Charlevoix county herald., 1907-01-12

| school interest FUND al In excess or three
| dollars and half annually for each
| child of school age IN the state shall be
| apportioned on a just basis among the
university, agricultural college, college
| or mines, the three normal colleges and
/ the several county normal schools.
This plan would give to the primary
school interest fund from year to year
even larger sums than have ever been
| credited TO Ii in the past, save during the
year just closed, when the fund was
swollen to abnormal proportions by the
cumulated pending the final adjudicatic&
or the railroad tax case in the supreme
court of the United States. 1t would
also proyide for the maintenance, on a
scale fully as liberal as has obtained in
the past, of the several institutions of
| higher education named.
Use For Entire Revenue.
Thus would the entire revenue from
| specific taxes be used for educational
| purposes and the direct tax levy be re-
duced by over 100000 annually, and,
the total amount of money TO be raised
| by direct taxation would be reduced. In
the thousand or more districts, where,
under the present system, the money Is
piling up and lying idle in their treasur-
ers' hands, the apportionment suggested
would pay their share of the direct tax
| they are now required to raise for the
support OF the higher educational insti-
| tutions.
'If this recommendation is adopted. the
one-quarter mill tax now provided for
the university, the one-tenth mill tax
} now levied for the support of the agri-
cultural college, and the direct tax levied
under the existing system for the main
tenance or the other institutions specific
| ally mentioned, can be paid out of the
direct tax levy reduced to that extent.
Il concur in the recommendation of the
state tax commission that the law gov
erning the taxation of express companies
| be amended so as to eliminate from the
computation on which the tax is based
the ocean mileage of these companies.
| The inclusion of this mileage renders
the result little less than farcical
the satisfactory operation of the ad
Valorem system of assessing railroad
property suggests the desirability of ex-
tending this system so as to include the
property of telegraph and telephone COM
panies. The present method of taxing
unsatisfactory. These objections can be
overcome and greater justice attained by
the application of the ad valorem system
to these corporations.
THE ad valorem system Of assessing
railroad property for taxation is so firm
ly established as the policy of the state
that the general subject of taxation of
railroads does not call for any extended
treatment in this message.
,'One of the most important cases in
which the state has been directly inter-
ested and which has been finally con-
cluded in favor of the state, except in
one instance. is referred to as the rail-
court of the United States upheld the
constitutionality of our present method
Of of, ta Ak as, railroad property As q re;
$, Isl, ISIS and penalty thereon s., 15s' BEL,
-; total amount OF So 45:sO9.4S
Railroad Taxation.
"An important point in railroad taxa
ton was determined in Attorney Gen.
eral v. State Board of Assessors. 143
Mich; q. The legislature Of 1905 (Act No;
to lay down a rule that would govern
in the determination of valid rate of
taxation upon railroad property: The
tionality of said act, and our supreme
court determined that the manner of de-
termining the rate, as prescribed in said
guage of section eleven of article four
teen of the constitution, and that to such
extent the act was unconstitutional.
Michigan Central Railroad company
against the state for S6,O0O,O00 damages
for the repeal of its special charter, is
pending. The final hearing in the case
has been delayed, owing to the. steps
taken to secure a more specific bill of
particulars than that furnished by the
plaintiff.
1.-THE so-called Michigan Central de-
liquent tax case is also pending. The
case, is ready for trial and will probably
circuit court at an early date, it being on
the calendar for the January term
The governor recommends that the
railroad companies be made common
carriers of live stock in justice to the
farmers of the state.
Legislation that will make the issu-
ance of all railroad stocks and bonds
subject to the scrutiny and approval
of state authority, for the purpose of
preventing manipulation. is recon-
mended as also state supervision of
electric roads.
On the subject of freight car short
age the governor asserts that the re-
peated recurrence of the trouble, year
after year, warrants a thorough inves-
tigation as to the responsibility of the
railroad companies. He recommends
that a committee be appointed to in
vestigate the matter.
With reference to railroad passen-
ger rates the governor says:
For the year 1905 there were in
Michigan 1,516.36 miles of road on
which the legal passenger fare was 4
cents per mile; 4s2o.1S miles on which
on which the legal fare was 2h cents;
1,071.62 miles on which the legal fare
was cents. The Accent rate is con-
fined, as provided in the law, to the
upper peninsula.
IAN examination of the reports Of
the. railroad companies discloses the
fact that, with a single exception the
passenger earnings of the various
companies, which have reduced their
passenger rates, during recent years.
increased in volume Immediately fol-
lowing the reduction. comparison be-
ing made with earnings for a like
period preceding the reduction.
There has been steady increase in
passenger earnings of Michigan rail-
roads during the past ten years, the
average increase being about GO per
cent. for that period. The reports
show that about 25 per cent. of the to-
tai receipts of these companies repre-
sents passenger earnings. One impor-
tant company whose track mileage has
not been increased in ten years shows
increased passenger earnings in excess
of so per cent. The exact figures in
this case are that in 1894 the total pas
senger earnings Of the company were
$5S6.4S9.7 while in 1904 they increased
to $1,093,235.75. Another company re-
ported passenger earnings of $3,499.-
BAHIA in 1894 and $4,S1S.76354 in 1904.
The increase in this case was 40 per
cent.
Would Amend Law.
"I am of the opinion that the law OF
this state should be amended so as to
make the maximum passenger fare
that may be charged in the upper pc
ninsula cents per mile. and the maxi
mum rate in the lower peninsula, with
the possible exception of that charged