The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-08-18


| as the powers given under the health
| laws of our State to local boards are
sweeping and would answer l3s re every ls pur, +,
| this direction, and you are still taxed
to maintain them l cannot cover every
detail, time will not permit, but | must
direct your attention to the extravagant
1 and unwarranted appropriation for nsn
and game wardens. ! can understaaa
sage fhst s such may oeers be NECESSARY 6ut whe4
costs in this State is s26,5Oo, you will be
astounded. 1t costs more money in dol
lars. in some counties than there are fish
| in the streams This appropriation could
| have been reduced one-half at least, but
| office holders was greater than duty, and
| you must suffer that additional burden.
| My Republican friends tell you they
4 saved one hundred thousand dollars or
| more by the abolition of the system here
tcfore In existence of giving the prinTllng ,rlI.
ct the laws Laws to the newspapers, rs +I,lts rnas
IS. this saving has been swallowed up N
the general extravaganza. They tell you
ehancery ''slai and Supreme esS Court clerK's
| office and placed them on salary Yes
they did, and they ought to have accom-
rlished a saving of $25. 900 that might be.
placed to the credit of the State. But
| that saving is only in your mind. 1t too
has gone 70 the credit of extravaganza.
and is swallowed up in the excesses of
| the Republican rule in New Jersey.
| Why, we even had a museum created,
and the sum of $1,000 Is annually appro-s
/, object to this item If they would only
| place therein the busts of such reformers
as ctriggss, SewelI, Hobart, Lentzs and
| scription, when they lived they lived in
1 clover, but when they die they die all
over" as horrible example 10 the rising
an overdose of reform.
| i cannot longer discuss the financial
condition, but before l conclude / must ar
! nV ffsaxr a ro MT
| other acts of omission and commission. /
| charge them with attempting to abolish
| the Macarthur. extension bill. / wonder
! If Governor Griggs knows of any good.
reasons why he signed the Delaware
dam bill, which gives to corporations
privileges which they have no right to
| enjoy without compensating the State
| for them. We were promised judicial re-
| form by constitutional amendment, but
When they attempted to pass a scheme
| directed to that end they permitted the
| railroad lobby to sacrifice it. They have
| disregarded the demands of the people
for constitutional amendment SO that
| proper representation in the lower House
might be attained. have spoken before
| OF the unwise policy of the recent Repub-
lcan Legislatures in allowing enormous
Increase of municipal Indebtedness. Such
a policy if unchecked will mean bank
ruptcy.
! The Republican party proved that it
was utterly incompetent to deal with the
/ subject of taxation They gave their
pledge to equalize the burdens so that the
railroad corporations should bear their
just share but their efforts to carry out
/ that pledge was practically futile. The
/ State gains no benefit from the appro-
| pr1ation of 100000 from the treasury to
recompense one municipality. And what
| comparative benefit is it to Jersey City;
its entire water front given away to cor
porations for nothing and made the basis
for capitalization of millions, and yet they
must accept this gratuity of 100000 or
! take nothing. That was not the equal
taaxation taxa ion demanded by the people nor
the legislative session of 1896 the Cover
1 nor was empowered by a concurrent
| resolution to appoint a commission ito
investigate the whole subject of assess
| ment and taxation of property in this
state and report to the next session of
cation with recommendation of such leeis-S
latieH as -s1Ch commission shall deem
| proper AT the last session of the Legis-
lature the report of that commission lay
/ before each Senator and Assemblyrnan.
| While they spent month or more in adj
lo9rning from week to week. The many
defects in the present system of taxation
| We're clearly pointed out. with the COM
ment that it was made for conditions as
| they existed a half century or more ago.
But nothing was done; no attempt was
made to equalize the burdens of assess
ment and taxation. SO that properly,
! both real and personal, should pay its
Just share When you consider that of
| the taxable property in this State, so per
cent. is assessed as real and 20 per cent
as personal, you at once see that you.
| whose property consists mainly in real
| estate and tangible personal properly that
IS easily assessable. are compelled to carry
| the heaviest burden. We are confronted
| with the fact that real estate, particu-
larly farming property, has decreased in,
| property owned by citizens of this State
has steadily increased. And yet the per-
sonal property assessed is but one-quarter
of the real property assessed. In Hudson
county alone personal property is as
/ sessed at $ll ,000, 600, and I venture to say
| that ! could name eleven men in that
a6 fO hp ,vf5
| than million, largely in personality and
who pay practically nothing for personal
| taxes. Despite the fact that investments
in personally is now deemed more pro-
htable form of investment than formerly.
4 Tne M personal property valuation in Jersey
City has increased only 100000 in the
last twenty years Can you tel me any
reason why the man with 100000 of real
estate t SHOULD @ be compelled to pay his tax
| in personal property is exempt? They
pot o1sn a. oaght f, .,, to pay their proportionate
tion of the State-personal to a greater
extent that real property.
You who own little property are the
ton. And say that the Republican;
| party, promising to give you relief won
your votes, and then treated the subject
remedy. the condition of affairs. and YOU
are still compelled to pay the same unjust
boas e tabe b, While the man who
goes free This question was an issue
| upon which the Republican party Went
| before the people and asked their sup-
| port and that party pledged themselves
! to reform the laws so that personal prom
/ erty should be properly taxed. And r
charge them with practising deception
| upon the people; that they did not Intend
/ nor do they now intend to amend the
| taxation laws, for they are too stiscep-
/ tible to corporate influence to enact any
| measures of relief for the people at the
/ expense of the corporations. They made
1 this an issue to win the suffrages of the
i people, and now the remedy is as far
| away as ever. 1t is true that they have
/ investigated by commission but that
commission disclosed nothing that was
1 not already known. The people are not
/ as blind to their own interests as some
OF these Republican economists suppose
i They continue to squander the money of
| the Treasury away while the evasion of
personal tax goes on and the value of
rates that necessarily result.
4 The Republican party must answer to.
/ you for the deception they practised upon.
1 you and for their failure to carry out
i their pledges. The necessity for string
| ent laws upon this subject was so ap-.
/ parent that it was urged upon them
time and again, so that they can offer
no excuse for their neglect. Is it any
wonder that the people are dissatisfied
4 with these reformers and with their So
| luton OF equal taxation?
/ During this reign Of extravaganza and
| partisanship John Griggs has been Gov
| pect much, for with well rounded SEN
tences, high sounding plattitudes and in
vocations of the subliEhest order he
/ promised anything and everything We