The Penn's Grove record., 1905-02-17

O1 SGcOUu Ia
at Local Rates and IN Maximum
Tax Rate In municipalities to b G
Fixed by Legislature.
Especial Correspondence
Trenton, Feb. 15.-The legislature met
in Joint session yesterday at noon ano
| elected about 700 commissioners OF
deeds for the various counties of the
| state. Senator Cross, president OF the
| senate, presided at the joint meeting.
A joint meeting of the legislature is
| an imposing spectacle. Shortly before
| noon both houses took a recess prepare
| tory to the meeting. Chairs were ar
| ranged in a semicircle around the
| speakers desk in the house.
The great doors leading to the as
| sembly were thrown open, and Sergeant
| at Arms Lutts advanced down the aisle,
| halted and announced to the speaker
| and the members of the assembly seat
| ed at their desks:
"The senate of New Jersey"
Then the dignifed members of the
upper house filed into the chamber, the
| assemblymen arising respectfully to re-
| ceive them. The senators took the chairs
| arranged for them, and President Cross
with a tap of the gavel opened the meet
ing. The election of the commissioners
of deeds was promptly proceeded with
| and was quickly over. The first few
names on the list prepared We're read
and then the motion was adopted to
| elect the entire list. This was done
| and the joint session adjourned.
The ceremony of swearing in Ran
| dolph Perkins of Union county as a
| member of the assembly elected at the
special election in Union to succeed the
late George II. Embree occurred Tues
day morning. Mr.. Perkins credentials
were presented to the house and ap-
proved and Assemblyman Pennington
of Essex as q master in chancery adj
ministered the oath.
Assemblyman Dalrymple offered a
bill appropriating $4,000 to administer
| the teachers retirement fund. Another
| bill introduced provides for the creation
| Of excise boards in second class cities
by appointment of the mayor. There
will be another joint session in two
weeks to elect additional commission
ers of deeds.
Taxation COMMISSIONS Report.
The most interesting public matter
before the legislature is the report of
the equal taxation commissioners. This
report, which is in four parts, is of
great interest to the people of New
Jersey, as it is a forecast Of the action
likely to be taken by the present legis-
lature. The possibilities in dollars and
cents to the people, to the railroads
and to the various municipalities from
legislation is apparent in the submitted
report.
There are two material points upon
which all the commissioners agreed.
One of these provides for the taxation
of second class property at local rates,
and the other was that there hGJifffdd be
fixed ~ the legislature a maximum
/ tax rate in municipalities. If Senator
Hillery's bill fixing the maximum tax
rate at $3.50 in municipalities becomes
a law the railroads will pay no more
| tax on their second class property than
they pay now, provided that the assess
ments on their property should not be
| increased.
The railroads now pay on second
class property a tax rate Of $1.50, or
exactly the maximum rate provided for
in the Hillery bill. 1t is true that Sen
ator Hillery in his bill eXempts from
calculation in the maximum rate the
state school tax, which under present
| conditions amounts to a rate of about
II cents. So that perhaps it would be
fair to say that Senator Hillery's bill
fixes a maximum tax rate of $1.61.
This would mean that the tax rate
could be as high as $1.67, and where
the rate was hat high the railroads
| would pay more on second class prop
erty than they do now pay. On the
other hand, there are many municipal
tiles in this state in which there is sec
| ond class railroad property where the
rate is ever now much less than $1.50,
and in those cases the railroads under
the proposition of the commissioners
to include the valuation of second class
property in local ratables would pay
taxes less than they now pay.
Arguments on the Report.
1t is argued that such a maximum
rate as is proposed by Senator Hillery's
bill would not only keep down the
amount of the taxes that the railroads
would have to pay upon second class
property in cities like Jersey City, where
there is a present tax rate as high as
$2.75, but it would also put the larger
cities in the different counties in a pc
sition where they would have to pay
a considerably larger proportion of the
state school and county taxes thar
they now contribute.
Aside from the question Of how the
proposed maximum tax rate would
operate in keeping down the amount OF
money that would be paid by the rail
roads in taxes on second class property
and in compelling cities to pay a larger
proportion of state school and county
taxes than at present, there is tn,
unanimous recommendation of the
commission, which is worth a clos
study. Heretofore railroad companiea
have been paying taxes on second clas
railroad property Of $3.50 and hav,
paid these taxes direct to the munich