The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-11-05
sIMoNToN's OPINION

|
roads if any means of doing so could
he found without raping the law and the
| authorities, was a foregone conclusloll--
a conclusion warranted by a uniform and
unvarying course OF judicial conduct on
the part of Judge Simonton. The only
occasion uf surprise in the opinion today
nrinted will therefore be nm the grounds
anon which it is based, and that they
ar, surprising even to the benehclarles
of the opinion we have good reasons TO
believe. 1t would seem from calm
consideration of them that this incum-
bent of the bench has through-~long
wont became too callous or Through IN
creasing age too impotent to invent Il
colorado pretext for thwarting the WIFI
of the people and doing the bidding OF
those who would escape their just slra 'e
of the peoples burdens.
Let us see how this matter stands.
When the Corporation Commission an-
nounced the assessment of the rallroad
property last june, a hearing was given
to the railroads interested to show
wherein the assessment was too high or
TOO low. as the case might be. The ablest
and most eloquent officials and attorneys
came to Raleigh and made their pest
speeches urging Il reduction of the assess
ment. Not one of them denied the pow
or of the Commission to make the as
sessments, and not ONE undertook to
show that the assessment was too nlgh.
THE whole burden of their song was:
..WII,ile olIu. property is worth the sum
at which it is assessed, we have been
Disseminated against because other prop
ertv is not assessed at its actual value
IN money!" They made no other plea
than that and knew it was the only hope
they had in law or in equity of resist
ing the increased assessment. Wnen the
Commission declined to reduce the as
sessment. (the railroad property would
bring S100,000,000 cash at forced saie
and was assessed at only S42,O00,0Up
fine railroad attorneys rushed of 70
Jpdre Silnonton and that judge. of
dorrse. granted them am injunction.
Wherever railroad, particularly the
Southern. is concerned, Simonton keeps
;nirnctions ON tap and serves them out
while you wait
When the time came to hear the IN
junction Capt Chas. Price, one OF hhe
ahlest IF the counsel for the Southern
Railway, made his whole argument to
| show that the railroads were discrlmln-
ated against I'M that other property IS as
| sessed at less than its true value. Inat
| was the hope of the railroads until the
overwhelming evidence presented 10y the
| Commission and it's able attorneys show
Oh them that not even Simonton coulI
| hold with them agaiilst the thousands
of affidavits presented. The railroads
saw that they had mo hope, not even be-
1 fore their Judge, unless they could aDan-
/ dom fine discrimination line and rest their
case upon IA technical point. The next
| day. in their arguments, the rallfaoi
! LAWYERS abandoned their original con-
/ tention. and invented am argument, purely
! 4achnical and untenable that the CoTpor-
alton Commission had not, for one rea-
SON or another, been given
the a4ower to revise the assess
ment of railroad property. But
even the railroad attorneys did not en-
phasize the point raised in Judge SimoA-
tons opinion, putting them claiuns that
4he commission could not assess rather
,lpon other grounds. Possibly IT was
only necessary to indicate that there was
am .'open door, and TRUST to Judge
1 ,Scmonton to find the way out. lie found
it,
And what is the point OF Simonton
opinion? That the Machinery Act winch
has conferred the taxing power ON the
I commission ever since it's establishment
was not an amendment of it but new
act. though it has been the uniform con-
straIcttion of the States highest court
that in all such cases the act is an amend
ment: that the machinery act conferred
the taxing power ON the Railroad Conn
mission" and that though the same body
which passed the Machinery Act trans
ferred all the powers of the Railroad
Commission" to the Corporation Com
nissioaE' it did not transfer the power to
assess taxes because it did not single
that out from the other powers and
state DIT explicitly. In support of this
position Judge Simontom cites long list
Of authorities to the effect that the IN
tention to tax must be clear, though he
admits the intention to tax was clear
and that the only question was as to
what body was to do the assessing.
From this barren decision an appeal
TO the higher courts will, of course, be
taken. But we do not believe that The
people of this State will wait to corn9e
the railroads to pay their just share OF
taxes until Simonton us over-rlileG and
: | a, ~ 5,s., ,.an has heard before nam ca lts