The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1899-03-30
R00EEVELTS;, REFORM;
New York's Governor Says the TAI
Laws Are Inequitable.
CORPORATIONS GET OFF EASY.

He Urges the Legislature to Frame u
Plan which VIII Relieve the Over
burdened small Taxpayers by Reve-
nues From Public Franchises.
Albany. March 2S.-Governor Roosc-
welt last night sent to the legislature Il
message recommending the appointment
Of n joint legislative committee to invcs-
tigate the subject of taxing public fran
chises held by corporations, and to re-
port to the next legislature. The gov
ernor says:
1.-THE tax laws Of this state are in an
exceedingly unsatisfactory condition. and
l do not see how they can be put upon
just and wise basis save after careful
investigation by legislative action. At
present the farmers, the market garden
ers and the mechanics and tradcsmcn
having small holdings are paying an I'M
proper and excessive proportion Of the
general taxes, while at the same time
many of the efforts to remedy this stat"
Of affairs, notably in the direction of
taxing securities, are not only unwisc.
but inefficient, and often serve merely to
put premium on dishonesty.
"Thcre is evident injustice in the light
taxation Of corporations. have not the
slightest sympathy with the outcrv
against corporations ms such. or against
prosperous men of business. Most Of
the great material works by which the
entire country benefits have been due
to the action of individual men or of n
gregatcs OF men who made money for
themselves by doing that which was n
the interest of the people as a whole.
From an armor plant to a street railway
no work which Is really beneficial to the
public can he performed to the best ad-
vantage Of the public save by men Of
such business capacity that they will not
do the work unless 'hry themselves re-.
ccive ample reward for dong it. The
effort to deprive them Of an ample re-
ward merely means tnat they will turn
their energies in some other direction,
and the public will be by just so much
the loser Moreover. to tax corporations
or men Of means in such a way as ~
drive them out Of the state works great
damage to the state. To drive ont OF
n community the men Of means and the
men who take the lead in business enter
priscs would probably entail as one Of its
first results the starvation of con.
siderable portion OF the remainder OF the
population.
"But. while I fairly admit all this. II
yet remains true that corporation
which derives its powers from the state
should pay to the state just percent
age Of its earnings as return for the
privileges it enjoys. This should he ca
pecially true for the franchises bestowed
upon gas companies. street railroads
and the like. The question Of munic'-
pal ownership Of these frahchises cannct
be raised with propriety until the gov
ernments OF all municipalities show
greater wisdom and virtue than has been
recently shown. for instance, In New
York city: the question of laying and
assessing the tax for franchises of every
kind throughout the state should in my
opinion be determined by the state it.
self.
81 need not point out to you that in
foreign communities very large per-
centage of the taxes comes from cor
poratons which use the public domain
for pipes. tracks and the like. Whether
these franchises should be taxed aS
realty. or whether it would be wiser to
provide that, after the gross earnings
equal, say. 10 per cent of the actual
original cost, then per cent of all the
gross earnings over and above this shall
be paid into the treasury. or whether
some yet different plan should be tried,
can only be settled after careful cx
animation of the whole subject. One
thing is certain, that the franchises
should in some form yield Il money re-
turn to the government"