The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-05-03
STREET CAR TAX.
Mr.. McDermott Says City
Can Assess Jersey City
and Bergen Road.
THE EXEMPTION HASEXpIRED
President Young Says the
Issue Will Be Met at the
Proper Time.


A few days ago Mayor Hoos wrote to
Corporation Counsel Allan L. McDermott
asking him whether the city had the right
to tax the property of the Jersey City
and Bergen Railroad Company. This
morning the Corporation Counsel sent a
lengthy reply to the Mayors request, in
which he said that the limitation of tax
alton found in the charter of the Jersey
,, City and Bergen Railroad Company ex-
pired in 1884 and was not continued by the
| extension of the corporate existence of
the company, and concludes that the city
and not the State had the right to tax
the company
Mr.. McDermott's letter was shown to
Mr. E. F. c. Young. president of the
Jersey City and Bergen Railroad Com
pany, this morning. He read it carefully
and said that the matter was an en-
tirely new one to him. and he had nothing
to say upon it further than that the issue
would be met when it was raised. This is
a copy of Mr.. McDermott's letter.
Office of Corporation Counsel,
Jersey City, May 1, 1893.
Hon. Edward Hoos, Mayor of Jersey
City,
Dear Sir-Answering your request for in
formation as to the law governing the
assessment for taxes of the properly OF
the Jersey City and Bergen Railroad
Company, respectfully advise you that
the charter of the company was granted
in 1886 Laws of 1895, p. AID. 1t was
authorized to ''lay out and construct a
| railroad from some point on the Kill Won
Kull at or near Bergen Point, to the
Newark Turnpike Road leading from Jer-
sey City to Newark, with the privilege of
constructing one or more branches to the
several ferries in the County of Hudson,
south of the city of Hoboken." Section
of this charter provided .horse power,
and no other, shall be used by the COM
pany in running their cars or carriages,
unless where the grade of said road may
be SO steep as to require other power
than horse power; in that case the com
pany shall have the right to erect sta
tionery engines" Section IA, after pro-
viding that the company should file an
nual statements of the cost of the road
enacted that it should pay to the treas
urer of this State a tax of one-haif of one
per centum on the amount expended by
said company for said road, which shall
in like manner be paid annually there
after on the first Monday in January OF
each year; provided that no other tax
or import shall be levied or assessed upon
the said company"
Section 16 provided that "this act shall
continue in force for and during the term
of twenty-five years"
In the charter of this company and. the
supplements thereto, additional powers
are given, but think it is clear that the
scheme contemplated was the eonstruc-
ton and operation of a street railroad, as
distinguished from those railroads that
have exclusive right of way, and that the
property of this company is subject 10
taxation by the local authorities in the
same way that the property of other
street railroad companies IS taxed The
opposite view has been entertained by the
State Board of Assessors, and the Jersey
City and Bergen Railroad Company has
been annually assessed as though it was
a steam railroad company. The State
assessment for the present year is as fol-
lows
TAXING DISTRICT OF JERSEY CITY,
COUNTY OF HUDSON
DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.
Block 1877. lots l and 2, 2.100 square
feet !. :. !. Observation-Disclosures. 81 90
Block 1os. fronting on Montgomery
street, 24.sOo square feet ......... 1885 90
Block 1873, fronting on Tuers and Jor-
dan avenues. 80, 653 square feet. 5.SS5 %
street. 1850 square feet........... 1000 90
Block 225, fronting on Orchard street.
1860 square feet -. :. ......... 2ns 90
Block 225, lot "a and part of lots %
and %, Orchard street, 1850
square Ieet .-..-.......-. 8 l-ooV W
Block 5l3 lot x fronting on Grand
street, 1900 square feet........-..... 60S 90
Block 1,411. lots 1s and IA, south side
Old Bergen Road, Greenville, 1914
square feet .......... ................ 1900 90
Property corner Pike and Fremont
streets, 7.l27 acres ................... a,ooo 90
Property corner Ocean avenue, Gates
avenue and Old Bergen Road
Greenville. 9S5 acres .............,.. 5000 90
Track 1s7 649 feet .................. 354, ,752 90
place ..................... 5000 90
Brick house and repair shop. $500 90
Brick car house, east side Tuers ave-
nue. ;. :. :. Observation-Disclosures. 10000 90
Tuers avenue .......s................. $500 90
Brick stable in rear of blacksmith
shop :. :. :. ....... ... 1000 90
Brick house. northwest corner of
Jordan avenue and Montgomery
street ~. 4. !. .................... 1900 90
Brick car house, waiting room, office,
ETC., on Montgomery street, between
Orchard street and Bergen avenue $4,000 90
One-story building corner of Gates
avenue and Old Bergen Road. 5000 90
Car barn adjoining and extending
from Bergen Road to Ocean ave-
nue. . = :. . ...................., 1900 90
Car house and storage house, Ocean
avenue to Bergen Road ..,......... $1,000 90
Waiting and blacksmith shop,
corner OF Ocean and Gates avenues 1000 90
Car barn. Pike and Fremont streets. 21,SOO 90
Power house, machinery, etc., Pike
and Fremont streets ............... 12s. 200 90
Trolley wires, poles and overhead con-
struction :. -. .................... $4,000 90
Total value .s7ol 900 90
Opp 743-4, Report of State Board of Asses
sors for 1881
This method os assessment has been
pursued by the State Board since its
creation in 1884, and the error prob
ably arose from the fact that. prior