The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-02-28

! the Machinery Act, Or any attempt to
cut out it's very heart. ought to be en-
titled IAN act to provide biennial
bond issue or to starve the charitable
and educational institutions of the
State"
If it stands untouched, Smonton may
still find an entering wedge to deny to
the sovereign State of North Carolina
the sovereign right to assess railroad
property in North Carolina for taxation,
but in order to do so he will have to over
rule the decision of the Supreme Court
of North Carolina and run counter to the
declaration of Justice Brewer: What
| ever property is worth for the purposes
| of income and SALE it is also worth for
taxation" But it is certain that if sec
ton fifty is changed, as the railroads
! wish to change it, a Simonton injunction
will veto any just assessment made by
the Corporation Commission.
| North Carolina is not the only State
that is resolved to quit exempting rail
roads from just taxation In letter
written by Mr.. H. c. Brown, Secretary
of the Corporation Commission, printed
| in the News and Observer of January 9Th,
1901. Mr. Brown advocated the principle
! Of taxing railroads ad valorem on the
| basis of actual value" instead of on
\ ~. hot INN
Mr.. Brown called attention to the fact
that the State of Michigan was consid
ering a change in the manner of assess
ment from gross earnings to upon ac-
tual value and in the report of the Tax
| Commission of that State to the Legis
lature the letter of Mr.. Brown was COM
mented upon The Legislature of Michi-
gan enacted a law similar to the North
Carolina law What was the result?
Read the following from the Railway
! Age:
Railroad Assessment by substitute
| ing for taxation upon earnings the plan
of assessing upon the actual value" Of
| the property, the Tax Commission of
Michigan has succeeded in raising the
amount of tax assessed against the IS
big and little railway companies in the
State from s1,4S3,906 in 1901, to 50, $50, 429,
an increase of s1,S66,522, or over 80 per
| cent.
| Now Mr.. Tax Payer: Do you under
stand why the railroads are making such
a desperate attack upon section fifty"
Do you not see that it is because section
| fifty requires railroad property to be as
sessed at its actual value" that the rail-
roads are moving heaven and
earth to kill it or to cut the heart out
Of it? If they succeed, then
the State must starve its institu-
tions or have a perpetual bond issue or
impose burdensome! taxes upon the prop
erty of individuals.
| Moral Do not dot an 81" Or cross a
1T" in section fifty if you wish railroads
taxed at their actual value" If you
wish them taxed, as at present, at less
than one-half of their actual value,
then vote to change or repeal section
fifty
! Allusion was made in yesterdays pa
per to a brief and wise argument be-
| fore the Finance Committee in favor Of
section fifty by Mr. Martin S. Willard,
who was a member of the House from
New Hanover in 1899 and in 1901. He
was a leading and influential member
of the Finance Committee and no man
knows better than he the history of sec
! tion fifty. AS the matter is one of prime
Importance we take the liberty of print
ing the private letter received yesterday
| by the editor from Mr. Willard. 1t was
written at Goldsboro, where Mr.. Willard
was waiting for a train for Wilmington.
In brief space he throws a flood of light
upon section fifty. We quote:
! Dear Mr. Daniels: ] noticed you We're
| in the room this afternoon when section
| fifty of the Machinery act was being con
sidered and | know, of course, that you
are interested in retaining it.
II was sorry could not stay until the
committee had finished its consideration
but / was obliged to leave in the midst
of the discussion. Coming down on the
train this afternoon | thought more
about the adoption of section fifty and
| recollected a great deal more than l
could think of on the spur of the mo-
ment when called upon by Mr.. London.
You will recollect that in the Legisla-
ture of 1899 the proposition to tax the
gross earnings OF railroads was exten
sively discussed and passed by the House
| but defeated in the Senate.
| During that discussion Judge Conner
offered a resolution directing that the
value of railroad property should be made
| such an amount as their net earnings,
ca pitalized at per cent would produce.
Judge Connor at the time thought this
would be an equitable settlement and
would be satisfactory TO the railroads.
but on the contrary it struck them with
horror as il was very soon seen that II
! would increase the valuation to some
| where near one hundred million dollars.
| The result of the discussion was the
adoption of Sections so and 81 in the
L..