The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-03-07
ROLLING STOCK TAX |
BILL PASSES senate
MEASURE GOES. OVER STRONG or
POSITION. TO GOVERNOR
FOR SIGNATURE.
LAND GRAB BILL, TOO
AFTER LENGTHY ARGUMENTS
MEASURE REPEATING ACT OF
LAST SESSION AFFECTING
BUCHANAN HOMES, PASSES.
LAND GRAB BILL, TOO

without any loss of time the senate
yesterday took UP the rolling stock bill
and proceeded to pass it roughshod, In
face of the opposition and arguments
made against it.
The bill was a special order. having
come over with the approval of the
house behind 1t. 1t takes away from
the cities in which the principal Of
fees of the railroads are located the
tax on the rolling stock which has.
for time immemorial. been given to
the cities. On that basis they have
based their financial arrangements
The cities afford fire and police pro-
lection. they have in their confines for
n large porticn of each year the ma
jerlty of the rt ling stock of the COM
panics.
Mr. Hart offered motion to amend
the bill SO that the tax might be APP
portiore,l en- the basis of IS per cent
10 the cities. lie made a speech. show
ing the merits OF the case, but the
scnate would have none of II.
Mr. lIolt opposed the amendment.
rs did also NJ. BLANKS, of Mechten-
burg They wanted to see the bill
passed lust as it came from the house.
and they appealed to the senate 10 re-
feet all of The amendments.
Mr. Drewry. of Petersburg. made
the FIST speech o. any length since he
has been In the senate. He showed
that the city of Petersburg had given
The Seabosrd Air line the money with
which TO purchase a free right OF way
10 the North Carolina line. The land
was bought and given for that pur-
pose. The line ran through Mecaien-
burg
The county had just the same right
Mt this time to demand that tho TAX
On n buggy owned in Petersburg
would be claimed when 1t entered the
county of Mecklenburg.
He quoted great authorities on law
to show that tho right to tax this
property and TO appropriate the money
I'd public needs. There had never be-
fore been a denial of this right, and
to upset all precedent would he to
work a great hardship on the cities.
The.amendments were rejected. and
the bill was passed by a vote Of 81 to
&. 1t will now 20 to tho governor Tor
his approval. and 1t is understood that
he will sign the measure
Call for Conference.
The general appropriation bill which
passed the mouse. was communicated
10 tho senate by Delegate Brewer. lie
said that 1t had been adopted as n sub
stitute for the senate bill and asked
the concurrence of the senate.
Mr. Echols at once moved that the
eeuate do not concur. and the senate
by unanimous vote so decided. This
Was communicated 10 the house and
then came the request for a confer
ence committee.
Mr. Echols moved that conference
committee be named, and President
Ellyson nan.ed the following on the
part OF The senate: MesSrs. Echois.
Fletcher and Massie.
land Crabber Measure.
The bill OF which Messrs- Buchanan
and Royal were patrons was next
taken up. This is the bill which seeks
10 repeal an act of the last legislature
whereby the claims of a corporation,
organized in West Virginia and hay
ing headquarters in Boston. is seeking
to set up color of title to some $780,
zoo acres OF valuable lands In Buchau-
an county. The land In question has
been occupied for half century by
those who are living there at this time.
The property has COME down to them
from their ancestors and by purchase.
Mr., Buchanan made the presenta-
ton OF the case. and In doing 40 made
one of the most interesting and cl,ar
cut arguments vet heard on the floor
OF the senate. He began with review
of the case. moro than 100 years back.
tracing the many hands which had
possessed 1t. the various claimants, the
undisputed possession for years, OF the
organization OF the company to buy
the land under the land grabher pro-
cess and of how 1t had been in iitiga-
favoring tho rightful owners. Nearly
one hundred years aga the land WAS
sold in this city. In trent of the Eagle
hotel, and the entire tract Of then
about 100000 acres. for the sum of
fourteen dollars for the entire tract.
There had been efforts to enforce the
validity OF this sale and the title there
to. That had been in court and 1t
had been rejected. Never had litiga-
ton begun which would have result
ed in the ousting Of the dwellers of
the land that had nor met defeat.
Mr.. Wendenburg declared that he
was never more impressed In his life
the fact that he had made
great mistake two years ago when he
had voted for this BILL He did not
then have the facts before him. and
he gladly welcomed the chance at this
time to cast a vote to correct that mis-
take. and nothing would give him
more pleasure.
He declared that he had listened to
the unanswerable arguments OF the
senator from Smyth and on that state
ment of facts no was ready to undo a
great wrong to owners OF property
whose title was being clouded by rea-
son of the provisions of the bill which
he had voted for two years ago.
He declared that he found that the
people OF Virginia did not want any
more attempts to revive dead titles.
He had been guilty OF voting for an
enabling act 'srhink Of IT," he said,
II have voted for an enabling act He
had voted for the opening of the
graves of the dead past and allowing
that old skeleton to stalk forth to
wrong and brighten and cause them
uneasness. He would vote to repeal
the bin and so home with clear con-
SCIENCE.
Cannon Opposes.
- Cannon. OF Richmond. said he
hau made an investigation and had
heard the discussion before the COM
mittee for courts of justice and had
come away satisfied that the bill
under discussion should not pass. He
took occasion to mention the name
of a former member of the senate.
John l.. Jeffress. now Of Norfolk, and
to say that he and his associates were
not responsible for the introduction
or passage Of the measure so far as
II applied to Buchanan county. Titles
to land in Elizabeth City county were
involved. the government desiring to
make the purchase and declining to
do so until the title could be per-
tected.
Referring to the remarks of the
senator from Smyth, he declared that
the question OF sections in litigation
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