The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-07-14

camel down to the present. The second
| half was letter of instruction to the
| commission.
| The question now before you, ne
said, "finds you in a very deli
cate position In this matter you don't
represent the people. You are a
judge between the people and the
corporation The man out there who
wants the tax raised on railroads Is sim
ply an intermeddler and makes your duty
the more difficult.
North Carolina needs so much money
to run her government. Now this inon'!
is raised by taxation. And this taxation
must be equally distributed Now there
ought nns f. be more money raised than
is needed. 1t too often finds its way INTO
q corruption FUND.
The severest tax ever known was the
1.-THE on the .Jews-one-tenth. But in this
case You ait out-Heroding Herod You
are exacting one-sixth. But with the
Jews the burden fell equally upon all
alike. Yea lpust do the same The con
stitution declares that taxation shall be
uniform.
The fellow that comes into court
and says the people demand that you in
crease the taxes will never help you.
Yield to them once and. they come again,
and again, and again. You will find that
the people cannot be appeased. 1t is like
feeding Il tiger on raw meat. They
are never satisfied.
1T makes no difference what rate You
make so you make it uniform. The
Legislature says you shall make it cash
value but this value has not been adopt
ed for other property and it should not
he adopted for railroads. So there are two
values of property-the taxation value
and actual cash value. If YOU will in
vestigate the matter you'll find that while
the lands Of this State have increased in
real cash value they have decreased in
taxable value about S10.000.00O
'Now gentlemen. there has been com
mtted to you the biggest interest in
North Carolina. the railroads. Now the
railroads look to you as their protector.
as their friend; that you will stand for
them as the colonel of a regiment stands
for his men. When these folks come
and clamor for increased taxation you
should ask them how about their mules
and lands and fertilizer factories and
cotton mills. Tell them to increase their
value and then you'll increase the value
on railroads. Until this is done you should
not yield to this current of popular clam
or"
AT this point the commission took re
cess until :, O'Clock for dinner
When the commission met again Mr..
Burton. for the Coast Line. renew
ed the argument.
He said the Constitution. Article ..
section 3, contempates an equal and
Uniform system of taxation
1t intends that two citizens living
side by side shall be taxed equally, upon
their property.
'Notce for Il moment by what leaps
and bounds the value of railroad proper
ty has climbed upward while other prop
erty has stood still.
I'm 1890 the valuation of the railroad
property of the State was SD 1000. 900: in
1896 it was S26.000.000: in 1897 il was
2S.000 900: in 1898 it had reached S::}}33.
10000: and in 1899 we find it S44 900.
600.
''And how is it with the other proper
ty? Standing still and the burden in
CREASED upon the railroads. Last year
the railroads were assessed at GO per cent
of the value of all the town lots of the.
State; now they are just the same. Don't
you see the injustice of it? The others
are paying on a two-thirds basis and
we are paying on a three-thirds basis.
I'm spite of the large railroad mileage
of this State. the great need of North
Carolina is more railroads and once they
get it they will bloom and blossom as
the rose We have need not to thrust
them from us but to welcome them. The
farmer, the lawyer and the manlIfac-
turer as well as the railroad should all
come ond contribute its proportion to
the burden- of taxation. 1t matters not
how high or how low the tax so that
all alike have it to pay
Capt. Charles Price. representing the
Southern Railway. said taxes were al
ways more or less burdensCme and it is
or ought to be the object of the taxing
power to eliminate or alleviate taxes as
much rs possible.
IF the valuation as fixed stands then
that is discrimination against the rail
roads and is a denial to them of the
equal protection of the laws. The high
est courts in the land have decided that.
$50. representing the Southern Rail
way, as | do. 4 don't come here to fondle.
l come as a citizen demanding right.
as a corporation seeking protection.
''rhere is no general clamor for an in
crease in the tax on railroads. Has any
such demand been brought to the atten-
ton of this court in an official manner?
We have the action of the Commission
in fixing the valuation of the railroads,
but | take it that was done in order
that the railroads might have an oppor
tunity to come here and say whether
or not the figures were too high.
"What has happened during the past
Siytll 1nr