The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-04-05
TAX ON STREET RAILWAYS
BILL TO GIVE TITO CITIES INSTEA d
OF TO THE STARE.

considered by Finance Committee of
the General Assembly Yesterday After
hoon-New Haveners Condemn the
Present Method of Giving the Tax to
the State-Mayor Framework Says 1t
Committee.
The finance committee of the general
assembly yesterday afternoon held a
hearing on House Bills 400 and 492.
The bills each provide for the payment
to municipalities of the whole or a por-
lion OF the tax ON street railways and
express companies which now goes to
the state. The first bill provides that
the tax shall be first paid to the state
ana that portion of it shall then be
PAID to the municipality in which the
company taxed is located. The second
Dill provides that the tax shall be paid
directly by the company to the munich
panty. Both bills were considered to-
gether Corporation Counsel Ely APP
peared by direction of the board of al
uermen to advocate favorable commit
tee report on House Bill No. 400. Mr..
ELY argued that some part of the tax
which now goes to the state should be
PAID to the town in which the COM
panles are located to help pay the ex-
pense OF Keeping up the highways which
express wagons and street cars help to
wear out. The construction of tracks in
street causes a more constant use of
some particular part of the street and
go makes increased cost of keeping the
street in repair
Mayor Farnsworth appeared before
the committee and favored the bill. He
said that a large amount of the real es-
tate in New Haven was exempted from
taxation and it seemed clear that the
city should be permitted to tax express
companies property and street railway
property, the same as all other property
belonging to individuals is taxed.
The street railway companies operat-
ing in New Haven paid last year to the
state $4,000 and the express companies
paid $1,000. The Adams Express COM
spany owns valuable property in the
heart of the city and has forty teams
doing business over the city streets,
more than any private firm in New Ha-
ven, and under the present system it
does not contribute a cent to keeping
up the highways. He said: "That seems
unjust. / will not characterize it by a
harsher term, although 1 think l could
] don't think that there is any other
state in the union that takes everything
away from municipalities. | have been
informed that the street railway com
panies would be1perfectly willing to pay
the tax to the towns instead of to the
state, so that the question leaves no
conflict between the corporations and the
cities. 1t is wrong to tax thousands of
11ouseholders in the cities, who do not
own teams, to compel them to keep up
roads for express companies and street
railways"
Alderman Chillingworth pointed out
that there was a difference between
steam railroads and street railways in
that the former purchased the land for
their tracks, while the street railways
were built on public property Alder
man Donovan also favored the bill. AL
derman Shepard favored the bill be-
cause he said the old law was class leg
islation, throwing the burden of the
support of the state on one class of citi-
zens He said "As I understand it.
the farmers of the state don't pay one
mill to the support of the state. I don't
think they can come to the cities and
make city property pay the state tax
any more than we can go to the far
mers and make the cows pay a state
tax. We of the cities think that the ex-
r,a,,eo Of this legislature ShOuld fall
some Of It, on those who make it up,