The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-10-21
RAPS CRITICS
Of H|GH-SALAR|ED
R. R. APPRAISERS

presented themselves aIter lile cOiIliIliS'
sion was organized:
"First-Did the commission command
the confidence of the railroads to sucf
an extent as that they would be willing
to aid in the work, and thus tighten the
labor, under the belief that the apprais-
ers were going to do honost n fail
work?
"Second-ShouId the work to be done
be thorough and systematic?
las to the first of these propositions,
1 wrote to the president of each rail-
road, asking them If they would CO.
operate n furnish data to the COM
mission, which they might use as Il
basis for their investigation and work.
The following is in form the letter that
was sent to each:
My Dear Sir-The Legislature at its
last session authorized the Governor
to appoint three appraisers of railroad
and canal property. l have made these
appointments. The men appointed /
believe to be absolutely disinterested
between the railroads m the State,
and l am expecting a most impartial
and satisfactory result from he'll la
bors. OF course they annot accom-
plish all that they should except with
the cooperation of the railroads, and l
bespeak for them your assistance in
every way that you can render 1t.
81 am writing this letter with the
hope that you will find it to your pur-
pose to aid this appraisal and to facil-
itate 1t in every way that you can con-
sistently with the affairs of your rail-
road.
May ! count upon your cooperation
and the assistance of you officials in
this work? / shall be very glad to be able
to communicate this fact to the COM
mi%ssioners, who will, at the proper
time, advise anyone, whom you may
indicate, of their readiness to confer.
with kind regards 1 am, yours very
truly, JOHN FRANKLIN FORT.
MAY 7. 1907" y
"A reply was received from Mr.. Nc
Crea, of the Pennsylvania railroad;
Mr.. Underwood, Of the Erie; Mr.. Bes-
Ter, of the Central; MI. Thomas. of the
Lehigh Valley; Mr.. Truesdale. of the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western,
and Mr.. Brown, of the West Shore.
"All, with the exception of MI. Trues-
dale. at once assented to give any in
which they possessed. His
- ShOWou tHdt lit WdS biluCI a AAlAo-
apprehension as to the purpose of the
appointment of the commission, in that
he stated, among other things, that he
was reluctant to- lem assistance to q
commission whose appointment was
openly authorized for the purpose of
still further increasing the large bur-
den of taxation which we now bear
I that letter l at once replied as
follows:
MAY IS. 1903.
" Mr.. William H. Truesdale, president
Delaware. Lackawanna and Western
railroad, New York city.
my Dear Sir-I am in receipt of
yours of the 14th of May, and l fear
that your impressions with regard to
the appraisers appointed for the yalua-
ton of railway property have been OBJ
tained from the newspapers rather than
from any authoritative source. .
$50 far as the Governor of the States
is concerned, or the commissioners,
there is no purpose to Increase values
of railroad property, unless such in
crease is absolutely justified and is es-
tablished to be justified by the ap-
praisers themselves.
".The gentlemen appointed are of the
highest personal integrity and charac-
ter, and their fitness to do the work no
one, SO far as l am advised, has ques-
toned. l an quite sure that 1t is to
the interest of the railroads of the State
aid these gentlemen in every way
they can, and l am sure upon reflection
you will quite agree with me. Know
ing you as I do, and believing in your
fairness as l do, l am quite sure they
can rely upon your assistance.
1.-THE question of the valuation of ad-
jacent property Is not involved in the
question of the valuation Of railroad
property. Under our constitution and
laws, property may be classified for
taxation, and SO long as the property
in a particular class is all valued
alike, 1t is constitutional taxation, no
matter what the method of valuation
or the character of valuation may be,
or whether there be any valuation at
all Of any other property.
"'Of course it may be,and probably is,
true, as you suggest, that the data
which you have already furnished to
the State Board of Assessors is ample
for anything which the appraisers may
desire; and If so, they will, of curse,
not ask you for any information.
:" 1T seems to mel however, that 1T was
only courtesy on the part of the execu-
tive to send you the communications
which I did, n / am quite sure it
was only with this view that I sent 1t.
MAY / note the fact that the presi-
dent of the Pennsylvania railroad; of
the New York Central lines; of the
Lehigh Valley, and the vice-president
of the New Jersey Central have all ex-
pressed a willingness to cooperate in
any reasonable way. With kind re-
CARDS, l am, yours very truly.
"tJOHN FRANKLIN FORT
"Whereupon 1 received from him the
following reply:
President Truesdalc's Reply.
Honorable John Franklin Fort, Gov
ernor of the State of New Jersey,
Trenton. N. ].
my Dear G~overnor-I duly received
your letter of the 18th instant, which l
have carefully noted.
81 am very pleased indeed to learn
from you that the appointment of the
commissioners for the revaluation of
railroad properties was not with the
sole end in view of increasing the value
of these properties. and beg to assure
you that it will. of course, give us
pleasure to extend to the commission
ers every courtesy we can in connec>