Live Oak daily Democrat. (Live Oak, Fla.) 190?-190?, 1907-04-29

reject as not complete within his fan
cy; and as he may then proceed to
sit in judgment upon his own acts
under the actual or theoretical advice
and assistance of the Attorney Gener-
al and Treasurer of State, it is only
reasonable to presume that he would
not have to be an individual of espec-
tally dominating manner to have his
wishes sustained in the absence of
any right of appearance or showing
by the railroads, either to admit or
deny his conclusions.
take it that it was never intended
that the rights and property Of corpo-
rations. any more than individuals,
should be subjected to such arbitrary
power Of any officer of whatever de-
gree. The practical working of this
law can be found in the case of this
Company, which last year had its tax
es arbitrarily raised over 20 per cent
without notice or an opportunity to
be heard. And the extent of the in
formation required by law to be the
best obtainable may be better judged
by the fact that lever cars included
in our return were raised in absolute
ignorance of their nature some seven
hundred per cent. of present values
and nearly five hundred per cent. of
original cost some years ago.
1t may be also remarked that there
was no corresponding increase in the
valuations, and consequent assess
ments, of the properties of trunk
lines traversing in part the same ter
ritory. For instance, by comparison
with the Atlantic Coast Line, our
locomotives and rolling stock were
actaully appraised some A per cent.
higher in corresponding items than
| theirs. That is to say, our small en-
gines all acquired second hand land
some indeed from that very Com
pany) several years ago, and presum-
ably since deteriorated by use and
age, were valued by so much more
than their powerful modern ma
chimes. And, as you personally we'll
know, the Atlantic Coast Line oper-
ates every day through the town Of
Live Oak several massive new loco
motives that are each worth more
than all of ours combined. t
Our appeals for some adjustment,
even by the grace of the official max
ing such exactions, were met by a
grandiloquent declaration of his I'M
dying purpose to stand between US
and an assumed attempt to evade
our just taxes. The only course left
open was by resort to the courts; and
while we have at all times been ready
and willing to pay what in fairness
We should upon the intrinsic values
of our property and by equalization
with the trunk lines, We must per-
7tfOrce be made an example of the
[eyasion by corporations of their pub
lie duties. This we shall also have
to stand for further in relation to the
present tax, which is demanded to
cover the same unreasonable imposi-
lions and INEQUALITIES. -'...- -.s.--
Every class of property in the
State is unquestionably of improper
valuation and assessment with refer
ence not only to other classes but al
so often in items of the same class;
from the cow of the dear voter killed
on the railroad, and for which he re-
covers fifty dollars and pays taxes to
the State On valuation of five, up to
the railroad itself, which may oper-
ate a trunk line with it's vastly supe-
rioT physical properties and earning
capacity paying less on such basis
than its weak connection To illus
trate the latter comparison, the At
lantic Coast Line with its heavy rail,
its valuable terminal properties, its
modern equipment carrying its enor-
nous volume of traffic in tourist
travel and high class freights in
fruits. vegetables and the output of a
phosphate field, none Of which were
tributary to our line, had its taxes
placed only thirteen and seven tenths
per cent. higher than ours on the
valuation OF physical properties,
whereas its earnings per mile were
approximately two and one third