Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-07


over every county. Let the truth Of this
matter be publicly and generally pro-
claimed SO that no man in Nebraska can
honestly profess ignorance about II.
LAS for the railroads. they ought TO be
made to understand that the good will OF
the people lie Just as essential as the good
will Of the government. Let us urge our
delegation again to carry this matter
through the legislature for us, carry it
through on the basis OF reciprocity with
other members"
Equal Benents and Burdens.
MIR. Kountze spoke briefly. endorsing the
sentiments OF former speakers and urging
the necessity OF an equitable basis Of taxa
ton. He thought the question which
Omaha sought to press through the legisla-
ture would prevail. because 1t was right,
AMI felt sure Of the faithful support Of all
the Douglas county delegation. As the
railroads shared equally in the benefits de-
rived from local taxation, he thought they
should share equally in the payment of
those taxes.
L. V. Guye, representing the laboring
classes, said that labor stood, primarily and
always, for equality before the law and
recognized no power or influence as friendly
that did not. Labor was for the passage
VI Ahlo VII hb ebAht pau NhN Inv
ence of the burden of taxes which the
corporations shirked.
Congressman ELECT Hitchcock was re-
ceived with cheers. He addressed himself
with considerable force to the urgent duty
confronting Omaha's delegation in the leg
i~slature in this matter. saying:
"It is not enough that our delegation
simply be for this bill; every member of
that delegation must exhaust all his re-
sources for its passage. II THE delegation
comes to this city and county with this
bill not passed, it drops into its political
grave. Let not a man OF 1t ever ask or
expect another thing at the hands Of
Omaha. without the ceaseless activity Of
our iown delegation for this bill 1t will
never pass"
Mr.. Hitchcock thought this was the most
important bill to Omaha ever introduced
in the legislature, OF Of greater Importance
than any likely TO be introduced in the
future. II it fails to pass, he cited that
Omaha would be required In the future to
pay every year $3.50, 900 in taxes which
ought to be paid by the railroads. And
this he considered the most important fea-
ture OF the entire problem. Omaha's linn
tied progress in the last decade or so he
attributed to the wholesale evasion of taxes
by the railroads. He called for the CO.
operation in this movement Of every citi-
zen in Omaha and said that IL would be
a difficult task to secure cooperation from
a large number Of members of the legisla-
ture, because they wed their election to
the railroads and carried railroad passes
in their pockets to and from their homes,
therefore were obligated and bound to the
railroads. In closing Mr.. Hitchcock asked:
Are we going to remove the burden
from the shoulders Of Omaha that has
rested there for twenty years, and shall
these corporations, whose owners, most Of
them, live In New York, be mad9 to pay
taxes equal with us VIII live in Omaha?'
w. S. Poppleton, by request, made but a
few remarks. He said the railroads had
been escaping millions in taxes and that
It was high time for public opinion, which
was the motive power. to bring about a
change in affairs. He advocated action
along lines similar to those designated by
other speakers and urged ready corpora
ton by every taxpayer in the city.
Thomas Fitzpatrick, after indorsing In
heartiest terms what had been said, offered
the resolutions at the head Of this article,
which were adopted without a dissenting
voice.
Pledges the Delegation.
A motion was carried to have a COPY Of
the resolutions sent to, each member Of the
Douglas county delegation. Another mo-
tion by Robert Smith was carried to have
the chairman Of the meeting appoint a
committee of ten active citizens to go to
Lincoln and work in cooperation with the
Douglas county delegation for the success
OF this bill. Mr.. Mahoney said he would
announce the committee through the press.
Mr.. Smith spoke with considerable effect
~iveness on the question under discussion.
Representative Ten Eyck then took the
floor and committed himself anew for this,
his bill, and bespoke the hearty support
Of every member of the Douglas county
delegation. He told Of the corrupt in
huences brought to bear by the railroads
against his bill and how they had borne
fruit and declared that It would require a
mighty effort to overcome this and carry
the bill. He said that many country men,
bers had been deluded by the false argu-
ments Of the railroads and that II would
be difficult indeed to change their minds.
He urged that copies of the Omaha papers
containing reports OF this meeting be sent
to the members and broadcast throughout