The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-02-13
Sessions That bsgan This
Morning Promise to Be
Very Lively Indeed
MORE ABOUT LOCAL OPTION
LIMITED
FRANCHISE AND MORRIS CA
NAL ABANDONMENT WILL ALL
BE DISCUSSED.
Especial to ."rhe Jersey City News.")

4 lSpecl2l TO '~Hhe Jersey city ReWs.'D
TRENTON, Feb. 13, 1905. The Leg
islature had no session yesterday because
of honor to Lincoln's birthday. but the
sessions for the rest of the week which
began this morning promise to be very
interesting.
Continuing the fast work. there will
be many and important hearings aud the
opinion of Attorney General McCarter is
expected on the constitutiona4ity of the
various house bills fer taxing the main
| stem of railroads.
AS previously printed the Attorney
General can come to but one conclusion
that being that house No /, the admin
istration measure, is constitutional and
| there is doubt about the other bills. This
is clear sailing for the court of errors
and appeals has already passed on the
constitutionality of a measure identical,
except as to rate, with the present bill,
and the court said that the rate had
| nothing to do with such measures con-
stitutionality The present bill, house
No ], is Identical with the present and
tested law, except as to rate. Under its
| provisions the railroads will pay four
times the amount of taxes they are now
paying. Still the railroads will be the
gamer by the work of the state board
of equalization of taxes meeting with
/ the different localassessors and inquir-
ing into the taxing of personality. So
far there have been many things uncov-
cred and it is likely that when the prob
ability Of house No. 1 going through the
Legislature, there viii appear the repeal
er of the law allowing exemption for debt
on personal estates. This would mean
that the railroads would be satisfied, for
their taxes would even be less than now
and everybody would be paying their
| fair share of taxes.
| 1t is because the railroads have no
| faith in an effort to get out the per-
sonality for taxing purposes that efforts
| are being made to pass the Calvin bill,
House No. 2. Under this bill the rail-
roads would have to control the local
/ assessors in taxing districts to keep
! ~ 4boi,. {ox II he. oocx
matter for the local assessors to cut the
total assessments on such a road as the
pie would never know that the railroads
were controlling the assessors and get
ting in under cheap assessment. The
taxing district would be getting moneys
it never had before and no one would
care to investigate whether the amounts
were rightly hundreds or many thou-
4 sands Could the railroads trust to get
ting out the personality, they would be
glad to quit the fight on political lines,
/ but they cannot trust to having the mill
lenium come in politics and when they
realize that House No. is going through,
there will come a determined effort to
repeal the allowing exemption for debt
on personal property taxation. Then
will be loosened the data the railroads
have been gathering for two years about
personal property which escapes taxation
and the State Board for the Equaliza-
tlon of I xes, to whom appeal will be
made, will take the matter up in the
most drastic fashion. Already the
Board, has laid the foundations for a
campaign against the dodger of per-
sonal property taxation and fun is in
sight.
1t is currently reported that one of
the greatest cryers for equal taxation
/ has 100000 invested in automobiles at
his home in New Jersey, has $500, 900
/ Of fine furniture and 100000 in fine
paintings, a total of $500,o coo in taxable
personal property, ana yet ne pays taxes
on al personal property assessment Of
/ $1,000 This situation obtains through
out tie State, 50 that, the passage Of
The administration measure. house No.
/, and Governor stokes insists that it
shall pass, means that there will be
regulation Of the tax shirker. and prom
ises are held out that the show viii be.
a very interesting one.
| Continuing the policy Of public hear
ings on the many importanr questions
before the Legislature, the Senate muni-
cipal corporations committee win sit at
noon to-day to hear arguments on the
four limited franchise bills before the
Senate. These bills are Senate No. !, ],
tho administration bill Of Senator Hil-
lsry, which limits franchise granting to
| twenty years unless so ordered by