Omaha daily bee., 1906-11-11
THE ONLY coon RAuRoAp.


To protect its title as "the only
good railroad" In Nebraska. the Chi
cago & Northwestern has issued bull
letin intended to exculpate II from
classification with the other tax-shirk-
ing railroads. The occasion is APP
parently the recent intimation that its
failure to join the Burlington and
Union Pacific in lighting off their taxes
was due to no difference in position
on the part Of the law officers of the
Northwestern, but chiefly to the fact
that the taxes, which 1t might have
disputed, would in few counties exceed
the $4,000 limit required to give fed
eral jurisdiction and thus leave too
small a stake to fight for.
For unrestrained effrontery this bull
letin is quite on a par with some of
the famous misstatements which the
combined Nebraska roads published
broadcast a few years ago to convince
the people that the railroads we're ac-
tually paying more taxes then than
they ought in justice to pay. The ex-
hibit consists of four rows of figures
purporting to represent ~ the taxes
actually paid by the Northwestern in
thirty-two Nebraska counties which
that road trayerses; az what the
company first offered to pay; (S) the
amount 1t had attempted to scale
down, and finally ca, the old tax paid
before the new revenue law went into
effect. In point of fact the Northwest
ern road never made any offer what
ever to compromise it's taxes, although
1t protested before the State board
against any increased assessment, and
what is given as its first offer Is, doubt
less, what its taxes would have been
had the board accepted the assessment
that road professed to be willing to
make for itself.
According to reliable information
representatives of the Northwestern in
conference with representatives of the
Burlington and Union Pacific, agreed
upon the injunction plan of action to
beat of the taxes, but before the issue
came to be made the Northwestern re-
coded and paid the full amount as
sessed against its property to the sew
eral county treasurers. The other
roads made tenders deducting approx
imately an average of 25 per cent, and
this difference Of 25 per cent has fur
nished the basis of the litigation in
court. Taking the Northwestern's
own showing Of taxes paid and figur-
ing on the same percentage, only ten
of the thirty-two counties appear
where more than $4,000 would have
been at issue and, figuring at 20 per
cent, only six where the amount Of
$4,000 would have been exceeded.
The dead give-away of the North
Westerns defense bulletin is in the
column showing the taxes 1t paid the
year before the new revenue law be-
came operative. The total here is
$751;, 992.46, whereas the footing in
its column headed First Offer" is
only 1856, 460.65. In other words,
the only good railroad" in Nebraska
wanted the State board to fix it's as
sessment under the new law so that II
should pay $4,000 less taxes than II
had paid under the old law. and now
wants the people to award It a hero
medal because It did not go into court
to enforce this preposterous demand.
The railroad that would have the
audacity to ask the State board actu-
ally to reduce it's VIGOROUSLY too low
taxes would not hesitate to appeal to
the courts to protect it in its tax
Sinking II there were any possibility
of making that appeal effective.