The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1897-05-14
LAST Week AT LANSING
II was the Most important of the
Legislative Session.
PINGREE'S MESSAGE on TAXATION.

Culied from the Reports of This and
Other States-MeInoriai from the Cam
paign Committee of the Silver Demo-
cratic Party-Another Setback for Cor
porations.
Lansing, Mich, May 11.-Last week
was in many respects the most impor-
tant of the legislative session. In the
house the greater part of the week was
devoted to considering important bills
which came up on special order. Some
Of these measures were disposed of so far
as the house is concerned, but have yet to
be considered in the senate and may bear
an altogether different appearance
when the upper house has finished with
them than they do at present.
Two unusual documents which were
sent to the legislature helped make the
week a notable one. The most impor-
tant of these, of course, was Governor
Pingree's special message on the subject
OF taxation, a very carefully prepared
and exhaustive document. 1t was re-
plete with facts and statistics, culled
from the reports of this and other states,
in favor of his proposition that the roads
should be taxed on their capitalized
value rather than on their earnings, as
at present. Comparisons were made with
the methods of dealing with railroads in
the matter of taxation in Ohio. Indiana
and Michigan, to the great disparage-
ment of this state, so far as the revenue
derived from this source is concerned.
The governor showed that while Michi-
RAn receives hnt an aUprn ua of
$750,OOO annually from railroad taxation,
Indiana, with over 100 less miles Of
road, receives 81, 225, 900.
The Governors Contention.
He commended that the roads were not
bearing within GO per cent. of their just
share of taxation in this state as COM
pared with the rate paid by the individual
property owners, and insisted that the
fact that the roads were earning little
or nothing just at present was no argu-
ment in favor of reducing or not in
creasing their tax rate. In support of
this contention he cited the potent fact
that there was no reduction in the tax
assessed against store buildings or
dwelling houses because they are with
out tenants. 1t was notice. BILE that the
governor said little about his heretofore
pettheory of the local taxation Of ailroads,
but rather insisted that the lions share
of the taxes derived from this source
should go to the support Of the primary
schools. Telephone, telegraph and other
quasi-public corporations were included
In the list Of those whose taxes should
be materially increased in justice to the
balance of the taxpayers of the state.
The other document to which reference
was made was in the form of amemorial
-. ~ g.
L.. Dodge, respectively chairman Of the
state central committee and chairman
of the campaign committee Of the silver
Democratic party. They denounced the
existing election law as an act ''to en-
courage fraud and deception at the
polls" and were especially bitter in their
criticism Of the so-called anti-fusion
law. The claim was made that under |
the provision of the law relative to
vignettes over the party tickets thou
sands of silver men were this spring an
Willingly led to vote the gold Democrat |
ic ticket.
Demanded Radical Changes.
The gentlemen mentioned demanded
that radical changes be made in this
law, threatening, if this were not done,
to contest the election Of every Repub-
lioan returned 20 congress from this
state at the next general election on the
ground that the law is a "contrivance
to defeat the free expression of the pop
ular WILL" The memorial attracted at
tention because of it's unusual nature,
but it vas referred to a committee and
will probably never be heard Of again.
Last week was not a good one for the
corporations, although subsequent de-
velopments nay prove that they were
not so hard hit as present Indications
would warrant one In believing they
were. The most staggering blow they
received was the action of the senate in
passing the Merriam bill increasing the
rate of specific tax paid by railroad
companies by an average of nearly l per
cent. The companies pay taxes on their
gross earning, and on the basis of the
earning of last year the increase pro-
vided by this bill will increase the reve- |
nue. of the state from railroads by near
ly 5000 900 annually. There is no doubt
whatever that the bill will pass the
house, If indeed that body does not take
a notion to make the increase greater
than that fixed by the senate. The fact
that all the railroad syn pathiZers in the
senate voted for the Merriam bill, not
a vote being recorded against 1t in the
upper house is regarded by some of the
opposition with suspicion. They pro-
fess to believe that II was given a unani-
nous vote in the hope that its passage
would serve to kill off all the other So
called anti-railroad bills, the final consid-
Grafton Of which in the house is the spe-
cial order for tomorrow. Time alone will
tell IL this suspicion is well-founded.
Setback for Corporations.
The corporations received another set
back last Friday when the house took
from the committee on private corpora
tions the bill fixing a maximum rate for
telephone service. This was a struggle /
between the independent and Bell tele-
phone companies and, so far as this
round counts, the former won, the COM
mittee having, by a majority vote, de-
cided to ~pigeon-hole the bill. 1t may
prove a barren victory, however, for
there is grave doubt of the measure
passing the house. 1t fixes a maximum
rate graded on the population of the
city, the rate in each case being nearly
so per cent. below what the Bell COM
nanX haC haan In Tho hn hit Of III, poir~ |