Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-10-27

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rent assets, $9o,3O2, ,269; other assets,
| $500 O5OS,217 making a total of $2,315, 942,-
$50. Taking this to represent the cash
value of the capital stock of these
roads, and multiplying this sum by
TOUR mills, the gate the law requires,
you have what the great railroad cor
porations alone should pay into the
state, amounting to $9,263761 Yet the
taxes paid by corporations of all kinds
big and lttle-together with the tax
on gross receipts of corporations, and
the tax on bank stocks amount to only
1904, ,131.67, showing a discrepancy upon
this too liberal basis of 9,119,631, which
In some manner the corporations are
relieved from paying.
Now, farmers, you ought to ask Can
didate Stone, who declares that there
is no discrimination in favor of corpo-
rations, to account for this shortage OF
more than s3,OOO,OOO.
But the loss of that vast sum of
money Is not a commencement of the
injustice heaped upon the farmers by
the present machine made tax system,
| since the same amount of property
| 2,315, ,941 $50. the value of railroad stock
| and inVestment-in the hands or the
farmer is taxed five times as much,
or SAG, ,S55.
The railroads in this official valua-
tion pay only $544S, ,120.47, making
balance against you under this system
that Mr. Stone calls equitable of $40,-
$40, 1876.
But experts say that the value of
| railroad property in Pennsylvania is
double It's assessed valuation, or nearly
$1,000. 900, 900. If this be true, then the
railroads are paying about one mill
on their dollar, while you farmers are
paying 20 mills on yours.
In Tioga county last spring I was in
formed that S13,OOO,O 900 of farming prop
erty in that county pays $325,OoO an
nually. while the same amount of rail-
road and mining properties pay less
than $4,000, as shown by the county
treasurer a discrimination against the
| farmer of $4,000
CORPORATION TAXES.
Scores of like cases can be shown
| throughout the state, but time will for
bid more detail on this particular point.
l want to give you few examples OF
how great corporations are protected.
The Philadelphia and Erie railroad,
which cost upward of $40, 900, 900, through
the kindness of machine legislation, is
not obliged to pay one dollar OF tax TO
the state on capital stock until tne
road shall earn per cent dividend.
OF course, that time has not and Will
never come as its stock can be water
ed, salaries increased and expenditures
kept high enough to prevent any such
contingency
viii Candidate Stone show where the
machine made tax system of Pennsyl-
vania, which he declares favors the
hoc pxpmntpU xiU QUO UUU OF
farm lands until the farmers have
made per cent clear, after enjoying
like privileges with the Philadelphia
and Erie railroad, of voting high sal
aries to their sons and friends and rails
ing the valuation of their farms as
they see fit?
, You farmers who are paying 20 mills
, on every dollar of farm lands you have
should ask Candidate Stone to explain
the following figures taken from the
, auditor generals report of 1896. That
report shows that the Philadelphia and
Delaware Connecting railway, costing
s536, ,566. 80, paid into the state treasury
, only $3522 in 1896.
The Kinzua Valley railroad. costing
s113,45O.21, paid S2S.12; the Allentown
railroad, costing 81 ,0S5, ,747.94, paid $75.O2:
the Baltimore and Harrisburg railroad,
costing s4SOOOO, paid $43.7S the Balti-
more and Philadelphia. costing $780,
900. paid $675.41 the Bustleton railroad,
costing 100000, paid $40; the Clarion
railroad. costing $4,000 paid $780, and
the Pickering Valley railroad, costing
$4S1, 1893. .OS, paid the sum of 92 cents.
TAXES ON RAILROADS.
In other words, s12,777,16i. of rail-
road property paid total tax of $500
in 1896 At the same time Sl2 1640o
Of vour property at 20 mills (the aver
ace, Maid s255 5432S. Stated in a sim
nler wav: s12, III, ,164.05 of property be-
longing to corporations and like
amount of property belonging to the
farmers, together amounting TO szo'-
554 32S. TO- paid taxes in 1896 amounting
to $256 41331, and of this sum the far-
mers paid $255,543,2S and the corpora
tions $S7O.03; or, to still further snow
the inequality, every time the farmer
paid $294 of taxes the corporations, un-
der the tax system that Candidate
stone saws Is fair to the farmer, paid
but one penny.
could prolong the list showing the
ineoualities of taxation almost indef-
initely. but time will not permit to-
nipht After ALL II seems much like
n waste of argument to try and con-
vince the voter of what every intelli-
gent citizen already knows-that there
is no fairness or equality In our ma
, chine made system of taxation.
, But there is another side of this great
question of taxation that must appeal
to every person within the hearing of
, NV voice. 1t is the remedy. 1t Is far
easier to justly criticise the def1cien-
, cies of economic Policies than to rec
ommend intelligent and adequate meth
DDS for their equitable adjustment 1t
is Impossible for me tonight to do more
, than give in general terms the funda-
mental principles upon which. I belive,
, the taxation of our people should be
, founded.
} A REMEDY SUGGESTED.
The dollar of value should be the
basis upon which taxes are levied. The
! man owning $1,000 worth of property
either in railroads, farming lands OF