The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-02-02
Sun, COUNTY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY

contracts ndu DeSH ulduS, HO HlOllSdS
had been given, no bondholders were i'll
existeuce and therefore none could be
deprived of their securities. Why did
not your Senators vote for this amend
ment if they wanted the B. & O. R. R. to
share its proportion of the burden of tax
alton of the State instead of the owners of
the farms, the factories, and those who
have struggled to get roof over the
heads of themselves and children to bear
the burden Why? Only to let this
trust and corporation with its millions of
surplus go free The B. & O. had full
power to preserve the charter and pay
the bondholders under the mortgage, by
simply releasing the unjust exemption
which the State in an ungarded moment
had given them. They only had to con-
sent to pay their taxes on fair assess
ment made by the same assessors who
assess your farm, your property and the
poor mans dwelling house, and they had
full privilege to go on and use the Belt
R. R. and pay the bondholders as they
contracted to do. If your State should
pass law that you should pay fine OF
five dollars per day for every day you
titled your farm without paying your
taxes, do you suppose you would be
allowed to say I have nortgaged my
| farm to Mr.. B. and if l don't till my farm
1 can't pay Mr.. B. his interest, and that
you are inpairing the obligations of con-
tracts? And yet this is precisely the
argument used by Mr.. Writ in the brief
YOU have shown me. In fact the law does
now fine you for nonpayment of taxes,
| for if not paid by a certain time, you
must pay interest from the time your
taxes were due and if you don't pay by
some future time your farm must be sold
for tax. Again, this whole scheme of a
separate charter for the Belt R. R. is a
| fraud on your State. The Belt R. R. was
the B. & o. R. R., and it seems i'll the
brief that the only reason for hiding
under the garments of the Belt R. R. was
to prevent the Legislature from saying
that you shall not have any more charter
privileges till you agree to give up your
exemptions from taxation. But admit
Mr.. Wirt's argument as in the brief is
good one at law and before court
should he not at least have given the
State and its overburdened taxpayers a
chance to have that question settled by
the judicial branch of your State govern
ment He certainly knows that there is
nothing more surely settled than that
three branches of the State government,
Legislative, Executive and Judicial are
separate and distinct, why does he then
wait on the Legislature settling this legal
question, this question which is peculiarly
one of the courts. AS to the equity and
right of the matter there can be but one
opinion. The State had right to have
all the property in the State taxed for the
purpose of keeping up the government
The people of the State have right to
require this because if only part of the
property is taxed those who are taxed
bear more than their just share. If your
Legislature should say that all the farms
now owned by Mr.. B. shall be exempt
from taxation forever, would not the next
Legislature have the right to say, we will
repeal this iniquitous law and if i'll the
mean time some person bought one OF
two of these farms would they be allowed
to say, you must not repeal this exemption
for if you do you will be impairing the
obligations of contracts. Certainly not,
and no court would so decide, and firmly
believe that if your Legislature of 1892
had passed the bill no court would have
said it was not constitutional.
believe this opinion will equally apply
to all classes of property exempted from
taxation in our State. The farmers since
the Baltimore and Ohio entere the State,
have been subjects of discrimination. II
equally applies to other lines of railroad
running into the State. Local shippers
of freight are made to bear a proportion
of the expenses of long hauls. Products
of the farm have been landed in Balti
more from the west, for less freight cost
than like products sent from points o.
shipment in the State. The truth is that
the people of the State have been taxed
by the Baltimore and Ohio and otherwise
to pay losses incurred outside ofthe State
The question is, why should our people
in Maryland be taxed to pay, to run this
vast monopoly of combinative imposition.
e actions and exemptions, when it objects
to sharing its just proportion of the taxes
There is much more in local ia alton
which will pass by, it may be to refer tc
it somewhat hereafter.
1 will now refer to the subject of in
direct ia alton. Of all systems of tax alton
which strike indirectly, particularly the
producing classes, whether they be on the
farm or in the shop, in the mines or else
, where, but more particularly the farmer
for are not all conditions of trade, labor
!, tariff taxation, and even option dealing
and stock gambling, based on the amount
, which can be drawn from the farm,
, think the condition of the farmers of the
country fully justifes the statement, that
/ too much has been drawn for continued
, prosperity to exist.
Tariff taxation. Time will only permit
general view of this great economic