New-York tribune., 1903-01-22
SOME HISTORY.

il does not seem to have been exactly good
tactics on the part of Mr.. Frank Platt in his
capacity as counsel for public service corpora
tions 10 attack President Roosevelt for his share
in passing the Franchise Tax law. Those who
are familiar with his habits when seeking to in
fuencc legislation in Albany, and who remem-
ber the cause of his disagreements with Gov
ernor Black and later with Governor Odeli. will
think him hardly the proper person TO find fault
with Governor Roosevelt anybody else on
the ground that he ordered the legislature TO
pass the Ford hill. Fer him to set up an ideal
OF legislative freedom from dictation and com
plain of the subordination of members to the
Governor who can veto their bills is just trife
incongruous. in view of the well known feelings
not Of independents but Of many machine Re
publicans. Mr.. Platts review OF the session of
1893 instead Of carrying conviction that Gov
error Roosevelt acted with gross impropriety,
seems to recall incidents not too creditable to
Mr. pIatt's friends who were fighting franchise
taxation
He SAYS The Ford bill was one Of the many
.'antl-corpuraionb bills on thelcgslatve calendar,
"all introduced in the spirit Of Bryanism, and
declares that there was no serious thought of
passing il until the end of the session; that it
WAS laid aside by general consent, and sud
denly revived by the Governor without warning.
discussed in the newspapers al through Febru-
AIRY and March. If it was bad Bryan measure
why did the Republican organization put it
through the Senate on April II, nearly three
weeks before il passed the Assembly. by n vote
of 50 10 - the machine" leaders all supporting
il? Was it put through one house without in
tent 30 pass it: Was it clever corporation
device to seem TO surrender TO the public de-
mand and then quietly Kill the bill in the As
semhly? 1t looked so. Long before the Gov
ernor took hand the Juggling commenced.
The Assembly Taxation Committee set hear
ing on the bill. and then adjourned by trick
10 avoid listening to arguments in its favor.
Then the Committee on Rules tried arbitrarily
10 shelve the till. and succeeded in postponinS
il to the very end Cf the session. Finally, when
the Governor sent IN emergency message. so
that The pettifoggers might have no excuse
that the bill was not in order TO be voted on.
daring attempt was made to suppress the mes
sage The opponents of the bill never cared TO
fight It IN the open Throughout the debate in
the press ard the legislature no serious 3rgu-
Iaent was made against it. All that Governor
Roosevelt did at the regular session was TO pre-
vent tricksters from killing the bill. Public
opinion and organization votes did the rest
Mr. Platt thinks franchise taxation is Bryan
ism Is Judge Cullen, Of the Court of appeals,
a Bryanie? He pointed the way to the tax
alton Of franchises after the assessment OF those
values as personal property was declared in
valid when it had been accepted without com
plaint for forty years. Was Judge Selden Bry
anite? He declared years ago that franchises
were an estate in fee Was it Organism for
Washburn, the great authority on real estate
law, to treat franchises as real property? What
is there so wild in treating this sort of property
right in land like any other? What, excepting
that SIr. Platt's clients do not like it? For the
most part they have secured the property with
out paying for ii, and now they do not want 10
pay taxes on it. Mr.. Platt finds no comfort for