The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-10-07
GRIGGS KILLED IT
How the Republican Candl'
date Defeated the Equal
Taxation in the
Senate of 1884.
HIS CONTEMPT FOR JERSEY CITY
A Democratic House Alone Made
Possible the Railroad Taxa
ton Law Now in Force.

"rhey say that the gentleman who who
was President of the senate az eta. is
time (r. Griggsl put this +a law crsrt M s't5 Of
IT. Fellow citizens, he should have tile
credit of emasculating the law pass55S5
by the Democratic Houss 5 ne le,onIe Of
4his civ of over half a million OF taxes
every year. Let him take the penin peneHnt AZ AZ
that and see how much gooo = 49, Giit ~
him. Leon Albeit on Jonh w. Hl'sa7'
and the tax law OF lSsf-
The subject of equal taxation has long
been a burning one with the people o.
New Jersey and particularly those u
Jersey City. BY series OF legisia'if t
enactments obtained mainly from COM
placent Republicans, ralroad orpoi@-
tfons had obtained possession OF a
large amount of valuable properly upon
which they pad no taxes rms IN
cluded property from which the COM
panies derived a large income, ana al
though they claimed and were gwen
oil fine benefits of our police, flre anu
other municipalities they contributed
nothing to their support
40 time went on and the business OF
these corporations increased they con-
tinued to acquire valuable property,
every foot of which was taken out OF
the city's ratables. leaving each year
lust so much less taxable property IN the
CITY and increasing the load OF the
private citizen upon whom feH the DUR
den of maintaining the municipal gov
ernment. To such an extent had these
abuses grown that along in the early
SOS the citizens of Hudson county rose
up against the great injustice and start
ed that crusade against this and Kindred
abuses which was known as the anti
monopoly movement. This was ridIculed
bv the rlinions of the corporations ana
its chief participants were held up TO
scorn and ridicule but they continued
in their work. No one took deeper IN
rerest in this question than the late
ex-Governor Leon Albeit. During the
campaign of 1883, when he was candi-
date he continually called attention to
the great wrong which this system OF
UNEQUAL taxation imposed upon the citl-
zens of the State and pledged himself
if elected. to do all in his power to
crush the evil The people took him
at mis- word and elected him by hand
some majority.
BILL FOR EQUAL TAXATION.
He Immediately set to work to fulhll
mis- pledges. IN his Inauguration speech
he referred to the matter in the strong
est terms at his command and again
pledged himself to overflow the IN
iqu.tous system. The Legislature was
hardly under way when Prall, member
from Passaic introduced a bill into the
House which provided for the equal tax
alton of all property within the state.
This was Governor Abbett's bill. Other
measures were introduced providing for
the taxation of corporations other than
railroads and canals, ana Frank 0. Cole
of this city, who was then member
from Hudson, moved that the judiciary
Committee be directed to prepare bill
providing for uniform taxation. About
the same time, on motion of Senator
Griggs a joint committee was appointed
for the same purpose. Mr.. Griggs and
William Brinkerhoff. then the Senator
from Hudson. were members of that
committee The Judiciary took no ac-
tion, but the joint committee brought
in a measure, which became House bill
No 313 1t was the offspring of Mr.
Griggs' fertile brain and it proved for the
taxation Of railroad property at the rate
of one per cent. for the local municipal
ity in which the property was located
and one-half of one per cent. for the
State. All mortgage debts were to be
deducted. The Democratic minority or
the committee submitted report pro
viding for the equal taxation of al
property and that railroad property bt
taxed in the same manner and at tht
same rate as other property. Hearings
were given on the bill ana some of the
leading citizens of Jersey City spoke il
favor of the equal taxation bill. Altar
McDemott, Thomas V. Gator. James
Flemming and S. B. Ransom were
Continued on Fourth Page)