The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-10-29

RAILROADS CASE.
Equal Taxation Commits
sioners Have Another
Hearing in This City.
MR.. W. H. CoRBlN's ARGUMENT
Comedies That the City Should
Receive the Tax on Second
Class Property.
MR.. W. h. CoRBlN's ARGUMENT

The railroad companies lawyers had
their innings this morning before the
EQUAL Taxation Commissioner sitting in
chancery Chambers. Attorney General j.
r. Stockton, Charles c. Black. ex-sheriff
Reynolds, w. H. v~redenburgh and Gem
eral Rushing. composing the Commission,
were promptly on hand and so We're Mr..
James B. vredenburgh for the P. R. R.
Flayel MCGEE, for the D. L. and W. r. R.;
James Allen, for the Erie: w. H. Corbin,
for the Lehigh Valley. and C. de Forrest
fE the Central r.. R. Messrs. c. B.
Thurston and ]. w. Queen were also pres
ent, besides Mayor Wanser, who was
looking after the city's interest, and Mr..
W. D.. Edwards. special counsel for the
city.
@Now, gentlemen" said the Attorney
General, opening the meeting, which rail-
road will begin first?7
Mr.. w. H. Corbin was the first speaker,
and he at once plunged into Equal Taxa
tion by saying that idea of taxing every
piece of property alike was all very
pretty in theory, but like ideals was i'm
practicable. At the very outset the COM
mission, if it sought, he said, to tax
everything alike, was confronted with
The problem, what should be taxed and
what should not be taxed? Could they
tax a cemetery? No. Could they tax a
schoolhouse? No Could they. tax the
church and the parsonage? No. These
and other difficulties at once presented
themselves. If all the State were made
up of farms then equal taxation could be
possible, and would be equitable, but
when the Commission finds out as it does
that. property is divided into SO many
classes entirely dissfmilar. the nature of
their difficulties is at once apparent.
Mr. Corbin complained that the assess
ment on railroad property was tremen-
dously severe and strict, while other
kind of property escaped taxation. AS a
matter of fact, he said, the tax laws of
this State are loose and their operations
are unjust. The law so devised, he said,
that it was a temptation to the assessor.
There was no such thing as one system
OF taxation in NeV-Jersey, but the farce
of having two State boards with no
touch between them and two entirely
different systems of taxation. just as if
there were two States instead of one.
Il assert" said Mr.. Corbin, ~ernphati-
cally, that second class railroad prop
ertys outside of main stem, throughout
the State of New Jersey, pays more to the
State than if 1t were taxed locally"
Coming to the proposition of the city
that second class property should be
taxed at a rate not less than 2 per cent,
Dir. Corbin said that the Lehigh Valley
Railroad was not a shirker and did not
caVil at m equitable taxation. The
company, he said, did not owe a cent of
~NNN~ AA@A - L NAo lily NUN 0C ~
lected. If the Lehigh Valley didn't pay
lis property could be levied on, because
the law was drastic to- the extreme. He
did not believe in the system in Jersey
City, where arrearages were permitted
on taxable property as far back as
twenty and twenty-four years. Such a
system was unjust to others and 1t was
not good government and was not the law.
The failure to collect the local tax in
the cities was the great cause of much
financial trouble.
sraF-- Af-+ sfp -zsl NLt co.
the laws which you have applied to the
railroads are strict, and they pay their
taxes, while others are not so severely
treated and are allowed to escape tax
alton"
Another cause of complaint, he said,
was the distribution of the money col
ieeted from the railroads. So far as that
Was concerned the Lehfgh Valley Railroad
you'd offer no objection to the distribu-
ton Of that amounT received from the
~second-elass property to the city through
which it ran. Mr.. Corbin then turned to
the company's property in Jersey City.
n said that a large portion Of It was
Tot lighted. but why should the company
have to hire twenty watchfnen to- guard
its property which was taxed for the city
and the storekeeper had a policeman? The
trouble was that Jersey City, he said, had
q Queer way of doing business.
Look at Montgomery street. It IS the
shahbiest street in the State. and has not
been paved in my knowledge Tor twenty
years said Mr.. Corbin, as an ~illustrs-
1T was paved four years ago." corrected
Mr.. Edwards.
though retorted Mr.. Corbin, who main
tanned that the city did not use its funds
properly. and to cover that up proposed
10 put additional burdens on the poor
railroads.
Mr.. Corbin, unrolling a huge blue print.
pointed out the terminal OF the company,
aus tracks and property generally. all of
which he claimed paid taxes locally or to
the state, and much of the property was
under wafer and yet it was taxed That
piece of water was taxed at a value Of
S3zU0. The water was free 10 al, and as
open as the Atlantic Ocean. Then coming
70 the Grand street freight yard of the
company that was assessed at S44, 4SO,
a sum full up to its value.
.Of all the second-claS5 property of the
Lealgh Valley taxed locally we are as
sessed S2,zO7,W0 on which the compan
%z.Jf0, goes to Jersey City. Besides that,
We pay S14,500 every year to the city.
making a total aymen of $40. 0o0 on pro-
perty which is not complete as a terminal.
ana the majority of which land we nave
reclaimed"
Another GAUGE of complaint against the
Guys assessment plan was that when a
railroad company purchases a piece of
property it seems that its value humps IN
at once There WIS am unjust discrimina-
ton, said Mr.. Corbin.
For instance" he said. I'VE bought
'Vreeland. 1t was assessed before we
bought it at 81, l2. Immediately we bought
It the assessment was jumped to 81. 4eo.
We bought a boat from the Morris &
Cummings Dredging Company, which
was formerly assessed ct $500, but after
wards it was raised to SO, 900. We bought
land belonging TO Chancellor Zabriskie
which was assessed at SIS, 100. Immediately
s44,759.
Now mind, gentlemen, all these mead
DIV tracts we bought had arrears Of taxes
extending from eight to thirty years. The
city couldn't collect It, but we having
bought it paid the back taxes and a fund
poured into the treasury of the city,
What remedy do You suggest?'5 asked
General Rushing.
Mr: lCorbin replied that the Commission
should notice these inequalities which
showed conclusively that the general tax
aw needed amendment. The chief cause
taxation rs the unequal distribution of