The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1905-01-12

"'n"r and Superior Court Judge
Proposed.
| The biennial message of Governo
Charles b. Aycock. the retirir.g q chic
executive. to the General Assembly q
North Carolina was read before tina
body on the 9TH. We make the fol
lowing extracts:
The Honorable, the General Assembly:
| congratulate you us YOU ente
upon the discharge OF !. our dutie.
that you find in the State an excel
lent condition. Her citizens of al
chiiIngs are prosperous and the reve
nueS OF the State are adequate for al
the needs that you will be callpt
upon to supply. At the close of thu
last fiscal year on the Both of Novem
Der there was in the State treasur,
for general purposes the sum O
T339, 6S3. The revenue and ma
chinery acts passed by the last Gen
eral Assembly have worked admir-
ably and have brought into the State
treasury sufficient sums for all pur
poses OF government economically
administered. You will therefore
enter upon the discharge of your
duties unhampered by a deficit and
untempted by any large surplus tc
make extravngant appropriations.
Certain taxes levied hy the last
General Assembly have been declared
by the courts unconstitutional. These
taxes are adverted to in the report
of The State Treasurer, and | concur
in his recommendations concerning
them. Such changes ought to be
made in the law as will enable the
collection of these taxes for the future
as likewise for the past two years.
The taxes so levied were proper. but
of course they must be levied in u
observation-disclosures. With the few
changes suggested, the machinery
and revenue acts are perhaps as good
aswe can make them under our con-
stitutiOn.
The whole subject of taxation is
one we'll worthy your profoundest
consideration. The burdens of gov
ernment, always enormous, are made
more SO by wroug distlihutiop of
them. The taxation in many of our
towns and cities, when combined with
the State, county aud special taxes,
is found to he very hurdensome and
results in great loss OF revenue by
reason of the refusal of the taxpayer
tofully list all property when the tax
rate is so high as to amount to some
thing like cOntiscatiOn. | commend
to your most careful consideration
the able discussion of this matter by
the State Tax Commission. This
commission has given much and pro-
found study to the question of tax
alton and it's opinion is worthy of
the most serious consideration.
The assessment of railroad prop
erty for taxation ir. 1893 was $ad.=
619, $50; in l0Oa this assessment
was made $70,62S, 523, thus more
than doubling the assessment In a
period of five years. This increased
assessment of railroad property at
first glance might appear to be Unjust,
but when it IL considered that within
the time named the gross earnings of
the railroads of this State have in
creased from ELL, ,543,516 to $1S,-
61O, ,S15, the appearance of injustice
passes away and leaves one in doubt
whether the railroads are even now
assessed at anything like their true
value. The Corporation Commission
has managed the assessment of rail
road property and the collection OF
taxes out Of the RAILROADS with great
wisdom and without creating any
serious friction between the great
corporations and the State.
| am of the opinion that the rail-
roads and the State ought to be
both protected against the loss OF
life incident to using the railroads as
Il highway by pedestrians. Some 60
people are annually killed while walk
ing on the railroad tracks at other
places than crossings. This loss of
life could be saved to the State by
making it a misdemeanOr to use the
track as highway except for the
purpose of going directly across it.
This would result in the saying Of
many valuable lives to the tateand
much money to the railroads which
is paid out by them for the injury
and killing OF people who ought not
to be upon the tracks.
| am of the opinion that the Cor
poration Commission act should be
so amended as to give that commits
sion the power to permit the railroads
to have only one passenger fare. l
am told that all the States of the
Union now have but one fare except
North Carolina. If this beneficial
legislation shall he enacled into law
it will certainly then be the duty OF
the Corporation Commission or Of
your honorable body-if the COrpor-
alton Commission has not already
the power-to take steps to secure
better passenger service on many of
the lines operating in this State. |
believe strongly in dealing fairly by
the railroads, but l believe just as
strongly in compelling them to serve
the purposes of their creation and
furnish to the people safe, CONVENIENT
and rapid transportation, so that
the interchange between the various
sections of the State may be easily
and expeditiously made and the busi-
ness OF the State thereby greatly i'm
proved.
The railroads have during the past
year or two in suits pending in the
courts set up a defense the want OF
Jurisdiction on the part of the Cor
poration Commission to deal with
the matters then in litigation, were
the proper subjects for control by the
State. II the Corporation Qommis-
sion has not this power now claimed
by it, the Legislature should amend
the law so as to confer the power. 1t
is wiser in my opinion to make the
power of the Corporation Commis-