The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-07-13
THE TAXATION OF RAILROADS. SENATOR
FORD'S ARTICLE.

The Corporation Commission will hold
a session today to give hearing to the
railroads which except to the tax assess
ment imposed on the first OF July.
This hearing makes very timely the
most interesting article on the subject
Of the taxation Of railroads by Senator
Ford, of New York, in the North AM
erican Review for June, from which
we shall give some extracts below. IL
was Senator Ford who recently intro
d,lccd the bill to compel the railroads of
New York to pay farer share of taxa
:ion. a measure which the public opinion
of that State forced through the lesis
lature in spite of the combined influence
of all the great railroads of that State.
aided by the other great moncyed com
binations.
Senator Ford writes:
I'm the case of franchises of all kinds,
there is Il simple and unerrlihg metno0
of valuation. sanctioned Ny long usage
in many States, and approved by the
Supreme court of the United States. III
is to take the market or actual value OF
all the stock of every kind issued. and the
total will be the value of all the assets OF
the corporation. Deduct the actual or
market value of all the tangible proper
ty in its possession, and there remains
the value of the intangible property,
or the franchise.
The law of North Carolina QS93,
D. so expressly requires the
Railroad Commission to take into con-
sideration the value of the franchise in
assessing the property for taxation
Senator Ford further says that when
this method of assessing at the valua.
ton of the franchise was first tried III
Illinois lit was carried to the Supreme
court of the United States-Taylor VS..
Secor 92 L. S. SO and Justice Miller
who wrote the opinion in the case said:
"It is. therefore, obvious that when
Won have ascertained the current cash
value of the whole funded debt. and the
current cash value of the entire number
of shares. you have, by the action OF
those who above all others can best es-
innate it. ascertained the true value OF
the road, all its property, ats capital
stock. and its franchises: for these are
all represented by the value of its bond
ed debt and of the shares of its capital
stock
After citing this clear enunciation OF
a financial as well as legal truth by the
highest court in the land, Senator Ford
continues:
No method fixed for the valuation OF
any species of real estate either by the
courts or by the assessors. i'll the State
of New York, is SO simple, certain and
easy of application as this. The great
bulk of the properties reached by the act
are .nnblicly bought and sold daily. in
the form of securities representing them.
The stock market supplies, continually
an index of the value of all the principal
franchises. while sales of other kinds or
real estate are rare in comparison: and
actual sales are the very best guides to
actual values. There will be no trouble
about eq,,itably assessing franchises, eX-
cept in the directors rooms of the COR
porations and in the offices of their emf
nent COUNSEL
In the light OF the aDoNe clIeu uecisloH
of the United States Supreme court.
there should be no difficulty i'll assessing
railroads for taxation. Our statute re-
u,ircs the franchise as well as the tang-
bue property to be assessed. 1t also re-.
CURES the actual cash value and there
is no better guide than actual cash sales.
Take the cash market value OF the stocks
and bonds and that is the leash value
of the property and franchises, and upon
that the statute requires the assess
ment 1t becomes therefore immaterial