The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-08-04

1SDJ-- =OS,tOV, To- Pr NI'' ~
Total. ..'... '.'.' 'Pl-o'- 600
The Balm case has no application
here because:
/. 1t has been oycrruIed by the Su-
preme court of the United States.
,. The S. & Il. is a domestic corpora
ton for the purposes of this assessment,
being incorporated in North Carolina, as
well as in Virginia
vi. THE MERCANTILE TRUST
AND DEPOSIT COMPANY, TEUS-
TEE. OR THE SEABOARD AND
ROANOKE, RALEIGH AND GAS
TON. AND RALEIGH AND AU-
GUSTA. TRUSTORS. ARE LIABLE
FOR TAXES ON THE ROLLING
STOCK INCLUDED IN THE CAR
TRUSTS. WHICH THESE RAIL-
ROADS HAVE FROM TIME TO
TIME EXECUTED TO THE TRUST
COMPANY. FOR THE YEARS 1891,
1895. 1896 AND 1897.
1t seems to be immaterial whether the
trustors or the trustee return this prop
erty for taxation, as the railroad COM
panies. trustors. pay the taxes.
These railroad companies are the
owners of certain rolling stock purchased
from the Seaboard Air Line Car Trust
Association in the years 1890, 1871,
1898 1895 and 1896 and 1897, at the
aggregate price of S1,410,O00. payable
for the one lot in twenty, and Tor the
others in ten annual instruments, with
interest at ) per cent, payable seml-al-
nually. TO secure the purchase money,
they executed bonds, and deeds of trust
upon the said rolling stock to the Mer-
camille Trust and Deposit Company as
trustees. The deeds of trust would De
inoperative unless the rallroaa
companies had the title TO
convey. They are therefore now
the equitable owners thereof. Il1ey nave
always feld and used the rolling stock
as their property, in the same manitcr as
similar property owned by them, upon
which they respectively pay taxes IN TINS
State. All the locomotives OF the Hal
eigh and Gaston and Raleigh and Au-
guSta are used exclusively III North Gar
olina and, adj of the Seaboard and Roa-
noke locomotives are used exclusively III
North Carolina and Virginia. The cars
are sometimes absent from the State ON
other Zines, as is the case with tine cars
of every North Carolina railroad conn
pany which does a through business but
which is nevertheless taxable in North
Carolina upon all of it's cars.
These locomotives and cars We're never
listed until 1898 when the Mercantile
Trust and Deposit Company and the
railroad companies were, upon my mo-
ton, called upon by the Railroad Com
mission to return them fer taxation
They have never been listed TO return
them for taxation. They have never
been listed for taxation i'm Maryland
otherwise the Trust Company would
ihave made it known, and would have
reptpeited against double taXation ON
them. The Trust Company was not in
law liable to pay taxes in Maryland on
property which has its situs i'm North
Carolina simply because the TRUST Com
parry hG.d deed of TRUST upon it 10
secure the purchase money. Besides,
the Trust Company would not yolunta-
rhy have listed ami paid taxes there,
when presumably the taxing officers
knew nothing of the existence of this
property which was located in North
Carolina and never saw Maryland ex-
Cert ON It's outward trip from the manu-
facturers.
They We're not listed in North Caro-
lima because there is no prctence that
the Trust Company listed it for taxa
ton before it was compelled to do SO in
1898, or that the railroad combanips
ever did $40 at all. III they had. tbe
Trust Company would have set t'iris mn
as a valid reason why it should not liSt .
the same property in 1898. Further
more, the records of the Corporation
Commissioners office show that this
rolling stock Was never listed or ASSESS
ed for taxation before 1898.
when property which cost 81 100000 as
shown by the Railroad Commissioners
REPORTS on file, $4,000, of which was
purchased in 1890, 1901 and 1893 and
S66O,0OO III 1895, 1896 and 1897, WAS
listed and assessed at the ridicuIousIv
low value of 1881 ,S54.22, NOT one-fourth
of actual cost!
VII. THE ROLLING STOCK IN
ALI FAIRNESS SHOULD PAY 4
Tan FOR THE YEARS WHICH
III HAS ESCAPED TAXAllON
The fact that the Seaboard and Roa-
noke, and Raleigh and Augusta. and
the Raleigh and CASTOR, wnich for 1898
pad the taxes on this rolling stock. and
VINO WlEl of course pay the back taxes
ana the future taxes on the same nj
Though the Mercantile Trust and DEMOS
Il Company has elected to list il instead
OF the companies, have paid in the ag-
Sfegate more than $TS5, S6G OF the pur-
chase money fo this rolling stock, and
sun owe S624,134 thereon, does not af-
Iect the question: Under the circum-
stances it Is immaterial whether tine
property shall be assessed against tha
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