The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-03-13

operation of the railroad lines, including,
| il desired, the Pullman cars operated
over their lines. / here call the attention
of the court to the fact that if these
officers refuse to, fail to make these re-
ports, the statute only authorizes the de-
PENDANTS to ask of them for their informa-
ton twelve questions. 1t is argued that
as the assessment we are asking can
not be made without these reports, and
these reports can not be demanded until
1908, therefore the assessment can't be
made until 1908, and that the Legislature
did not intend it should be-. Now, if this
assessment is dependent on these twelve
questions and their answer can't be de-
manded until 1908, clearly we have a
strong inference that the Legislature in
tended to stay the operation of section
so until section 4S could be enforced.
Whether that inference would be suffi-
GENTLY clear and express to authorize
the postponement of the power and duty
OF taxation, we propose to discuss later.
I'VE insist here that the assessment is
not dependent on the reports required
in this section, and that these reports are
only required to enable defendants to as
sess the real property. If the defendants
can't assess the franchises under section
30 until they get the reports prescribed
in section is, then they can't assess the
tangible personal property. They are re-
quired under the general law and the
Constitution, Art. ", section 8, to assess
the personal property every year. because
otherwise they couldn't assess it at its
true value in money. The assessment of
this species of property is mandatory. It's
assessment at it's true value is manda-
tory. Tobacco Co. VS. Commissioners. 116
n. c., AL The defendants say in their
answer that the property of three. lines
varied in value in one year from 1898
to 1899. $9,022,678 If this property varies
so much, how can the defendants get it's
true value in money by assessing every
four years? Certainly the law contem
plates the assessment of the personal
property of the railroad every year,
otherwise we have class legislation, as
no other personal property is exempt
from annual assessment.
1--WE contend that this assessment is not
dependent on the twelve questions al
lowed to be asked under section rs, be-
cause section 40 requires reports from the
same officers TO be made annually in
June. To say nothing of the comprehen-
siveness of these reports, we can see from
their character that they are intended
to elicit information touching the value,
not of the real estate as the others, but
of the stocks, bonds and other property
deriving its value from the earning ca
pacity. AS to the relative comprehensive
ness of these annual and these quadren-
NAL reports it will be seen that the an
nual reports prescribed in section AZ en-
brace not only the five questions specif-
cally defined but the fifty-one prescribed
in section 1859 of The Code. not included
in section AZ. It will be further seen
that every scintilla of information OBJ
tainable by virtue of section As, is OBJ
tainable in much more minute and COM
prehensve detail by the questions pre-
scribed in section 49.
'If the defendants are correct in char
acterizing these as ambiguous statutes
we will invoke the rules of construction
for such cases The Legislature having
recognized the franchises of railroads as
taxable upon an ad valorem basis of the
value of their stocks, bonds, etc, and
the defendants having refused to consider
the value of this species of property, and
therefore have left the value of it I'M
assessed until Gas they say 1908, isn't
this an exemption of this species, of prop
erty from taxation until that time? That
it exists is too certain to be doubted
That the Legislature thinks it legiti-
mate subject OF taxation is express. II
il now exists and can't be taxed until
1908 it IS clear case of statutory ex-
emption from taxation. Now, / submit
that before statute can be construed
to effect an exemption of any property
from taxation, all doubts must be dissi
pated. The strongest claim of the defend
ants, to-wit. ambiguity, is, under the
rules, fatal to them.
"The last paragraph of the defendants
answer, en- page 6, says they have adopt
ed the assessment of 1899 for each of the
succeeding years, and upon that admis-
sion, read in connection with the figures
of the Governor above given we have
the position taken by defendants that
while the Legislature has constituted
them the assessors of certain property
they have been returning it's value with
out making any of the Investigations,
calculations or estimates which are es-
sential to an assessment-in the language
of the case from Illinois above referred
to, have been making an arbitrary re-
turn of values, disregarding every rule
and every legislative injunction, to the
important end of making all property bear
it's proper-full value-burden of taxa
ton We say upon the authority of that
case that this is a fraud upon the tax
payers of the State and upon the plain
tiff"