The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-12-19
RAILROAD SH|RKERS,
Counsel for Jersey City
Show How the Corpor-
alton Tax Burden
Grows Less
and Less.
MARKET VALUES ooNTRASTED
Extraordinary Fluctuations in
Assessments Between the
Years 1885 and 1895.
REBUKE BY THE CHIEF JUSTICE
Value of the Franchise Established
and the State Assessment of
1884 Upheld.
REBUKE BY THE CHIEF JUSTICE

In the past two days, 1.-THE News has
printed exclusively the first part of the
text of the Brief for Jersey City in the
kEqual Taxation controversy. before the
4 Stockton Commission On Thursday, that
portion was given which exposed the in
justices of the Law of 1884 as now in force.
Yesterday, the remedies proposed on the
part of the city were exhibited together
with a portion of the argument by which
they are upheld and defended. Yester-
days instalment closed at the point
where counsel showed that even on their
own assumptions the railroads would
not be unfairly treated by the proposed
increase in the taxation of second-class
property, and where the Erie Railroads
fallacious attack on personal property
owners in this city was answered.
Today, a further section of the brief is
given. The subject is taken up where
Comparison is made between private and
railroad property upon a basis of market
values
The city denies that there is any such
difference between the true and full value
of railroad property as a WHOLE as as
sessed by the State Board of Assessors,
and the true value Of all osher real es-
tate ratables in the State as assessed by
the local Assessors, when compared with
a common standard. such as actual SAL
able and purchasable property value in
open market, between willing seller and
purchaser within any specified time Of
the whole or any complete unit of rail-
road property, and the same assessed
value of locally assessed real estate sim
iiarly located and contiguous to the rail-
read. as is represented by the proportion
oT one hundred to sixty.
In short, the selling price of the rail-
ia
world is much more In excess of their
: ttT-1r value for assessment than-is the SELL
property OF individuals, above the true
sors.
The valuations placed upon the railroad
property by the State Board of Assessors
In 1884 We're assailed by the companies on
the ground that the standard of value
was higher than that applied to properly
OF individuals.
After a most exhaustive examination.
the decision of the Court was that the
Tallroad properties of this State had not
been proved to be over-taxed or over
valued, as compared with other property.
This was the conclusion in 1884
since that time the system of taxation
in this State has been much improved,
the local assessors by the uniform
standard of the State Board of Assessors,
!. following the railroad properties into every
county. but mainly by reason of the labors
I
In 1884 the assessed valuation of the
Mate was 1854. .828 11434
n 1885 it had been increased to $7s6, $685.
90, or AZ per cent, while the popula-
between 1885 and 1895 increased but
10 per cent.
the same time the average tax rate
bach 500 of taxable ratables deter
led by dividing the total ratables into
total tax assessed has increased from
P6 in 1884 to s2036 In 1885,
The resultant Of the combined raising
ri a RI n val lyTof nfl ovad 4 41,f,i
frease of average rate being that unit
of property, owned by an Individual rated
at 800 in 1884 and then paying s1.76, in
1895 paid s2.2o, an increase of % per cent.
It Is worthy of remark that all critic
isms made by counsel for the railroad
companies on the method of valuation in
the State are at least twelve years old
The letter of Mr. Jessup referred to by
counsel for the Lehigh Valley cites tes-
timony given in 1884. Since that testi-
mony was given, the valuations in Cam
sex 81 per cent. and in Hudson 50 per
cent. This clearly shows a great i'm
provement on the part of local assessors.
So. much for individuals-now for the
railroads
The reports of the State Board of AS
SCISSORS show that between 1885 and 1895
from HsoS,216 miles to 2.253.57 miles, or
l75 per cent. Miles of single track from
ad2a s9S to a525lS or s22 o Bsr &c cent
1924, 1868 .00 or 31i per cent.
Assessed value. siSs. s.6s6s5Is5 to s22o, ,7o5,-
5000, epr 1863 per cent.
Tot3} tax, sl,31e2e4.s4 to s1.514,411.24. or Is
Ts;x per 800 OF valuation 1885. 60 40
&eAts; 1896 6S $40 cents. a decrease. of
Eht mills for each 500 of railroad prop
1855 s5-1ss5-RAILRoAD PROPERTY.
- -,crease 9f mileage .. 1a.5 per cent.
,srease Of tax valuation. ,e-s per cent.
Decrease In tax per 500 Of
= OTHER HER Pc PEopIE's PRopEkTY Eislr
Increase In population - 30.8 per cent
1ncrease IN tag tag valuation. e per cent.
Increase In tax per 500 of
tax valuation ..... 27 6-10 cents
NoTE-The railroad valuations for Sas.tS 1885
have been used in the above compari-
sons % because 1t was the census YEAR.
the State Board of Assessors for the
Gprdance with the facts developed in the
PREPARATION and trial of the tax cases in
ne courts.
tandard and rate of individual taxation
as moved 81 per cent in the decade
he standard Of railroad Valuation has
ct advanced but one-half as fast as
Increase in mileage of track and
invested. while the rate per 500
dropped mills. and the rate on
peoples q ss,o property per sloo has adj
the Supreme Court was right In
why should not the increase Of
Rax tax cen',, as nranoaas an ene misximum IN the
granted2 II wil not not bring biig;
M tax on plane with the
ured by the standard Of 1885, and will
leave a wide margin to reach the
lard OF the local valuation and tax
gross earnings arm s as reported BY the