The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-02-27

estate, DC. w III lllSS SeiiNS 49,
cost Of construction to date, as shown
nv The hooks Of the company, or will they
take the amount Of stocks, bonds ana
mortgages issued upon the property
Tho Stockholders control and own the
rights, privileges and franchses-the IN
tangible property Of the corporatloE-Dut
the bondhoders are the actual owners or
the road bed, rolling stock, real estatc'
&C. The taxation ordinance reported sep
aratcs these and takes them separately
without laying down ally uniform rule or
principle and in violation of d decision or
the Supreme Court of the United States.
s. In TAYLOR VS.. Secor, % Z. s., 49, the
actual value of a railway and its fran
chisc is held to be exactly that OF all It's
bonds and stocks. Nlr. Justice Miller said:
1T is, therefore, obvious that when you
havc asccrtained the current cash value
of all the funded debt and the current
cash value the entire number of shares
of stock, YOU have, by the action OF
those who above all others can best estl-
mate it. ascertained the true value of the
road-all its property-its capital stock
and its franchises, for these are all rep
resented by the bonded debt and the
shares of its capital stock Ihls is a
simple and unerrinS plain and mas bcen
sanctioned by large usage in other States
and has given unusual satisfaction, be-
cause it is the principle applied to real
and personal estate.
6. Many Of the most enlightened and
progressive Commonwealth have ADOPTED
this system Of assessment. and the SUD
iect is up before the Legislatures of ONO,
Iowa and Wisconsin to-day, with every
prospect of a speedy adjustment upon
this decision Of the Supreme Court OF
the United States, as both the Demo-
,r,+;, Papub'ic30 factions have
dorsed it.
Owing to the opposition of the rail-
ways and the Instructions placed in the
way by their attorneys who draw the
legislative acts, go uniform rule has been
adopted in all the States. Some still nave
the antiuuated and obsolete system OF
Virginia, which it is proposed by this Or
dinance to pcrpetuate; others have
adopted the system of taxing the gross
incomes of these corporations, but the
amount of tax imposed has not been uni
form. II Michigan, after six years con-
l!ct with the corporations, conducted by
ov or i e. ai
Grange, the system Of assessing all the
real and personal property, including the
franchises, at their fair cash value for
taxation, was adopted, which has largely
increased the States revenue, thereby re-
ducing the tax upon all other property,
real and personal.
In Wisconsin Governor La Palette has
had the same difficulties to contend VITA
in getting the Legislature to redeem
pledges to elualiZc taxation
Although the platforms OF both poilti-
cal palties in the State at the last cleo
ton had demanded that the property OF
corporations should be taxed the same
as the property of individuals, and al
though the State Commission, appointed
in 1897 to Investigate the subject, had re-
ported that railway property was NOT
taxed more than half as much as farms
and other property in the state, the Ell
fort to secure a higher rate upon railway
property failed. The Dill to ra!se the
tax upon the gross receipts of these COR
corations from to 5 per cent. which it
was claimed would still leave them more
lightly taxed than the general public, was
defeated in the Senate after it had passed
the Assembly. 10 meet the deficiency IN
the revenues Of the State the Legislature
passed instead an act taxing dogs from
81 to s. pei. lead. This act was Netosd py
the Governor, because in lieu OF equalia-
ing taxation it would give no relief to
the people to shift the tax from other
property to Their dogs and leave exempt
those who were potent in shaping the
legislation of the State. Is not TINS an
object lesson to those members OF our
Constitutional Convention who would tax
labore-s ana clerks on their income over
5000 and exempt corporations?
Z. Look, gentlemen, TO the great state
of New York, which, under the lead OF
Ex-Governor Roosevelt and Governor
Odell, has revolutionized and reformed
the system of assessment and taxation
thereby adding to the revenues of the
state an estimated increase of $1,000, 600
notwithstanding the fact that Sl5,0oo,05O
of revenue was raised by indirect taxa
ton. mainly upon franchises and prop
erty which had heretofore escaped taxa
ton.
Look at the little state of Connecticut.
which has about one thousand miles OF
railway, and raised last year S9i5,0o0 by
a great and equitable system of taxa
ton upon these corporations. while Vir-
ginia, with five times as many miles oil
railway under system which 1t is pro-
posed to perpetuate in our organic law
raised only s263632 from this source
Vide Rept. Bd. p. w.
s. Look. gentlemen, at what has been
accomplished by the Chicago 5Ieachers
Federation under the leadership of Miss
margaret Haley and Miss Katherine Cog
gifin They have won a victory before the
Court IF the State of Illinois