The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-03-01
WHY THE RAILROADS OPPOSE
SECTION FIFTY.

4 Inc OIBduS bbdL dit advocating lAts
change or repeal of section fifty have
suddenly became converts to the idea
| that the Corporation Commission ought
| to be given the largest powers. A few
weeks ago they opposed entrusting them
with the simple power to order the cree
| ton of union depots where needed
They denounee those who oppose chang
| ing section fifty as rejecting upon the
Corporation Commission and as being I'M
willing 20 trust that body to make assess
ments of railroad property for taxation.
the Corporation Commission ar men who
tried to prevent it's establishment
! tried to defeat the present majority OF
the Commission, sought to deny them the
! additional power conferred in the Fuller
! BILL and have criticized every good act
of the commission. Their present sud
den zeal for charging the powers and
discretion to act in assessing
railroad property is promoted, not by
desire to give power to the Corporation
| Commission, but to give Simonton or
some other Federal judge a lever by
| which he can veto the Corporation Com
missions assessment of railroad property
for taxation when it is made next June.
The men who put section fifty in the
machinery act in 1901 were advertent to
| the fact that the Federal courts had
| heretofore annulled assessments made by
ground that other property was not as
| sessed at its true value in money, and
, therefore the Corporation Commission
| had unjustly valued railroad property for
4; taxation. They determined, in so far as
was possible, to make such injunctions
| impossible by prescribing the exact rules
| by which the Corporation Commission
| shall be governed in assessing railroad
property so that next June, when Simon
| ton sends down his injunction against
their assessment, they can answer: "This
! assessment was made in accordance with
| the mandate of the General Assembly of
| the sovereign State of North Carolina,
! the only discretion being given us was
| to mathematically ascertain the true
| value in money within fixed lines. We
| have done this. The injunction is, there
| fore, against the action of the General
tions which we have obeyed." The rail-
/ roads, which are fighting section fifty
! under the guise of wishing to give dis
! cretionary powers to the Commission,
, know that their policy is an injunction-
breeder, and that is why they advo-
cate it, And it should deceive nobody.
If it were possible to do so at this
| juncture, the best thing the Legislature
could do would be to assess this prop
erty itself, so that any injunction would
| have to lie against the direct action of
the General Assembly. This would be
| BEST not because of distrust of the Cor
poration Commission, but because Fed
eral judges would be slower to enjoin
| just taxation imposed by the peoples di-
rect representatives than by agents Sc
| lected to assess property for taxation.
| Inasmuch as direct assessment seems
| now impracticable, the next best thing
| is to retain section fifty, which limits and
| controls the necessary discretion in such
| ways as will make it more difficult for
government by injunction to veto the
| assessment next June.
If section fifty is abolished, or changed
| as desired by the railroads, Judge Simon
| ton will assess the railroad property of
North Carolina for taxation for the next
two years. Who wishes to have the
States sovereign power to assess We
| toed by a resident of another State? I'll
the State is to give up its power to tax
and to assess for taxation, what SOW
ereignty is left to it?
If section fifty is repealed or cut I'D
by the roots, this Legislature ought to
enact an endless chain bond issue. for
private property owners will not assess
their property at its true value when
they see that the Legislature changes the
proper method by which the railroads are
: to be assessed. The result will be that
being $780, 900 will exceed half a million
dollars.