The Penn's Grove record., 1906-01-26

| the legislature was a measure to per-
NIT borough officers to qualify within
| thirty days after their election.
Mr.. Bierch presented a bill in the
| house Tuesday at the same time Sena-
| tor Colby introduced one in the senate.
10Th providing to amend the primary
election law so that all officers-state,
county and municipal-shall be nomi-
mated directly at primary elections
without the intervention of delegates
or conventions.
Senator Minturn presented a resolu-
ton asking for the election of United
States senator's by popular vote. He
also introduced a bill requiring the reg
ular ballot boxes to be placed in cleo
ton booths where machines are placed
in order that the voter may use either
| the ballot box or the machine in voting.
| A hearing is to be given next Tuesday
on the Martin resolution providing for
an investigation of the insurance and
trust companies of the state.
An important limited franchise bill
was introduced Tuesday by Mr.. Barber
of Mercer. 1t provides, among other
things, that franchises are to e-given
out to the highest bidder and that the
franchise is to run twenty-five years in
| cities of the first and second class and
fifty years in other municipalities.
Senate joint resolution No. 1, extend
ing the thanks of the state to Captain
Caste and his crew for their heroic res
cue of the passengers and crew of the
steamer Cherokee, passed the senate
Tuesday.
Assemblyman Gibbs introduced six
bills relating to the game laws.
Equal Taxation Hearing.
Delegations from all parts of the
state gathered here Tuesday afternoon
and Wednesday morning to attend the
hearing given by the house Judiciary
committee on the equal taxation bills
presented to this session Of the legisla-
ture. Majority Leader Randolph Per-
kins is chairman of this committee.
The hearing was given in the assembly
chamber, and those heard were the
participants in the three cornered taxa
ton tight-the leaders of the north Jer-
6cH lCIOl III AloNC AlSAL Ill liz ANhCl
of the administration taxation bills,
who are fighting each other, and the
railroads counsel, who assert that they
are seeking only fair play for the rail
roads of the state.
George L. Record, corporation coun-
sci of Jersey City and generally rec
ognized as leader of the Colby equal
taxation move, was here to protest
against house bill No. 1, the admins
tration's equal tax measure, which pro-
vides that main stem railroad taxes
shall be paid to the state by the latter
distributed to municipalities. Mr..
Record favored the Martin bill, which
provides that the railroad property shall
be taxed in the different municipalities
at the local rate inc for direct local
benefit. He asserted that under the
Martin act the railroad taxes would go
where they belonged and added that
this could be done without the services
of the state board of assessors. He
urged that the railroads be made to pay
a fair use of the taxes required for the
running of the state and municipal gov
ernments.
Joseph A. Dear of the Jersey City
Journal and a member of the Hudson
county citizens equal taxation com
mittee, made an argument in favor of
the system of direct taxing of railroads
by the different taxing districts as
against the administration plan of hay
ing the state impose this tax at an av-
erage of all taxing rates and her dis
tributing the money to the counties in
proportion to their population. He de-
clared that Jersey City was being
wronged out of much money by the
present system of railroad taxation.
Counselor William H. Corbin, repre-
senting the Lehigh Valley and the Erie
railroads, spoke strongly against the
policy of soaking the railroads." All
the bills now before the legislature
were, in his opinion, unconstitutional
and m~anifestly unfair. The average
taxation of the whole country, he de-
clared, was 1914 a mile, while in New
Jersey it is SIT. If the governors
plan to make the railroads pay $4,000
600 to the state in taxes is carried out,
he said, the railroads would be bearing
one-fourth of the total taxes of the
state, and this would be unfair, as it
would be nearly one-fourth of the net
earnings of the roads. He said the rail-
roads would support any just measure
Of taxation.
The Pennsylvania railroad was repre-
scented by Frank Lloyd of Camden, who
urged taxation that would be Just to
both railroads and private property
owners. He referred to Governor
Stokes assertion that $500, 600, 900 of
personal property in this state is es-
Gaping taxation and advised the legis-
allure to get after that property.