The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-22
MAY NOT FIGHT 1T OUT.
COUNCIL TO CONSIDER STREET
RAILWAY TAX QUESTION.

Likely That Some Change VIII BE
Made in the Ordinance Which VIII
BE Satisfactory to the street Rail-
way COmpany-As the Ordinance
Now Stands the Company Would
Have to Pay About 81 geo More
Than 1t Did Last YeRr-HOw the
Ordinance Differs From That of
Former Yenrs-NIany People Think
the street Railway Company
should Pay Well for the Monopoly
1t Enjoys.
The difference between the city and the
Savannah, Thunderbolt and Isle of Hope
| Railway as to the amount of tax to be paid
| by the latter for the privilege of doing bus
mess in the city, is likely to be settled am
| icably. A report of the action of the
| street railway company in securing an In
junction against the city in the Superior
Court Saturday to prevent the collection
of the 81, 800 special tax assessed against it
under the tax ordinance for the present
year appeared in Sundays Morning News.
Mayor Myers said yesterday that the mat
ter viii come before Council at its meet
ing tomorrow afternoon. The Mayor did
not say what view he thought Council like
ly TO take in the matter, but he seemed to
think a satisfactory adjustment of the
difference might be reached.
The ordnance under which it is sought
10 collect the tax was adopted by the out
going Council. Heretofore the tax on street
railroads for the privilege of doing bust
ness had been $4OO year for each company
and $25 a car for each car in operation.
This tax had always been paid by the
| companies and was considered a fair tax
A change was made in the ordinance for
| two reason. one was that the little Subur-
ban and west End Railway objected that It
would be unfair to require the same tax
of it as of the larger companies, and the
other was that it was feared that the con-
soidaton of all the other street railway
| lines in the city in one company would al
low it to get off with the payment of only
one tax The ordinance was accordingly
| changed so as to require the companies TO
pay $lO0 a mile for each running mile OF
! track This let the Suburban and West
End down easily and put a good, heavy
tax on the big corporation. The Iast
/ Council had been unusually kind TO the
Savannah. ThunderbOlt and Isle of Hope
| Railway, and it's members may nave
| thought that il was about time they were
| getting something for the city out of the
| corporation.
Under the ordinance, as it now stands,
the street railway company would have
to pay 1,9o0 a year on a mileage basis.
| Formerly the Savannah. ThunderbOlt end
| Isle of Hope and the City and Suburban
| Companies paid $500 year each, besides
| the tax of $25 a car. AS the Suburban
! and West End, which has now been alb
| sorbed by the Savannah. Thunderoolt ana
| Isle Of Hope, paid about 500 year. the
| new tax means an increase of about $1,000
! a wear to the street railway company over
the amount paid last year. The prob
| ability is that If the tax were made the
same as last year there would be no OBJ
| lection by the company, and now that
| the Suburban and West End is out of the
| way. the tax may be put back on the old
| basis The City and Suburban and the
! Savannah, Thunderbolt and Isle of Hope
| are legally separate corporations. and
| each will probably have to pay whatever
| tax is imposed.
There are a good many people who think
| that now that the street railway COM
| panv has the whole field to Itself il should
| be made to pay a good round sum into
the city treasury annually. in return for
| all the privileges and franchises which 1t
| enjoys. amounting to a practical nonopo-
| lY. me street railway people GA IN NOW
ever that in addition to these special
taxes to the city they pay TO the : tate,
county and city taxes to the amour OF
$1,000 a year upon their plant real es-
| tate and improvements. These retA ms
by law are made 20 the controller gen
cral in Atlanta the tax is paid there an l
| the proportions due the city and county
are forwarded to the proper officers here
! by the controller. This. the railway peO-
Pile think, entities them to some consider
| alton.
The petition filed in the report by the
| attorneys for the railway company al
| leges that the tax is Illegal and unconsti-
| tutional and that the city has no author
| py to impose a tax OF this character. At
| the time the change in the ordinance was
| made by Council the city attorney gave
the opinion that the city had the authority
to levy such q tax. The attorneys 10 the
| railway company now assert the contrary
| to be the case 1t may be merely a bluff
on their part to stave off the payment Of
the tax. with a view to getting recon-
sidera ton of the matter by Council 1t IS
| not believed, however. that the attorneys
| viii be called upon to fight out these
| points of law in the courts as the iudi-
| cations are that Council is disposed to
make some concessions in the matter. The
street railway people have usually man
aged TO get about all they want out of