Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1903-03-19
EVEN FUSION VOTES GO TO RAILROADS
Test Comes on Amendment offered by Ten
ByOk During Debate.
CLOSING MOMENTS IN COMMITTEE LIVELY
Electric Light, Gas, Telephone and Other
Companies Get Busy.
RAILROADS HAVE ALL THEY WANTED
Measure as at Present Endorsed Con-
tnins Exactly the Provision Pro-
posed by the Special Rev
enue Commission.
CFrom a stan Correspondent }

CFrom a Staff Correspondent
LINCOLN, March 1s.-(Special.)-Aftera all
the pow-wow INDUCED in by the organs
and leaders OF hyphenated politics In Ne
braska about minority members in the
legislature being the only true advocates
OF tax reform, seven of these minority
members fell in line and cast their votes
with those to whom these organs OF flu
sionism have all along been referring as
tools OF the railroads" and "hirelings Of
the corporations"
The test in which these seven fusion
members jumped the track came an
amendment to the revenue bill submitted
by Ten Eyck (rep) OF Douglas. providing
for method of local taxation of railroads,
a counterpart of the principle embodied in
II. r. $50, out OF which the fusionists tried
to make so much campaign thunder. Thirty
votes were cast for the amendment and
62 against. OF the twenty-four fusionists
in the house only sixteen supported the
amendment seven voted against it and
one evoded the roll call. Fourteen repub-
| lcans voted Cor it.
The house concluded consideration Of the
revenue bill and adopted the report of tho
committee OF tho whole recommending 1t
f., passage. The bill, with its amend
ments, will he engrossed fer a third read
| ing after the amendments have been printed
ard 1t is not probable that II will be back
! in the house for a third reading before
] next week.
Corporations Lose Again.
The house devoted the greater part OF
the day to the bill. In the interest of the
street railway corporations certain MEM
hcrs prolonged discussion on the bill SO
| as to give the interests they represented
time to slip in their amendment placing
! them under the gross earnings franchise
| tax system. The amendment was submit
ted by Burgess Of Lancaster after the mo-
tion was made in the committee Of the
whole to report the bill for passage. But
| 1t did not prevail. On the contrary, 1t was
voted down very docisively. Koetter and
Mangold Of Douglas voted for 1t.
Thompson of Merrick secured the adop-
tiou of his amendment knocking out the
| electric light companies from this provi-
sion. The electric light concerns, with
other utility corporations, had Rurrepti-
tiously tackled on an amendment to sec
| tion so of the revenue bill giving them the
benefits OF this gross earnings s-fr anchise
method OF taxation. They were found out
and Mr.. Thompson's amendment was their
! deathknell However the gas companies
were not caught. The bill got through
/ before It.. was discovered that they were
couched safely in the folds Of this provi
sion.
The street railway concerns, which are
accused of tying up with the Burlington In
securing a sitting committee to their lik-
| ing, endeavored to rule with an iron hand
/ today and probably this accounts in some
measure, for their decisive throwdown.
/ Certain members baked when this COM
| bined lash was welded and the result was
disastrous to the street railways. 1t has
been suggested that 1t might have been
better for them had not they fallen heir
to a share in the sitting committee.
Railroad Clause stands.
Desperate efforts we're made to amend
| the revenue bill so as TO change the pro-
! visions relating to railroad taxation, but
| all in vain. Loomis submitted an amend
ment, which was a modification of the
Caldwell amendment, and Perry OF Furnas
| resubmitted the Caldwell amendment. The
former was defeated by a vote of 81 to 35,
one fusionist voting against 1t, and the
latter was lost by practically the same vote.
Thus the bill goes through with the iden-
! tical railroad taxation method provided by
the joint committee that framed the bill.
1t has been generally argued by those OPP
posed to the bill that this means an enor-
nous increase in all taxes save those OF the
! corporations, which, under the State Board
| OF Equalization arrangement, will be given
Just as good II not better, opportunity
for evading their taxes as under the old
law. To Offset this friends OF the bill
protest that the measure contemplates an
equality in taxation and places at the
disposal Of the assessors every means OF
getting at the taxable property of the
railroads which will tend to prevent tax
shirking.
Course of Fusion Leaders.
Now that the revenue bill is recon-
mended for passage by the house. the stti-
tude of the fusionlsts will be watched
with interest. As a matter OF fact the
fusonists have themselves largely to
| blame for the success OF the bill, as is
! generally understood. 1t is no secret in
| the state house that the high priests OF
fusonism wanted a revenue bill passed
that would not be satisfactory to the people
| Of Nebraska. Their purpose was so OBJ
yious as to deceive no one, and the man
ner in which they have conducted their
fight to suppress any other sort Of legisla-
tion along this line has been a subject OF
general comment.
One little detail OF the fusionists' meth
DDS: Some days ago they made a big ado
about not allowing the street railway, gas,
] tleClIlc llBhl anu lelepnoue companies 10
be taxed their gross earnings for
their franchises, and gave 1t out cold that
they would see that all these utility cor
porations were placed in the same category
for taxation purposes. Today was the time
for them TO make good" their housetop
proclamations. But they skunk away in
stead with the amendment in their pockets
and didn't open their mouths about the
proposition, except to consult privately
among themselves, and declded-since one
prominent fusion member owned stock in
an independent telephone compapy-that II
would be unwise to suggest this change.
- Legislative Employees.
The present house OF representatives has
had appointed just an even 100 en-
IL OF chapter Xviii of the compiled statutes
ployes the senate only hfty-nine. Section
provides that the house shall not have
to exceed seyenty-hye employees. and sec