Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-03-10

Now, Mr. Speaker. | shall add nothing.
| do not think it is necessary, to what
| have said and | ask the gentlemen of
this House. in voting upon this question.
to consider the opinions of the gentlemen
who has done 50 much to advance the
interests of the State of Maine.
Mr. MERRILL: Mr.. Speaker.
would like to ask the gentleman from
Portland. a question. Is Mr. f.. p.
Kicker a director in the Maine Central
Railroad?
derstand that he is.
Mr.. POWERS Of Houlton: Mr.
Speaker. | wish to say just one word
before this discussion is closed. |
would like to ask this House who il is
that pays the taxes of the railroads if
YOU increase the tax? The farming
community in my county and the peo-
pie Who send over the railroad the
'rcignt, believe that they pay the lax
if any extra tax is placed upon the
railroads. We believe that the ship
perS of freight will pay the tax. and
my county is deeply Interested in that
We sent out of that county last year
light thousand carloads of potatoes
If You increase the tax one cent on a
1ushel OF potatoes. il amounts to five
dollars on each carload. or $40 900 that
It would cost the farmers in my coun-
~ for the extra freight that they
would have To pay if the road raised
ITS freight one cent on buShel
agree with the gentleman from
SkOWhegan that if we could tax these
could perhaps reduce the revenue
which they receive in dividends, il
Would be one thing: but if by taxing
them we Immediately tax the people
who send the freight over their roads.
hen we are taxing the class of peo-
',le which my friend from Skowhegan
claims he wants 10 protect and benefit.
and that is the farmers and producers
II the gentleman wants to build work.
shops for the blind. if he wants to
!aVor institutions for the needy, for
the waits ri this State. let il be by
direct taxation and then il falls on
he rich cities and the rich centers
here the wealth is 1t falls equally.
i'heTe Is Il great deal more wealth i'm
our cities than the farming commun-
tiles. and if you raise money by direct
taxation You make it equal. whereas
If YOU raise it by taxing the railroads
1t seems to NE that you will go to one
particular class and that class is the
producer and the farmer and the per-
son who owns the real estate Those
II" the people that | understand nv
friend wishes to help; but it does
seem to mo. ami believe that is why
The granSerS of this State are here
today opposing this bill. because they
are the ones deeply interested, they
are the ones who must pay this extra
lax if You place it upon the railroads.
Why Gentlemen. a railroad is a quasi
public corporation. They are given
certain rights because they help the
ieople. They help develop our coun-
Try. Why is ii that the provincial
government today runs the Inter-
colonial Railroad. owns il and runs il
1t Il loss every year of one-half million
,lo!lais' 1t is done simply that the
farmers and those who have ,,roducts
20 send to market can have an oppor
tunity to do so. The provincial gov
eminent runs that railroad every wear
IT a loss. and according to their esti-
mates it is half Il million dollars
They 10 it to help the people who want
to send to the markets the. products
Of their labor. And where do they
make up this deficit? They get if bv
!evying Il tax upon all the cities and
upon the rich centerS of that govern
ment.
| submit that if YOU tax the rail-
roads they are going to have the same
amount, of dividends on their stool,
they are going To have the sama
amount of interest You won't change
that one particle however much Won
may TAX them. Ana where il is com
ing from? 1t is coming either by cut
ting down the pay of the mon ubo
work for them. o. i'm poorer service or
else it is coming out of the men who
send the frciehts across this country
1t might seem to You that This ,,oas
not amount to much to the Bangor e,
Aroostook road because - MOI, oo,,,
comes back under the charta- Tho
gentleman has spoken of the charter
given w Wv '''''''''h lftHI. III
IN uncertain venture No one know
whether it would pay or not. and tho
men who put their money into il
W lille the gentleman claims that il vas
only q small amount still if was g,
question whether those men voulJ mn.
everyone of them be ruined. lint :.
proved to be successful business on
terpriZe.
Something has been said about tn.
committee of previous Legislature
knew nothing about the committee
which was here two or four wears AGO
This committee | d" know. know thar
the chairman of this committee. is ,ho
man who set in agitation the law which
gives to us the two-cent MILEAGE
know that the chairman of that com.
n,i,,ee is 10 friend to the rail-
road: and I find his name upon the ma
ioritv report. find also five o,har
MINES on that renort. AMI I am in
fnrnad by the chairman that tho othau
two who were not here to vote, wrote
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