The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1904-11-26
etc. was S1s3 per acre.

laIioduS ana cdHalS, lncluufnS IfaHcHlst,
was $6749 per acre; and the average
valuation of land outside Of main stem
was S6,01S PEI. acre.
The average tax paid per acre of all
locally assessed real estate, including
improvements, was $402 per acre, while
the average tax paid on railroad real es-
tate was $46.S5 per acre; that the rail-
roads actually paid in taxes 11115 times
as much per acre as other property paid.
The land of the railroads amounts to
3/100 of one per cent. of the land in the
State; but this land pays ~ of all the
taxes paid on land in New Jersey.
Mr.. Corbin was questioned by Com
missioner Black, who suggested that
these comparisons might be misleading as
applied to the whole State, and should
be made with reference to each commune
ity, so that the diversity could be observ-
ed with reference to the conditions exist
ing.
Mr.. Black said that in Burlington
County there were vast areas of almost
useless land. Mr.. Corbin turned to his
schedules and showed that in Burlington
County the railroad companies paid on
all land outside of main stem s., ,037 per
acre, while land in that County locally
assessed was valued only at $35 per
acre, the railroad land being assessed 56
times as much per acre as other land.
Mr.. Corbin said that Atlantic City pre-
sented different situation, railroad land
outside of main stem being assessed at
an average of s1o,2o7 per acre, while
other lands were assessed at $14,s72 per
acre.
Commissioner Lentz explained that
this city presented an exceptional case,
because local valuations have been great
! ly raised. and that the city, with small
area, possessed immensely valuable inn
provements, whereas the railroad proper
ty in that city was not of special import
ance.
He called for the figures in Essex
1 County, and it was shown that in that
County railroad property outside of main
stem is assessed at $6,366 per acre, and
all other property at s2,41o per acre.
Commissioner Riker asked for the city
of Newark, and it appeared that railroad
property was assessed in Newark at
$6,T71 per acre, and other property at
S1s,S07 per acre.
Mr.. Corbin said that Atlantic City and
Newark presented two marked instances
of exceptions from the general rule.
Hudson county was called for, and the
figures showed that railroad property out
side of main stem is assessed in that
county at $22,771 per acre, and other
property at $5,6os per acre.
Mr.. Corbin argued that as the rail-
roads extended to every remote corner of
the State, taking strip of every kind
of property, good and bad its land as
such was, naturally, representative of
! the land Of the State and not on the ay-
erage any better. and that the improve
ments. made thereon, did not represent,
on the whole, so much greater expendi-
ture as might at first be supposed than
that on all other lands, when the enor-
nous sums expended on houses and
buildings in cities was taken into ac-
count.
The length of track on single
only 436 feet, which can ordinarily be
laid for 5000. which was not very
great sum: and that when it came to the
track yards ia cities the length of track
which could be placed on a twenty-five
foot lot was only 200 feet, of a value Of,
perhaps $500 whereas any house ordinari-
" built in city ran into the thousands of
dollars, so that the impression which he
thought prevailed that railroad i'm
pyovement upon the acreage occupied
was somewhat mistaken notion; which
he thought was shown by the results Of
the schedules which proved that in the
whole State the railroad land paid 1115
times as much per acre as other lands.
Notwithstanding the lower rates of tax
alton imposed on the railroad; that this
| diversity in country districts was so
great that the railroads paid as much
as fifty times per acre as other people.
! It was a very significant indication that
the railroads had not been neglected il
distributing the burdens Of taxation. He
said that the levy of S6.T49 per acre Of
main stem of railroads meant valua-
ton, for purposes Of taxation, of nearly
| $4,000 per mile for the entire State Of
New Jersey. besides the amount assessed
| for property outside of main stem. which