Perth Amboy evening news., 1905-01-07

-cadjed-a nunared rect IN w1dtnfJ,a'
! was imposed upon nonrailroad proper
Isty ia any municipality In orutl =
make assurance doubly sure the lesls
lature Oh the same day that the Sener
afrailroad law was ennctedillso raSsss
| a general law for the TAXATION Oh ran
road property, clititled"Ah ACT 10 eStap
fish lust rules for the taxation Oh ran
road corporations and to lhnuce TIE
| acceptance ANA uniform adoptlcn' pro
vfdin@ for u state tax of one-half of J
| ne, cent anon their cost and SubJectin2
| +bn nroneytv of any such road (eNceD
| roadbed a hundred feet in width ana t
tract of ten acres at the termini witt
| improvements thercon) to local
| This law was in 1876 modified to com
| ply with the constitutional Requirement
that property should be taxed on itf
value and not on its cost. but II state
tax was vigorously maintained, the acl
indeed being entitled AN act proYid
ing for state taxes ON RAILROADS n
The more effectual collection thereof"
IN 1854 the present law, as cOrrectea
IN 1883, was passed. and of course 1t
also confined the familiar provision
requiring each company to pay to the
state for general state purposes the
tax of one-half of 1 per cent upon each
dollar of valuation the proceeds
whereof were TO be applied ITO the
uses of the state"
No more satisfactory resume OF thls
matter can be found than is contained
in MIR. Justice Parker's opinion in the
court of errors, concurrinG WIN lht
majority of the court in the view ina
this act is entirely fair and conStIiu-
tional. He says. speaking of railfoa'''
ain the infancy of this class o. rorpo-
rations, when struggling for eNlSi'.l't
the amount of tax they We're required
to Day into the state treasury was
ANAL. The state favored them bE lin
ting the annual tax to be pald pN Su"l
generations to the One-h1lf OF per
cent on the cost OF their respective
roads This fax was for state purposes,
and they were not assessed lor locai
raxos The wise and liberal policy
adcotpd by the state was founded in
mart on the fact that the enterprises il
vbich Slich companies were engaged
were 1T that time of doubtful success
and in part on the belief that if sue
ccssfuI ihcy would contribute vastly to
the public good.
AS time progressed these corpora
tions extended their business opera
lions and acquired additional property,
often OF great value, until in. some sec
lions Of the state. especially in the cit
les. the exemptions from local taxation
became so great as to incumber the
property of citizens liable to be taxed
with n heavy burden.
"To prevent injustice arising from ill.,
equality of taxation and to equaliZe rs
far as possible the public burdens the
legislature on the ID day of April,
1873. passed an act the avowed object
Of which was to establish just rules
for the taxation of railroad properly.
This act made Il radical change in the
system. 1t provided not only that rail
road companies should pay upon the
cost. equipment and appendages of
their roads a state tax at such rate rs
had before been fixed 10y law. but also
upon all real property OF such compa-
MES owned by them (~cXccPtin% the
main stem. not exceeding Il hundred
feet in width, Il county and municipal
tax for the behetit Of the counties,
townships and cities of fhe state re-
s%pectiVely where the same We're stu
atcd after The rate of | per cent. K
empting. however, from such tax hand
not exceeding len acres lying in
parcel at the tcrmini of the respective
roads"
As is well known. the tax act of 1854
imposed Il heavier burden on railroads
than they had before borne, and hence
il was vigorously attacked by them in
the courts. The supreme court. on
siSting of Chief Justice Beas!ey and
Justices Knapp and Magic, the latter
now being the chancellor of the state,
held it To he unconstitutional. The con-
trary Judgment of the court of errors
and appeals was not concurred in by
Judge (afterWard Chief JUSTICE DeDuc.
SO that while the law was ultimately
sustained it did not receive the APP
prevail of some of our greatest iurists.
The act WaS drawn by the ablest law
yera and was designed to and did ma
terially increase the revenue Of the
state. Many of the railroads, includ-
ing the Pennsylvania system. have
paid the taxes imposed against them
under protest, claiming that their
charters exempted them from the ad-
ditional eXactious. Twenty years have
passed. however, ana | think the view
prevails alike among the railroad COM
panies, the state officials and every II
else who has given the subject any at
tention that 4 fair and equable system
was thereby devised for raising a large
part of the states necessary revenue.
This twenty years acquiescence has
crystallized the act and diSsipated the
doubts rs to its constitutionalit.y or
applicability. SO much ut least is Sc
cure. The experience with that act has