New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-04-30
FORD MAKES A STATEMENT.
EXPLAINS THE WORKINGS OF HIS FRAN
CHISE TAX BILL.
CRITICISMS UNwARRAxTED. HE SAYS
SCOPE OF THE MEAsURE-How AS
sEssMENTs WILL BE MADE.

Albany April Ex-senator John Ford before
his departure for New-Tork City tonight, gave
out the following statement relative to his
Franchise Tax bill:
Assessors will experience difficulty in ar
irving at taxable valuation of public fran
chses and the bill when it becomes a law will
IN my opinion work without friction or diff
Guilty. Criticisms Of 1T on the ground that it is
crude and incomplete are not warranted. So far
as Il is crude and incomplete such defects are
due not TO the form of the bill but to the imper-
fections Of the general tax system Of the State.
for IT should be remembered that the bill Gre
ates new machinery and does not change the
present Tax law at ALL except by amending the
definition contained in that law as to what shall
be real estate for the purposes of taxation under
IT, AS construed by the courts, the Tax law ex-
empts public franchises Legislators and others
who have discussed the bin have persstenty
confused public franchises with corporate fran
chises. One member objected to the bill because
II exempted steam railroads.&c. does not where
steam railroads possess public franchise. Its
corporate franchise Is exempt just like the cor
porate franchise OF every other corporation, be-
rause the bill Is not intended to reach that kind
" a franchise at ALL
AIMED AT STREET CORPORATIONS.
What It aims at Is the very valuable rights
which transportation corporations possess and
enjoy in the public streets. They are as dis
tinct from the corporate franchise-that is the
right to exist a corporation enjoyed by all
corporations alike-as in the goodwill of a dry
goods firm and Its stock in trade. The transpor-
tation corporation gets corporate franchise
from the State like any other corporation and II
gets In addition. the right from the locality by
consent Of the property owners and Of the local
authorities. a grant Of a most valuable easement
In the public streets, a species of property which
has been defined real estate from the dawn Of
civilization. The Court Of Appeals has declared
that this easement amounts TO an estate in per-
petuty in the street II would have been a sim
pie matter to have prescribed rule to govern
assessors in valung this kind Of property. for it's
value can be arrived at by a very simple method
which has been substantially adopted in taxing
these properties in other States notably Ind
lana. For example. the total assets Of the Met
ropotan Street Railway Company consist Of:
First-In the value of the companys invest
ment in its railways and other appurtenances-in
other words. the cost OF reproducing the entire
plant That is all tangible property and repre-
sents every dollar that the company has put
into the railroad
VALUE OF A COMPANY'S STOCK
Second-There Is the value Of the public fran
chise. Now, the aggregate market value of the
stock of the company. plus the aggregate mar
ket value OF it's Indebtedness, IS equivalent to
the total value OF all the assets tangible and
Intangible the investment of the company and
the public franchise possessed by the company
This is easily demonstrated. The bonds are
cured by mortgage on the assets Of the COM
pany They constitute lien prior to the stock:
the stock. therefore. cannot be worth one single
cent until after the company possesses assets
to secure the debts Of the company and earning
capacity sufficient to pay the interest thereon.
When the stock sells In the open market for any
price it is evident that there assets
and above the Indebtedness equivalent to the
market price of the bonds. The value OF the
debt and the value OF the stock added together,
therefore, represent exactly the total value OF
all the assets possessed by the company
Tvpdar fbal lou, it ia tha d,,tx- of
the assessors to appraise and place a valuation
upon all the tangible assets OF the company
that Is, all the entire investment OF the COM
pany in the railway. The assessors can also
easily find from quotations the Stock Elk
change, daily the price Of the securities OF the
company and, therefore. the total value Of Its
assets. Deducting therefrom the value OF the
tangible property, there remains the value Of
the intangible or public franchise.
VALUATION LEFT TO ASSESSOR.
Now. was averse to prescribing this method
by statute for the valuation of these proper
ties, because 1t would compel the assessor to
assess them at 100 cents on the dollar, where,
know, other kinds of property are
not a matter Of fact, assessed so high. but
average all the way from 80 to 80 per cent in
different parts Of the State. l wanted the bill
TO be as fair to the corporations as to ordinary
assessor to assess them with the same dscre-
ton he exercises In assessing all other kinds of
property
In the law az it stands to-day. before amend
ed by my bill. the assessors obliged to as
sess exactly the same kind Of public franchise
as Is brought in under my amendment. The
definition OF real estate, which l sought to
amend. included "all wharves and piers" mean
Ing the material structure, Of course and add
ing, including the value Of the right to collect
Wharfage, dockage, or cranage thereon" There
certainly can be more difficulty in assessing
a public franchise OF city railroad, for exam
pie than the value Of the right to collect dock
age upon wharf pier. Furthermore under ,
the definition, as 1t stood before amended, the
assessors were obliged to assess "all tree and
underwood growing upon land, and all mines |
minerals and fossils In and under the same"
GREAT AID TO CITY REVENUE
submit that some Of these things are Just as
difficult, at least, TO as the public fran
chise. and yet the assessors seem to have found |
little difficulty. for they have been assessing !
such properties for years under the law with no |
rule laid down for their guidance. / realize the |
iniquity of assessments upon all kinds Of real |
estate, and suppose there will be Inequalities |
In assessing public franchise and II the ordi- |
nary property owner is to be subject TO those |
inequalities and the injustice which grows out |
or them. why should not the owner Of a public |
franchise be subjected to The same conditions
why does the possessor of q public franchise |
demand for his property a different mode Of |
treatment from that applied to other persons |
property II there is any crudity or Incomplete |
ness ABOUT II, II Is due to the general tax law |
ana not TO any shortcomings OF the bill as |
drafted AS to how much the bill will add TO |
the assessed valuation Of property in the c,tv
II VIII be many hundreds Of millions OF dollars
rake Tor example. four of the most important |
corporations owning public franchises in the !
city OF New York-the Metropolitan street Rail-
way Company the Third Avenue Railroad COM
pany the Manhattan Elevated Railroad Com