Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-02-28


What Is needed to make Jersey City
a great and prosperous community?
Prosperity Is to come, my friends,
only through the process of freedom
We must set free the industries of
Jersey CITY, large and little, by taxi
ing burdens from them. We must set
free capital and labor alike, to
employ. themselves upon the I'M
| parallelled opportunity for building a
great city that lies all around US.
We must make 1t more profitable to
use land than to speculate with IT.
The system propose would tax land
into use. When land Is idle capital
and labor are unemployed. When
land is being used TO Its best purpose
capital and labor are alike active,
and Jobs seek men instead of men
seeking jobs"
Home rule in taxation would
open the door of opportunity to
establish here the reign of JUS
tice as well as the reign Of
prosperity In this way might
Jersey City In time come to be as
d beacon light pointing the way In
which other communities might also
grow to be free, happy, prosperous
and just"
Brensinger's Address.
| Senator Hennessy was loudly ap-
plauded when he gave way to Mr..
Brensinger. Brensinger said: 'I am
not here to defend the present sys-
TEN of taxation. l would not put a
further tax on personal property, but
would exempt certain classes of per-
sonai property and see that all the
personal property tax was collected
In fair and equitable manner. In
discussing his bill, Senator Hennessy,
in order to disguise the socialistic
and single-tax features, dwelt on
what he calls the home rule proviL
sion.' / never thought that the prin-
ciple of popular sovereignty was a
principle of the socialistic idea of the
single tax.
II believe in popular sovereignty.
subscribe to the home rule feature
In this bill and every bill, and you
will probably recall that / got into
trouble by recommending the refer
endum for the Fielder County Board
of Freebooter bill l believe that q
bill which would change the taxing
system should be submitted to vote
of all the people of the State. and not
to the people of single municipality.
i I even doubt the constitutionality
of the Hennessy bill, as the Consti-
tuition provides that taxes shall be
iCflCu O9 uillOIIu
Mr.. Brensinger asked Senator Hen
messy how the taxes on flrst-class or
main stem railroad property and on
fourth-class railroad property or the
franchise and rolling stock is levied
and received the reply that it pays
tax based on the average local rate
He then asked Senator Hennessy how
the average local rate is fixed, and
on being told by the latter that the
separate local rates were added and
divided by the number of municipali-
ties. said that Hennessy was wrong
Brensinger then read the law or
the subject and entered into an ex'
PLANTATION of his Interpretation of it
which was difficult to understand.
In his rebuttal Hennessey received
applause by saying: "If you folk un.
derstood what Mr.. Brensinger said
about the fixing of the tax rate fol
first and fourth class railroad prop
erty, you are brighter than am fol
do not understand It,"
Hennessy In RebuttaI.
Brensinger then read sections OF
the Hennessy bill and showed that II
exempted Improvements on or in the
land, including fill or excavations
He argues that this would exempt al
the railroad yards of the Pennsyl-
vania, Erie, Lackawanna and Cen
trail railroad companies which were
made from territory which was once
under water and would, If single tax
was adopted In Jersey City, force the
taxing of the great railroad terminal
lands at the value which they hao
when washed by the waters of the
Hudson and the New York Bay
which was practically nothing.
He said that the same principle
under the Hennessy bill would apply
| to the land in Exchange place upon
which are the buildings of the First
| National Bank and the Commercial
Trust Company, that being made land
and the improvement consisting Of
the filling, being exempt under the
! Hennessy bill.
| Senator Hennessy when he arose for
rebuttal, said that he had had his
attention called to technical defects
which If he had the opportunity by
having his bill reported in the Sen
ate. he would hasten to correct He
said that he was not lawyer and
was frank to confess that perhaps he
had not the bill in just the form that
| il should be, but that he had no hope
of getting 1t enacted into a law this
year or next year, but had introduced
| 1t into the Legislature three successive
years to cause arguments just as the
one that was In progress and because
"the question of taxation in the poll
tiles of New Jersey is there to stay.
He said that the question would be
agitated continuously until public
opinion could be made TO demand a
| solution.
Senator Hennessy answered Bren-
| singers argument that the bill favors
the railroads by reading letter from
the general solicitor of the Erie
Railroad Company. saying that the
bill works an injustice upon the rail-
roads and asking that 1t be amended
to correct the injustice and permit
the railroads to be treated as are
other property-owners.
1.-THE railroads know what they
want" said Hennessy. land they
surely would not oppose my bill IL
II was good for them"
Brensinger. in winding up the de-
bate, said that the whole idea of the
Hennessv bill was Social'stic. There
was nothing to indicate how the au-
dience felt about the debate. both
speakers being warmly applauded at
| the finish.
Moxy > %o Ra CuffraO a Day