The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-03-29
MANY WEIGHTY MATTERS.
THE HATING OF STREET RAILROAD
 COMPANIES.

No More Double Taxation For the Consoli-
 dated ROad-Bill de Forgery of Railroad
 Tlckets-The Oyster Police Bill-Its
 Friends Confident of Its Success Though
 it is Temporarily Delayed-A Former
 New Haven Man For Deputy Labor Com
 missioner-InpOrtant and Startling Re-
 port Concerning the Big Deficit in the
 State Treasury.
 Hartford, March 28--The finance committee heard attornies from the street railroads this afternoon regard ing the bills changing the present method of taxing street railways. The tax is l per cent. on the stock and bonds of such roads. There are two bills in favor of local taxation pending, One provides a tax of per cent, the other 33s per cent. on the gross earn ings of such companies.
 Judge Gager of Derby, Attorney Terry of Waterbury and $. Harrison Wagner of the Winchester avenue road favored local tax. Hon. Lynde liar rison of New Haven, representing the New Haven and Centervifle road and the Meriden street road, opposed both bills and said the present law was good and satisfactory.
 Judge Gager said: "It would be i'm possible to-day to fix upon any per- centage that would yield returns deem- ed as a confessedly fair rate. We cam not say what the gross receipts will be in any particular year and could make no estimate for the succeeding year. One year ago some of the roads were in transition from horse to electric power and this transition is to be con tinued for two or" three years to come on other roads of the state. The cost of construction in Massachusetts was on an average $5S,000 per mile-in the smaller towns it was as low as $1S,5 while for the expensive West End roads in Boston 1t was as high as $93,000 per mile. In this state the average cost I would say is from $3Oo00 to $40,000 per mile"
 One of the bills provides that after September 13. 1895, the tax shall be at 31a per cent. on gross earnings. There must be a sworn statement of the earnings and any false information is punishable with fine of $500.
 FORGERY OF RAILROAD TICKETS.
 Vice President Hall of the Conosli- dated road went before the judiciary committee this afternoon and advo- cated the bill providing punishment of one years Imprisonment and $500 fine for the theft, or forgery of rail road tickets. He showed that the diff ferent roads of the country experienced heavy losses from time to time from this fraud and urged that law should Ia a1 i,, ,+o +a of just protection.
 STATE PENSIONS FOR SOLDIERS
 WIDOWS.
 Among others who spoke before the military committee on the bill provid- ing pension for dependent widows of old soldiers, was General D. s. Gree ley of New Haven. He says the gen eral government is shouldeping @ great burden in providing pensions for vet eran soldiers. He would not add to this burden, but favors a reasonable pension for dependent widows to be paid by the state. HAYDEN AND NORTH HAVEN
 BOUNDARY.
 The committee on new towns and probate districts have held many meet ings on the petitions for ceding of ter ritory from Hamden to North Haven and vice versa. Another hearing took l place to-day and Senator Little, the | chairman, urged the disputants if pos sible to settle their differences, agree | upon some bill and report to the com | mittee. William c. Case, representing l Hamden, and H. E. Benton and Ed | l.. Lindsley, representing North Haven, expressed a willingness to try and they | will meet in New Haven one week from Saturday.
 THE TEMPERANCE BILLS.
 The committee on temperance this afternoon heard N. s. Kendall ot New HavcIl president of the Connecticut Liquor Dealers association for half an hour, in opposition to the pending bills. He said the present license law was good enough and it ought not to be meddled with
 THH BUILDING LOAN ASSOCIA-
 TIONS. .
 Attorney c. E. Hoadley spoke before the committee on banks in advocacy of his bill placing the Building Loan asso- citations of the state under the direction of the bank commission. He is backed up by the seventeen associations of this state.
 NO MORE DOUBLE TAXATION. The special order in the house this morning was the bill amending section 1923 of the general statutes relating to .he returns of railroad companies. The matter referred to is the Old Colony 'oad double tax. This stock, controlled ] oy the Consolidated road, is taxed in and Rhode Island. and s | { .ax has been levied in Connecticut. ( This bill provides that the tax shall ( rot be collected in this state, as that would be double tax. The debate was istened to by large number of spec ators. Representative Cowell of Waterbury { the bill and urged it's pass C Lge. Representative Hicks of Holland in I Advocating the bill spoke inpart as fol- j ows: t "Every newspaper in Connecticut ' leartily approves this bill, and every t itizen and every taxpayer in Connec- icut is in favor of it, with one bare ex- option, MT. Goodwin of East Hartford