The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-30
LETTERS TO EDITOR
pIseussIon of Pending Bill.


 have examined to some extent It's pro visions It is very difficult matter to get a satisfactory Ievena" law at any time, and It's never done on the nrst oiat.' and oftentimes not on the second oi ''''iu I he present bill seems to be, in the iiii'n very good. Some of it's provisions now ever, If enacted Into law, would pc ui'i'i tunate not only to the persons ana coi rations directly affected, but to the mem. Ter who votes for them as well. l sh'h take occasion to speak of only one UT two.
 | The Till proposes to tax as oiiiei property taxed" the gross income or re- ceipts of all street railroads, gas electric light and water companies This lh ny opinion, would be not only nnnecessary' but in the highest degree unjust anu wrong. They are taxed on other property owned by them the same as you ana l ere taxed There can be no good reastn assigned for taxing the gross receipts ot these any other corporations In the state. and certainly not to tax them ana rot require a like tax from all other per- sons and corporations in the state It IS a well known fact that but small rart of the gross income or receipts or these corporations belong to- or is re- talned by the companies. They belong to- and are paid out each week to la borers and employees of the company oftentimes before received by borrowing form the banks on pay rolls as operat- ing expeI ses. When these operating ex- penses are paid but little else, compara- lively, is left. You had just as well re- quire a tax upon all the money which passes through banks. This discrimina- ton cannot be justified, as is sometime attempted, upon the ground that they are public utilities. This fact should be in their favor rather than against them, for while 1t is fact that these public utilities oftentimes afford certain politi- clans opportunity to Tide into office or notoriety by unjust abuse before each election, still they are upon the whole very respectable, very convenient and very necessary institutions and the people could not now well do without them. They should at least be treated at the hands of the legislature in matters of taxation with the same consideration as all other corporations or persons. It Is the same old story, however, which We have heard for years, that just before each election a great hue and cry is raised against these public utilities on account of bad impure and insufficient supply of water; bad gas and electric lights, miserable street car service and no transfers, all miserable "gouging" monopoIies of the very first water. Bu. as soon as the election is over we hear nothing more of this until the next elec- ton. In the meantime we see these pub lie utilities going along in the same way they have for years. supplying the city and the people with pure and abundant supply of water, good gas and electric lights and satisfactory street railroad service. Would it not be better for the le egislature to encourage, if possible, these public utilities rather than discriminate against them?
 2. Another section of the revenue bill requires a tax or stamp on certain notes leans and mortgages, the certificate re- quired by this section being nothing more than a stamp. Our people, as you know. are not partial to any stamp act, how ever small the tax. They are allowed only in cases or times of greatest emer- gency and then only so long as the emer- gency exists. The objection to this sec- tion, however, could easily be removed by requiring a small tax upon only such notes, loans and mortgages as are now n. require the judge of probate to collect this tax in the same way he collects other tares and fees. It is said that one ob- ject the farmers of this section had was to place upon an equal footing residents, non-re sidents and banks making loans Tn this state and taking mortgages to se- cure the same. As the law now stands, a nonresident making a loan in this state ana taking a mortgage te secure the same can, by reason of his n non-residenee, escape taxation, while if thu. same was done by che of our own citizens ic would be requn ed to pay the full tax. This, of course, is wrong and should be correct ed, but would 1t not be better in attempt ing to correct this evil, to relieve the home man as much as possible rather than increase the burden of the non resident?
 It Is an easy matter to make objections, but not so easy, possibly. to offer a rcm- ody, but it does seem to me that the legislatures in the past have ret suff- ciently encouraged either our home peo- pie or non-resdents to make inv ,stments in Alabama. There seems to be some great fear or corporate capital os for eign influence or foreign money Why this is I do not know. Our state affords the finest opportunities for good Investments of any state in the union. If laws could be enacted to encourage any and all kinds of investments in Alabama, instead of driving them away. 1t would be better and the amount of taxes now collected would soon be very much increased, and the rate of taxation could soon be re- duced from what 1t now Is. I refer es- pecially to our corporation laws. Mary of our best and strongest people are constantly going to the states of New Jer- sey and Delaware and obtaining charters in these states to do business in Ala bama, because of the fact tha- the laws of these states are much moro liberal in this respect than those of our own 1t is said upon good authority that the state of New Jersey receives each year fees and taxes from corporations incorl orated in that state by non-residents alone sutfi- cient to pay very large part, I nos all the expenses of the state government A wonderful statement but none the less true. Why should our people be forced to go to New Jersey for charters to do business in Alabama? Why should We not offer the same, or equal Inducements to corporations or combined capital as ioes the state of New Jersey? The legislative committee on corporations would confer