The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-10-08

/ oor
Mr.. v~redenburgh then directed the at
OF the United Railroads of New Jerseys
| property at Harsanus Cove, and gave
the history. of this piece OF property and
how it fell into the hands of the com
| pany. He said that by ar act OF 1858 the
land was sold to the company and a
commission appointed to determine its
| Harsimus Cove Should forever be free
| from municipal or local tax so long as
1t was used for railroad purposes The
commission fixed the price of the strip
at S500,00 Ii was under water and never
had been put into the tax levy. While
the property was decided at that UNI, yet
the COMPANY pays $s2,35s.92 every year
VoIuntarily?s asked COMMISSIONS
| ~Eredenburgh.
w pay that tax and the State coll
keep our money and still tax us when
the agreement was that no tax should
be levied"
Mr.. V~redenburgh directed some time TO
the personal property OF individuals in
Jersey City for the purpose, as he said.
! of showing that rich men who have left
| Jersey City leave their personality here
| and escape taxation. He called Counsel
examination Of the Inventories OF the Sur
| rogate's office. Mr.. Schumann said hat
there were 200 people in Jersey City with
incomes over $4,000 holding personal prop
erty worth S13, 800, 900, and that there were
about 400 people with incomes ranging
from five to ten thousand dollars.
Now, gentlemen, | wish to show you."
said Mr.. Vredenburgh, what property es-
capes taxation. Take the case of G.. Wi
nants in Bayonne. He is worth $1,640,000,
yet the sworn statement was that he only
owned $500, 900. 1 will show you that a
large number of corporations resident in
Jersey City having a full PAID up capital
stock of the vast sum of s ,256, 900, 900. es-
cape taxes. Why there is one company,
/ the lafQeT rrISf. with a SanlT1fr stock 0f
1920. 900, 900. having a net receipt of So
00o.Oe don pay a dollar of tax; I will
read some of these people
II don't think you can build up any
kind of an argument on that basis"
interrupted the Attorney General. srhe
bulk of these eorporations haven't a cent
sists IN patents. and they pay the State
a tax"
Don't you think" ~interposed Mr..
porate interest elsewhere
Yes" replied Mr.. Vredenburgh, "but
the law says the local assessor shall tax
thai property. What right has the local
assessor to avoid taxing them because Of
policy?''
1.-The trouble is" said the Attorney
General. 1T is scarcely fair to tax a cor
poration who comes here and hasn't a
dollar of property, tangible property here.
Many of these corporations even haven't
a dollar anywhere
Il most respectfully submit" said Mr..
Vredenburgh, warmly, that It is wrong
that the railroads should have their
assessments increased and millions of dol
lars escape, because the local assessors
don't do their duty. These corporations
ought to be taxed as the law directs, and
you gentlemen ought to make these as
| SCISSORS do their duty"
well. my opinion is" said Commits
sioner w. H. Vredenburgh. "a law should
be passed taxing companies who make
their home in Jersey City and nave their
property in another State.'
Tax them one-thirtieth part of one per
cent. of their stock locally, and you
won't drive them away suggested Mr..
James B. ~Vredenburgh, land Jersey City
Will reap the benefit wherein today She
gains nothing from their presence"
The Attorney-General was not convinced
by Mr.. Vredenburgh's arguments to tax
what he CMr. Stockton) called experiment
tai or fancy. companies who own patents
which they believe are valuable but may
be rendered worthless by another patent
cutting them out.
Mr.. V~redenburgh persisted in his ar
gument, and read a list of big corpora
tons in Jersey City, such as the Ameri-
can Sugar Refining Company. SIS, 900, 900.
h Sugar Company pays" interrupts
ed Mr.. Black.
eyes. we'll" added Mr.. W. d.. Edwards.
Continuing Mr.. V~redenburgh read these
li~sts:-Cordage Trust, $34. 900. 600 National
Lead Trust, $50. 900, 900; Gas Light Trust.
s2o. COG, 600; International Navigation Com
There were big stores. banks full of
goods and monies which pay too little. He
compared the amount of taxes paid rela-
lively by Lorillard & Co. and the Pennsyi-
vania Company. In the first instance
the Lorillards pay 5000 on a capital
stock. of s.. eee, 900, while the railroad COM
pany pays $299, 600 on $40, coo, o0c.
Then among others who escape per
sonal taxation is the Evening Jour
nal, s" said Mr.. ~Vredenburgh, and every
body laughed, including Mr.. Joseph A.
4 ftcar Uhn an< A1r ~ r@~-EA-s-E--
Mr.. Vredenburgh said that the paper was
recently sold at the rate of $500, 900. and
only pays SLIGO, at a rate which if taxed
as the Peennsyiyania Railroad dCGompany's
The case against the Journal caused
much amusement among the Commission
ers because of the prominence of Mr..
Dear IN the cause of equal taxation.
The plea thai vast amounts of property
are being constantly taken out of the
rata6les was the next point taken up by
Mr.. v~redenburgh, and he secuted this by
showing that there had not been any
properly taken out 10 any extent because
It was never in. In 1850 Jersey City, he
said, measured 50 acres; in 1870, 1900 acres
aWe are not reducing the ratables be-
cause the property which we exempt
from time to time never was in the rar-
abies 1t belonged to the State, and they
sold 1t n tax II for the purposes of the
school fund, and relieve the cities and
counties from that expense Of education.
rake the Vreeiand property. which Jer-
sey City complains about. The land was
riparian land under water and never was
n the tax levy: The whole trouble in
Jersey City is that you won't assess the
personal property, and, OF course, your
taxes are high"
Mr.. FIavel MCGEE, for the Morris and
Essex Railroad. asked permission 10 in
terrupt the course of the proceedings by
calling to the stand Mr.. William Unruh.
chief engineer of the Morris and Essex dj-
vision who produced maps of the main
stem of the railroad cornpany's properly
in Hoboken. The road from the tunnel
TO the river was over sw2mps.
All that part of Jersey CITY is b,lilt
on the swamp" asked Mr.. Edwards. and
witness admitted that was the fact AS
to the value of the swamp lots he could
not state their value. He, of course.
knew the values of the railroad lots
Mr.. Charles A. Allen, assistant of the
chief clerk of the Morris & Essey Pail
road. produced a HIST of local taxes maid
by. the company. For 1895 the Company
paid SIS, 400, 80 current local taxes paid
for counties all over the State.
Mr., V~redenburgh before Adjournment
for lunch criticized the act and the pur-
poses to which the money derived from
the railroad companies taxes had
been applied and grumbled that
i was not fair to put on the
farmer and the passenger on the railroad
the excess needed for local matters. BY
taxing the companies more these neonle
would suffer.
The Commissioners here indulged IN a
general talk as to the inequalities of the
school tax, and Commissioner yre5ene
burgh cited some Dlqce r,rnora Lra..u