Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-05-23
ROOSEVELT'S MESSAGE.
New fork's Governor Outlines His
Views for the Benefit of the
Men Who Make Laws.

ALBANY, n. Y, May Ex-Governor
Roosevelts message to the state legisla-
ture, which meets in extraordinary session
this evening gives his views upon i'm
provements to the Ford franchise taxation
bill, and suggests lines of improvement.
Concerning the equity of the proposal to
tax corporations, the governor will say:
AT the present the farmers, the market
gardeners and the mechanics and trades
men having small holdings are paying an
improper and excessive portion of the gem
eral taxes, while at the same time many
of the efforts to remedy this state of af-
fairs, notably in the direction of taxing Sc
cient and often serve merely to put pre-
MUM upon dishonesty.
There is evident injustice in the light
taxation of corporations. | have not the
slightest sympathy with the outcry against
corporations as such, or against prosperous
men of business, To drive out of a COM
munity the men OF means and the men
who, take the lead in business enterprises
would entail as one OF Its first results, the
starvation of q considerable portion of the
remainder of the population.
But while ] freely admit all this, yet 1t
remains true that corporation which de-
rives its power from the state should pay
TO the state a Just percentage OF its earn
ings as return for the privileges 1t enjoys.
chises bestowed upon gas companies, street
railways and the like
Relative to the proposition to place the
determination of the tax in the hands of
the state board, the governor will say: Il
deem it wise that the power of laying and
assessing the tax on franchises should be
left to the state authorities, not the local
authorities, this being in my view desirable
both for the sake of providing against
dishonest favoritism or of discrimination
against corporations by the local authori-
ties and also for the sake of working equity
as between the franchises in different To-
calities.'
There is no intention of depressing peo-
pie who have put their money into fran
ChiSes We recognize that as in the case
of all legitimate business, they benefit not
only themselves but the community at
large. If franchise Is worth very little,
| it should be taxed very little, but where
| the franchise is of great value it certainly
should be heavily taxed and the value is
| of course based upon the use of the city's
| or states real estate. Such use of the
public real estate should not be given
without substantial returns, returns not
| only in the way of service to the public,
| which, of course, street railway or gas
| company gives, precisely as the proprietor
| of a grocery or dry goods store gives it,
| but also in the way of bearing just share
| of the burden of taxation; again, precisely
as the owner of the grocery or dry goods
| store bears his share, the difference being
| that a railway company, for instance,
owes infinitely more than the proprietor
of big business establishment does, to
| the real estate itself.
The governor believes that he can count
| on the help of the corporations in seeing
| the bill put into proper form, instead of,
as heretofore, counting upon the opposition
| of some among them to any and every
scheme for making them pay their just
| share of taxation.
| The message as drafted calls for the en-
| actment of the law to take effect the lst
day of October, 1899, but it is understood
| that when the governor returns to Albany
| tonight he will change it to read January
| !. 1900, in conformity with the latest bill
| drawn.
| 1t is learned on good authority that the
| Ford bill incorporated in the proposed new
| bill is to be changed so that the bill will
read that special franchises shall be taxed
| as we'll as local, the governor believing
| that under the term local franchises some
corporations might technically escape the
| tax.