The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1924-07-10
RAILROADS AS
TAXPAYERS

TAXPAYERS
The approaching campaign will nj
doubt produce the usual crop Of
demagogic spellbinders appealing
to the prejudices and passions rath
er than to the sound Judgment. com
mon sense, fairness and justice OF
the voter. With this class of agi-
tators the most popular pastime
finds expression in what has been
termed in recent years, railroad
batting" a practice Of placing upon
the railroads the blame for all the
economic ills from which the coun
try at large or any particular class
Of citizens or section of territory
may at the time be suffering. Lay
ing aside for the moment the ques-
lions upon which political orators
of the radical type are wont to dwell,
there Is an aspect of the railroad
question seldom considered by thu
average citizen and that is the po-
sition occupied and the part played
by the railroads as a supporting fac
tor in the operation and maintenance
of governmental administration, ma
tional, state and local. In other
words little thought is given to the
railroads as taxpayer of the COM
munity. Regarded almost always
as nonresident and Indifferent, If
not in fact, an antagonistic element.
public sentiment fails to take into
it's judgment the relation of the rail-
road in providing source of rev.
far ,toI 10
mands in state and local administra
ton of civil affairs. The increased
burden upon the individual citizen
should railroad taxes be eliminated
for any cause would in very drastic
manner direct attention to a phas.
of the railroad question now seldom
considered.
Analysis of figures recently made
public discloses the fact that in the
year 1922 the taxes of all the rail-
roads in this country amounted to
$304,885,158. This sum it is fig
ured would be sufficient almost to
dig the Panama canal. In fact, since
the year 1917 the amount paid by
the roads each year in taxes has been
more than the amount paid in divi-
dends. Stated in another way the
railroads have paid more to support
the government, in all of it's units
than they paid to their owners The
Union Pacific alone paid in 1922
for taxes the sum of $13,251,552.
Readers of this paper will no doubt
be more interested in figures ap-
Y,If0 10 m ho
directly affects them and taxes paid |
by the Oregon Short Line in Bing-
ham county give food for thought.
Taxes paid by the Short Line in
Bingham county for all purposes
for the year 1928 amounted to
$98,985.13 or a little more than one
seventh of all general property taxes
levied in the county. Apportioned
according to the several taxing di-
visions the amounts paid by the rail-
road were as follows: State general
fund, $1O,5O7; county general fund,
all schools, $60,459; all
roads, $10,783; all cities, 1891.
Thus it will be seen that the roads
in paying for school purposes the
sum of $60,459 paid a little more
than twenty-five per cent or over
of all the school taxes
evied in Bingham county. In view {
If this fact it would seem that there
8 occasion to provide some education j
through some agency along the lines a
II fair consideration for the railroad t
ls a supporting factor in the COM
nunity. v
When it is noted that the rail- :
Dads have paid in this county C.
1878 for road purposes, a part g
I which provides facilities for COM Il
citing transportation enterprises u
hitch the railroads themselves are
OF in position to utilize another "
iewpoint is brought to the fore. To q
lustrate, as has been pointed out u
| this paper before, the railroad #
avs taxes to maintain highways VI
pom which motor trucks engage in u
auling freight in competition to the g
lilroads, while the only revenue the az
ucks pay toward the upkeep of the III
ghways they use and help to de- M
riorate is their motor license fee pc
ne concern operating passenger 81
rvice between Pocatello and Ash Tn
n, parallel to and competing with pa
g railroads pays, 1t is stated, IL al
nse fee of SO per passenger ca IN
city which in their case is twenty
ssengers, or total annual fee of GU
20. That is to say the auto stage ca
mpany pays IS month for a Is
ADDED over which to operate its or
system. no
be