The Weekly orb., 1898-12-25
MORE TAX EXEMPTION.


 The Phoenix Republican of recent date has characteristic reply to The Suns article ot two weeks ago anent the exemption law which makes it possible for the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix railroad, confessed ly one of the most profitable local lines in the country, to do business without paying any taxe to the support of the government.
 The Republicans reply is character. istic because, as usual, it takes the side of the men with capital as against the people who pay the freight, and to every assertion or suggestion that the spirit of fair play, which is supposed to per- meate our American form of govern ment, should apply to the low as we'll as the high, it cries: "Repudiation! Dem- agogy!'
 The methods which are pursued by powerful railroads, and other corpora tions, to secure legislation beneficial to their interests, despite what the masses of the people may want, are as repre- hensible as need be to accomplish the object aimed at, and the taX-exemption act which now curses Arizona's statute books was not passed, if the truth could be known, without the exercise of foul mea~ s, but the Republican is terribly afraid that the "demagogues" who oppose ouch methods will commit or occasion some act of "repudiation" which will place Capitalists on plane of equality with poor people.
 We repeat, in spite of the Republi- cans claim that we are absolutely wrong In the premises, that the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix road would have been built just the same without the tax-exemption Jaw as it was with it. As we said before, had the promoters not seen certainty of ample returns the road would never have been built. Good financiers, though they were, they could not figure the roads prospective income so fine as to determine that the pay ment of reasonable tax would leave a balance against them at the end of the season, and had they fonnd it necessary have been built.
 The Republican lays great stress on the two hundred miles of practically unpopulated territory" the road trav- erses and the five millions spent in its building, but the argument is worth. less. The promoters ot the road saw great field for big enterprise: gold en opportunity they could not afford to lose; a chance for investment with rich returns assured. They grasped it, anA like most men who possess their mil lions, they wanted all the favors the people would bestow, willingly or under pressure of such methods as big corpo- rations know we'll how to utilize. So they lodged the payment of taxes, and now the Republican, Arizona's cham pion of capital and corruption, has the efrontery to make the statement that 'but for the tax-exemptlon measure | capital could not have been induced to | take hold of that great enter prise."
 Bah! And yet the Republican man lntimates that brains are factor Ill the 1 making of that papers, editorials. by saying that ''it is gratifying to know that, outside of few unprogressive newspaper offices where demagogY rather than brain rules, such senti mants as these expressed by the Yuma sun, have small lodgment.
 The Republicans mission on earth is disclosed by almost the closing thought n the editorial in question, to-wit: Every possible safeguard should be thrown around capital to the end that nore may come." The Republicans ole efforts, under the present admins. ration, has been to throw safeguards bout capital, to the end that capital night secure lead-p pipe cinch on Ari- ona. We'll may it throw it's hands up n holy horror, and cry "demagogy" nd "repudiation" when the people vant chance.--Yuma Sun.