back for three years be-
hind the bill and that for these three years
the counties had power TO settle the taxes
themselves and did so. For the years 1883
and 1884 n portion Of the taxes had been
paid. In some Of the counties inquiry de-
vrloped the fact that 1t was impossible to
tell what amount had been received from
1879 TO 1884 for railroad taxes.
Orr spoke in favor OF the Carpenter bill.
ard at that point the noon recess inter-
rupted the debate.
Upon reassembling IN the afternoon other
matters were taken up and considered until
$3.50 o'clock, when the roll was called upon
Carpenters report and Seawell's substitute
The ayes were in favor of the railroad paying
its taxes back to 1879. and the noes were for
Carpenters substitute, which let them off
except for 1SS5-S6-S7. The vote was as
follows:
Noes-BaIley, Berry, Broderck, Camp
bell. Carpenter. Denison. Everett, Flint,
Ford, Goucher. Harp. Hart Maher, Ma
honey. Orr, RagsdaIe, Seymour. Shippee,
Simpson, Streeter, VOORHEES, and Williams
-22
Ayes-Arms. Buggy. Burke, Dunn. Earl,
Fay, Gesford. Hoyt, Langford. McAllister,
MCGOWAN. Martin. Mathews. Mitchell,
Ostrom, Seawell. Whitehurst and Wilson
-18.
There were some surprises in the vote,
for even the railroad people had not counted
with any degree of certainty upon Berry,
for up to the present time he had been con-
sidered to be with the people. What occa-
stoned his sudden change Is mystery.
Then, again. Carpenter and his employers.
the Southern Pacific Company, were startled
to hear Hoyt voting with the people. With
out single exception the boodlers who be-
loDgsd to the corrupt combine OF two years
years ago voted with Carpenter.
The bill was Immediately transmitted to
the Assembly. where it will, of course, be
killed, and then the railroad baek-tax ques-
ton will be In precisely the same condition
/ that 1t was at the beginning of the session.
Mahoney and Rainey made a despairing
effort in the Assembly this afternoon 10 pass
the Infamous fire bill that, through the ef-
forts OF Kahn yesterday, was laid upon the