Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-27
STOKES is TARGET
FOR NEW ATTACK
BY GEO. |. RECORD
Progressive Leader Hits at Cam
didate's Claim on Equal
Tax Law.
RIDTCULES ASSERTIONS
MADE BY REPUBLICANS
Asserts That Real Tax Reform
Bill Was Smothered by
Party Heads.


Gubernatorial Candidate Edward
Casper Stokes is again the target for
an attack by George L. Record on the
equal tax laws. In long letter
Record says:
I'm my last weeks letter l attacked
your claim that the Republican party
was entitled to the credit for the
passage Of the Geran law, by show
ing from the record that the Repub-
lican assemblymen opposed the bill,
that the Republican and Democratic
machines Joined in the Legislature to
beat the bill, and only failed because
enough Republicans disobeyed ma
chine orders and gave Wilson a ma
jority, and that these Republicans
were virtually driven out of public
life by you and the other party lead
ers. In your answer to this indict-
ment you dodge my questions, ignore
my facts and attack me personally.
This is not only irrelevant, 1t is un-
worthy of your ability. I thought
you could do better. now consider
your claim that the Republican party
is entitled to credit for the passage of
the equal tax laws.
You say that you as Governor
urged upon the Legislature the pass
age of the railroad tax law, and that
1t was passed by Republican votes in
YOUR administration, and that the re-
suit was an increase of taxes paid by
the railroad of nearly five million dol
lars.
Unjust Special Privileges.
These are the facts: The unjust
special privilege enjoyed by the rail-
roads in matters of taxation has been
a prominent issue in New Jersey
l. h
bett was elected Governor. Under
his attack the Republican Legislature
passed the railroad tax act of 1884.
This act was step in advance, but
still left the railroads in the posses
sion of an unjust privilege, in that
.hey were only required to pay SIS a
thousand on their main stem property
and sis a thousand upon their other
property, as against an average OF
s22 a thousand paid by the other tax
payers of the State. This meant to
the railroads, az you now confess, an
annual saving of several millions of
dollars and was therefore robbery
Of the public to that extent.
Governor Albeit ran for election
again in 1889, upon the issue that this
glaring injustice should be removed
by further legislation. After cleo
ton he never pressed the point. 1t
came up again before q commission
In Mayor Wanser's term, where the
whole subject was threshed out, but
the Republican Legislature again de-
liberately refused to impose any fur
ther burden upon the railroads
Charles G. Black, as a member of THIS
commission, in an elaborate report
set out the glaring injustice Of the
railroad tax privilege. The real fight
which eliminated in your admins
tration was begun by Mayor Pagan
md myself when 7 was corporation
counsel of Jersey City, in 1902.
I'VE took to Trenton bill to
remedy this outrage, and were un-
abie to get a single Republican MEM
Der even to introduce the bill and
had to have it introduced by a Hud-
son Democrat. The bill was promptly
smothere1 in committee by the direct
orders of the Republican State lead
ers, a fact personally known to you.
Mayor Fagan and I Immediately be-
came obnoxious to the Republican
leaders--the same ones. who control
the party now. Finally, when it was
4 evident that we could not get this
bill even reported from committee. I
drafted the letter to Governor MUIR
ply which Mayor Pagan, as mayor
of Jersey City, signed and published,
setting forth in blunt language the
fact that the Republican State lead
frS uGilDtIdl6ly Ttlu6tu 10 ftidhC JllO
railroads pay taxes the same as pri-
vate individuals were compelled to do,
and denouncing this attitude of the
Republican leaders as a betrayal of
the party and of the people to the
private and special interests.
This letter aroused the public and
something had to be done; and so
commission was appointed by Gov
ernor Murphy to investigate the sub
iect This Is the usual device for de-
Law practised by the representatives
Of privilege in the hope that the agi-
tation will blow over and that the
agitators can be intimidated, bought
off or tired out The commission was
composed of the then state Board of
Taxation, the members of which were
machine men, except Charles c.
Black to which were added ex-Gov-
ernor Werts and Chandler Riker.
No Republican Aid.
THE whole fight before this COM
!. mission was mainly made by me, al
| though Judge Minturn, then corpo-
rration attorney of Hoboken and
State senator from Hudson county,
aided in the fight. Not a single Re-
publican leader gave any assistance.
Continued on Page 8, Column a.)