The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1899-01-14

where there Is doubt exemption from
| taxation Is denied because II you exc
empt one person from taxation others
must pay his taxes for him, and IL Is
abhorrent TO natural right to make
one person pay another's taxes and
especially whenever that other Is
much ADLER to pay taxes. This rule
Of doubt is applied 10 the widow who
supports her orphan children with
The labor Of her hands, and why
should it not be applied to the J. o.
X, r. Cor
Take this lawyerly written edi-
| toH0l Of paper, outside Of the
state, that is enlisted for the railroad
against the collection Of its taxesi
| aud the fact that the railroad direc-
tors rejected q settlement advised by
| It's ablest general counsel, and the
fact that II is fighting with the BIT
terness never before known In this
state, the Governor who dared TO re-
commend 10 the legislature the re-
peal Of statutes that were and are be-
Ing prostituted to the delay Of just
equitable and lawful taxes and the
fact that their attorney, Mr.. Smith,
selected TO open the campaign, de-
| rided the recommendation Of the
! Governor to repeal these perverted
statutes, when he said. in speaking
Of this recommendation, that the
legislature "paid no attention what
ever to this recommendation and
many other palpable circumstances
and you can see that while they are
attempting to decoy public atten-
ton away, the real issue is to avoid
/ the payment of their taxes.
They say they are not fighting me,
| that the men who are fighting me are
/ their attorneys, and that they have
| nothing tO do with it. Yes, when one
| of Caesars followers said 10 him that
| he could have POmpay's head cut of
| while at dinner, if Caesar desired it
| done, Caesar replied, you ought to
have done that and not have let me
/ known it.
Let us examine Mr.. Smiths state
| ment that no attention was paid to
/ the recommendation for the repeal OF
! the statutes. Mark you, a jury had
| found on the unquestiuned evidence
! that the Railroad company had earned 9
per cent in one year on actual cost OF
construction,
A bill was introduced iu the senate
/ to repeal the statutes and referred to
CORPORATIONS committee. See Senate
journal, 1898, p 100. 1t was reported
! without recommendation p. p 2ll-2l2.
| 1t was made special order for Mon
| day, p. 2j4. 1t was recUmmltted to
the same committee p. 259. 1t was re-
| ported again by the committee, with
/ Recommendations that it do pass p. p.
3OI-5. 1t was again made a special
order, p. 81. 1t was passed by vote
of % to 8, p. 333 1t reConsidered
and Indefinitely postponed by a ~oto Of
10 TO Is, p. 3il When Mr.. Smith
will make such q statement in the face
Of a record what eredence can be given
his statements made on rumors and
conjeutures where there is no recordf
Let rs examine the claim Of the !. Il
NJ. V. r. r, Co.,, to exemption from
taxation.
Mr.. Smith is shocked, because, as
be claims, | wanted the legislature to
take the case cut Of the bands of the
courts by repeating the statutes The
case is decided by the supreme court
against the claim of exemption, and
now the Mmphis Appeal, representing
the Railroad company in the laWy err
like article mentioned, wants to take
the case out of the courts, and as there
is no federal question in it there Is no
place for it TO 90 except to the domain
Of politics, aud accordingly an attor-
ney Of the Railroad conf any was Sc
lected-not by the signer Of the lnvi-
tation hereto pen the campaign with
"some figures furnished by care
full, painstaking and capable gentle
| man, - So more than Nh smith took
part in the preparation Of his speech
Listen here to the Memphis Appeal;
"While it is usually safe for laymen
/ to assume that the courts arrive at
correct conclusions Of the law and fact
| this case possesses so many peculiar.
! ties. " etc, There is nothing peculiar
/ if the rule which solves doubts against
exemption from taxation is applied to
laborer, mechanic, lawyer doctor,
! tradesman or merchant; but if it is
| applied to the y & NJ. V. r. K. COM
pany it is peculiar. 1t is not peculiar
| if a farmer is required by the courts,
| tut if the Y. & M. " h, r. company
is asked to submit to the constitution
it is peculiar Away with such pecu-
! liarities
RAILROAD HISTORY.
The Y. d NJ. Y. r X. company as
now organized and existent, came into
! being in 1892, under the reign Of our
| present constitution 10y section ISL Of
| which it cannot have exemption from
/ taxation. The constitution is plain;
| the law of creation Of corporations is
plain; and there would be nothing
/ peculiar about t if it was the case of
| a common merchant, or farmer, or law
| yer, or mechanic,
But there was in 1870, in the act to
! incorporate the Mobile and North west
ern Il. L. company = section, q, to
exempt that company from taxes until
! its earnings enabled it to pay 5 per
cent dividend on the cost of cOustruc-
ton and 1t is declared that this sec
tion was carried through successive
charters and railroad companies until
it reached tho l.. n. O. & Il. Il. K.
company Grant this, for the sake Of
the argument. Then two propositions
are true
I. The exemption is declared by sec
tlon q to be in consideration Of the
/ building of the railroad.
> Good faith on the part of the rail
road company required the building of
the road to be as economical rs pos
sihle consistent with efficiency and a
fair voluntary exhibit of its cost and
earnings without the necessity Of re-
sort to the courts by the state
But the read was built before the /.
n. O. 4 T. company was created and
therefore it could not have given the
consideration required, that is, the
building Of the road, for the exenR-
tion. More, the road was built blythe