Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-02-22

railroad taxation? More than S.. coo 900
New York gers $4,000, 900 | will reat
you the difference between taxation
upon gross receipts and upon the actua
value. as it appears in several of the
states. Alabama taxes upon the gros'
receipts and gets 500 900. California
taxes upon the actual value and gets
Sl.222S,393: Colorado $l,110,95I. Connecti-
cut which taxes upon the gross receipt:
gets 100000: Illinois. taxes upon groS>
receipts and gets $?.1S9, 49,. Indiana
gets 100000; formerly taxed upon
gross receipts has changed hen
method and today they are taxed
upon actual value, and she gets So
4Sf59i; Iowa, which taxes upon actual
value gets $l531,9il: Kansas which
taxes upon her actual value gets s., 1S4,
923: Kentucky upon gross receipts, gels
.1,,5S3; Massa cnusetts. which taxes
upon actual value gets 81. so.
So you might go on. In those states
which are taxed upon their actual
value you will find they se- almost tivn
times as murn i'll taxation as they do
uDon gross receipts. Every one of
these states which I have mentioned.
for a long number Of years i'll order to
help the railroads along. voted to tax
them upon their gross receipts. In
Minnesota they had fifty millions of
dollars of railroad property and in
Maine we haze eighty million as ap-
pears by the report of the railroad
commissioners. That eighty millions of
property is only paying on"-half of one
ppnnintS Wa 1.
that they are fearful corporations. and
that we have given them extraordinary
rights in their franchises, including n
right of eminent domain: isn't it time
now for us to say that the farmers Of
this state who are iabCring upon tho
hillsides and who are growing poorer
on account of the excessive rate of tax
atiOn shall be protected. and that the
burden shall be lifted from their shoul-
ders and that all property shall be
taxed equally?
The State of Maine today gets about
100000 from its taxation upon the
gross receipts of the railroads in
Maine. Is it not right that the Maine
Central railroad with it's thirty millions
of property, with its gross receipts of
$S,000,00U last year. should pay the same
tax upon its property as the farmer
pays upon his farm in the State of
Maine? You may vote it down today,
Mr.. President. but like BanGuo's ghost,
it wont down. 1t will come up, and
when the people OF this State under
stand the question of taXation-when
you put over the mantelpiece of every
family in the State of Maine. every
taxpayer, that railroads are paying
hear something drop in the State of
Maine. They are going to wake up to
the fact that the railroads have been
exempted and that the real estate of
the State of Maine has been bearing
the burdens of taxation.
know there is a powerful lobby
that has been here through all this SEES
sion to thWart the will of the people
| know the Boston & Maine, the Maine
Central and other railroads have their
Hobbies here. The poor farmer cannot
come here. 1 come here on my own
responsibility. Nobody is responsible
to me for this bill. | deem it an act of
justice to myself and to my con-
SUI -IItS anu u lllt taxpayers or inns
State that l raise my voice to protest
that the railroad property of this State
shall longer be exempted from taxa
ton while the farmers are suffering
from the burdens put upon them on
account of it. As Governor Dngley
said, Zeal estate will be benefted-it
Will take a movement upwards if YOU
tax railroads as you do other prop
erty.' That was away back in 1874
and 1915. All these years the railroads
have been coming before our Legisla-
lures and asking for extraordinary
privileges and franchises. and they are
ate the whole State. Are you going
to longer remain idle and to say: I'VE
are willing to give you these privi-
leges," or will you say at the same
time you must bear the burden of
taxation equally with other property"
Now, in regard to the question of
taxation upon gross receipts. l know
there is 4 bill in the other House to tax
railroad property upon gross receipts.
| could not support that measure for
the reason that | do not believe il to be
ttIStltulloIldl, ana l. desire TO quote
from some of the courts Of this coun-
try upon that question. If it is true
that section eight of article nine of tho
constitution Of the United States de-
ClareS that all property shall be taxed
equally upon the just values. then I
do not wonder that the courts of this
country have decided and declared
that when we tax one kind of property
in one manner and another kind of
property in another manner in the
same state that it is unconstitutional.
Michigan by constitutional amendment
and legisla ton in accordance Herewith
has abolished the license fee and adopt
ed the ad valorem method which is the
same as actual values for the assess
mcnt of property by state board.
There was a time when the great idea
| OF self government demanded that al,
property should be taxed in the town
and county, but in the general en-
lightenment under which we live we
find the State board taking the place of
local taxation as they did i'll Michigan.
M the present time the states of
Maine, Minnesota, Vermont and Wis
conSin are the only states adhering