The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-11-14
ADVERTISE
RAILROAD
PROPERTY
Comptroller will Sell 1t at
Auction Unless Rail
roads Appeal.
PITNEY OPINION
PITNEY OPINION
Two Pieces of L%aCkawanna
Property Picked Out First to
Be Sold for Non-payment of
Local Taxes for l9O6..Two
Decisions Are Related.

City Comptroller ]. Harry Bachelor
will advertise for sale by auction on
December 20 the properties at 422 and
424 Broad street owned by the d., L.
& W r. r., being a portion of the
property In this. city that has in. the
past been taxed as part Of the; main
stem by the State Board Of Assessors.
This property is now outside the class
described by the new law on railroad
taxation and which, in the opinion of
Justice Pitney. handed down in Tren-
ton several Jays ago, has been ratified
By the Supreme Court. The new law
provides that all but the property
covered by the bed for railroad tracks
shall be second-class railroad prop
erty and subject to taxation al local
rates, and not as part of the main
stem property, which is assessed by
the State Board.
This opinion supported the city's con-
tention in taxing as second-class rail-
road property several strips of land owned
by @the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
running through the heart of the city.
This decision reversed that of the State
Board of Assessors, who included the
properties in the main steam tax,
The City Comptroller will advertise all
the properties taxed as second-class last
year, unless otherwise ordered. If the 1906
assessment is not paid by the railroads,
midstaof which will be affected, as was
told several days ago In the EVENING
STAR the properties. will be sold. under
the law of 1908 for non-payment of taxes.
1t was thought that the decision rem
dered by Franklin Fort on July 2 last,
when on the Supreme Court bench, in Jer-
sey City, was directly opposite to that
rendered by Justice Pitney, and for this
reason the Essex County Tax Board has
taken no action to force the railroads to
pay on second class property, but 1t was
found that the Fort opinion related to the
distinction etween the main stem of rail-
roads and ranches outside of the main
stem. while the recent opinion of Justice
Pitney defines what shall be known as
main stem. In an respects where the two
decisions touch on the same phases of the
question they are practically the game.
The Pitney ruling was that main stem
property was the property actually covered
by roadbed, irrespective of the width and
without giving to the railroads the right
to occupy land to the width of 100 feet,
which Is the maximum width allowed under
the law for the main stem. Under the Pit
ney decision all land owned by the rail-
roads along their lines, outside of the
actual width for the tracks built, will be
put among second-class property and will
be subject to local taxation. Throughout
the State thousands of dollars will have to
be paid by the railroads as a result In
taxes at local rates to various municipali-
ties, unless they appeal from the decision
of the Supreme Court and carry the case
to the Court of Errors and Appeals. This
would mean that the collection of taxes
and the sale of property would nave to be
suspended pending the final decision of the
case.
Lathrop Anderson, president of the
County Tax Board, made the contention
that the opinion of Judge Fort was not
opposed to that by Judge Pltney, and also
that 1t could be so construed as to apply
to all the property In the State for de-
filming second-class from main stem prop
erty. --f ~.
Many technicalities have been resorted
to by the railroad to have property re-
tained as main stem. One favorite plan
is to give a separate name to branches
that run into manufacturing centres for
possibly half a mile. Thus, what is real
ly a branch is legally the main stem of
a small railroad. The object Is to secure
State taxation, which is far lower than
local taxation.