The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-11-03

to be $1,553,0T2 313. The total cost of
equipments owned by the railroads was
$3.50, ,404,266. Stocks and bonds owned
by railroads, $3.50, ,655,S15 cash and cur
rent assets, $50, 302 ,269; other assets,
5000, 50S,217, making total of S2,3l59i2,-
$50 Taking this to represent the cash
value of the capital stock of these
roads. and multiplying this sum by
four mills, the rate the law requires,
you have what the great railroad cor
porations alone should pay into the
state, amounting to $9,263,761. Yet the
taxes paid by corporations Of all kinds
big and little-together with the tax
on gross receipts of corporations, and
the tax on bank stocks amount to only
! &C. 044, 131 81 showing a discrepancy upon
this too liberal basis of $3,119,6S1. 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 $3,COO.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
S2,315, ,9i1 $50, the value of railroad stock
and investment-in the hands of the
farmer is taxed five times as much
| or SAG, ,3lS,S S55.
The railroads in this official valua-
tion pay only s54iS.t2 .t2O.47, making a
| balance against you under this system
that Mr.. Stone calls equitable of $40,-
! B70 7S5.
But experts say that the value of
railroad property in Pennsylvania is
double its assessed valuation, or nearly
$4,000 000 COO. If this be true, then the
railroads are paying about one mill
, on their dollar, while you farmers are
paying 90 mills on yours.
In TioEa county last spring 7 was IN
formed that $i3,00O.0O0 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, discrimination against the
farmer of $31S,COO.
CORPORATION TANES.
Scores of like cases can be shown
! throughout the state. but time will for
! bid more detail on this particular point.
| | want to give you few examples OF
! how great corporations are protected.
/ The Philadelphia and Erie railroad.
which cost upward of $40 600, 600, through
the Kindness of machine legislation, Is
/ not obliged to pay one dollar of tax to
! the state on Ca.ital stock until the
road shall earn = p"r cent dividend.
| OF course, that time has not and will
! never come. as its stock can he water
ed, salaries increased ana expenditures
| kept high enough to prevent any such
| contingency.
| Will Candidate stone show where the
machine made tax system of Pennsyl-
vania, which he declares faVors the
| farmer, has ever exempted $iOOOO,OO0 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
$3.50. 566S2. paid into the state treasury
| only $35.22 in 1896.
The KinZua Valley railroad costing
| S1134 paid $2S.12: the Allentown
railroad. costing $1,0S5, 7i7.9i, paid S15.O2;
the Baltimore and Harrisburg railroad,
costing $3.50 COO paid S43.73; the Balti-
more and Philadelphia, costing $9,S4O,-
OOO paid $675.41; the Bustleton railroad,
costing 100000. paid SO; the Clarion
railroad. costing $4,000, paid $1.Go. and
the Pickering Valley railroad costing
s4S1 ,399OS, paid the sum of 81 cents.
TAXES ON RAILROADS.
In other words. $12, ~ 164.05, of rail-
road property paid total tax of SStO.o3
in 1896. At the same time $l2,III16i.Oo
of your property at 90 mills (the aver
age) paid $3.50, ,5i3.2S. Stated in sim
pier way: $12,7IT, ,16405 of property be-
longing to corporations and n like
amount of property belonging to the
farmers, together amounting to S25,-
554, ,32S. 10, paid taxes in 1896 amounting
TO S256 41331, and of this sum the far
mers paid s255, ,5i3.2S and the corpora
( tions $4,000: or, to still further show
the inequality, every time the farmer
maid S294 of taxes the corporations, un-
der the tax system that Candidate
Stone says is fair to the farmer paid
but one penny.
I could prolong the list showing the
Inequalities of taxation almost indef-
initely, hut time will not permit to-
night. After all, it seems much like
! 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
my voice It is the remedy. 1t is far
easier to Justly criticise the defcien-
cies of economic policies than to rec
ommend intelligent and adequate meth
ods 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