The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-04-05

and we desire to tax for ourselves the
property within our borders"
Mayor BeckWith Of New London ia
vored the bill. He said that New Lon
don attempted last year to tax some
houses owned by a street railway COM
pany there and occupied by employees
| Of the company, but could not do 1t.
! Corporation Counsel Henry e. Purdy OF
Danbury also spoke in favor of the bill.
Attorney General Phelps, in behalf of
the state, opposed the bills, saying that
their object was to take from the state
one Of it's most prolific sources of reye-
nue. and if something had been offered
in place of that which it was sought to
| take away from the state, he would not
| object to them. He said This meas
| ure strikes at the root of one of the best
| sources of revenue that the state has.
| The revenue derived from the sources
mentioned in these bills is increasing
| yearly. Last year the state got $780,
600 from street railways and $4,000 from
| express companies. These are taxes
| easily paid. Street railways and ex-
press companies are not altogether bur-
dens in the communities in which they
| operate. In many instances they have
| decreased the burden of the communi-
| ties in which they operate. If the state
had plenty Of money l wouldn't oppose
paying this tax to the towns, but the
towns don't need it as the state does. :"
Mayor Farnsworth asked Mr.. Phelps
why the land and buildings should be
taken out of the towns and cities
grand lists. He referred to the state
expense committees report and recon-
mendation of decrease in the state eX-
penses and said that if those recon-
mendations We're followed out perhaps
the state can do without the street rail-
way tax. 1.-THE present taxation comes
so near rascality that it can almost be
classed with the present system of rep
resentation. If you don't look out New
Haven will rebel, recede from the
state
Mr. Hurlburt of Norwalk, represent
ing a number of street railway compa-
MES, favored the bill. Judge eager of
Derby opposed the bill. He said that he
represented the majority interests of the
street railway companies of the state,
He said that these companies were
about evenly divided on the question,
but that all were agreed that the pres
ent method of assessment of street rail-
ways was the fairest that could be OBJ
tanned. The day had long since passed
when the street railway was local in
stitution. He could not agree that the
construction of a street railway i'm
posed a new burden on a municipality
and said that If the expenditure for
street repairs was increased, this was
more than met by the increase in valua-
ton of city property, caused by the
building of street railways. There was
nothing in the alleged justice of the tax
going to the cities. At this point he
stated that the state owned the high
ways and so had power to tax business
done upon them. Mr.. Ely and MI
Hurlburt took issue with him on this
point and Judge eager then qualified his
statement by saying that what he
meant was that the state had an ease
ment
Mr.. Hurburt called the attention of
the committee to the fact that the only
two arguments made against paying the
tax to the cities were that the state
needed the money and that the state
chartered the companies and should
therefore get the tax 1t was true that
STATE EXPENSES were W NC IllSl Wy
ing the people, but that did not mean
that the state could take property out
of the towns grand list and tax that
property with state tax for the bene-
fit of every other town. He said: 1T
is not on a theory of necessity that
taxes are laid on special property and
paid in special way. 1t is simply be-
cause that is an easy way of getting
taxes and easy come, easy CO. is an
old saying Maybe it wouldn't have
been necessary for a committee to revise
expenses if the burden had been placed
equally on the people and if there had
not been so many grants. The eXtrava-
gances pointed ont by that committee
may have been the outgrowth of this
very system"
Alderman Shepard at this point asked
Judge eager what rights the people of
the city had except to pay taxes and die.
Judge Gager-"Just what the state
grants them"
Mr.. Shepard-"God help the people of
the cities then
Corporation Counsel Ely said that he
was not there to attack the street rail
ways. He would concede that they were
the greatest blessing the Almighty ever
allowed any community. He said that |
the state put upon municipalities the !
burden of keeping UP the highways and |
then took away the means of meeting |
this burden If the street railway tax |
to the state was increasing all the more !
reason why the municipalities should
have some return for the burden cast
upon them.
The committee took the matter for
in executive session before
making a recommendation to the gen.
eral assembly.
NEW MANHATTAN CLUB.
The newly organized Manhattan club