The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-09-24
RAILROADS MUST PAY.
Mayor Hoos Writes to Mr..
Blair About Corporation
Tax Arrearages.
MILLION AND A HALF In COURT
City Has Issued Bonds Against II
and Is Paying Interest
Year After Year.

Mayor Hoos is after deliouent taxpayers
and deliquent corporations with sharp
stick. This morning he sent this letter
10 Corporation Counsel Blair
Sept. "a, 1897.
Hon. John A. Blair, Corporation Coun-
sell
Dear Sir-I am informed that a number
OF railroad corporations are indebted to
this city for taxes. l earnestly desire
that you inform me at your earliest pos
sfble. convenience of the condition IN
in order that the city may take immed-
late and definite steps TO acquire what
she is justly entitled TO.
Yours respectfully,
EDWARD HOOS,
Mayor.
The Pennsylvania Railroad and the
Lehigh Valley Railroad are not in the
list of delinquents. Both of those cor
porations pay up promptly as rule and
rarely do any fault-finding. The principal
delinquent is the Central Railroad of
New Jersey. On it's shore front prop
erty and other holdings its arrearages
as adjusted aggregate sS5S, ,1S4.72. The
New York. Lake Erie and Western, now
the Erie Railroad, owes S434, ,90S.19, and
the Delaware, Lackawanna and West
ern Railroad winds up the hist, with $780,
600 owed to the city. All told, these
three corporations are indebted to the
city to the extent of 81, ,693, 1921. All
three companies appealed to the. courts
when the assessments were originally
made. The city has issued bonds in an
ticipation of the collection of the back
taxes of the railroads and Mayor Hoos
says he is opposed TO continue paying
interest on those bonds, when the law
department, by pushing the cases a lit
tie bit might be able to recover perhaps
81, 100000.
las soon as Mr.. Blair advises me how
this matter stands will urge him to
proceed" said the Mayor. 1T seems a
great pity that SO much money should be
owed the city by three corporations and
that We should have to pay interest on
bonds while they are holding that money.
We could make good use of that money
now. By its collection We would be able
to retire bonds that would ease our inter-
est burden to no mean extent. Corpora
tions should not be dealt with with any
more leniency than individuals. The COM
panies that owe US SO much enjoy great
privileges here and they should be among
Railroad is prompt and l see no reason
why the others are not.
Il want to see all delinquents compelled
to pay up. That will enable US to ac-.
complish something. The collection of
taxes in our city has been shamefully
trifed with and I want to bring about
reform in that direction as soon as pos
sible. l would like to see our taxes col
lected promptly so that we would be able
TO stop this system of raising bonds in
anticipation of their collection. Our in
terest burden is too heavy and am
anxious to reduce it.
Mayor Hoos' letter to Mr. Blair had not
reached the Corporation Counsel yet this
afternoon. Mr.. Blair is, however familiar
with the circumst tances of the railroad tax
cases.
After the Commissioners of Adjustment
passed upon the assessments against the
property of the several delinquent rail-
roads the companies appealed. The Ad-
justment Commissioners at once retained
William D. Edwards as special counsel to
look after the city's interests. After con-
siderable delay the taking of testimony
was begun, and was only recently fin
ished It was expected by the counsel
of all the parties interested that the sew
eral cases would be argued before Justice
I.ippincott at this term of court So far
as Corporation Counsel Blair knows, that
programme may yet be carried out
It is expected that if decision is given
against the railroads they will appeal.