The bill was then referred to the committee of the whole, and placed on the general order. By the committee on roads and bridges: The committee on roads and bridges, to whom was referred House bill No. 254, entitled A bill to amend an act entitled "An act in relation to laying out, altering, and discontinuing highways," being chapter 26, Compiled Laws of 1871, Respectfully report that they have had the same under consideration, and have directed me to report the same back to the House, without recommendation, and ask to be discharged from the further consideration of the subject. A. HEWITT, Chairman. Report accepted and committee discharged. On motion of Mr. Keyes, The bill was ordered printed, referred to the committee of the whole, and placed on the general order. By the committee on elections: The committee on elections, to whom was referred Senate bill No. 136, entitled A bill to provide for the compilation and distribution of the election laws to certain county, township, and city officers, Respectfully report that they have had the same under consideration, and have directed me to report the same back to the House, and recommend that the bill do pass, and ask to be discharged from the further consideration of the subject. Report accepted and committee discharged. L. HUBBARD, Chairman. The bill was referred to the committee of the whole, and placed on the general order. By the committee on elections: The committee on elections, to whom was referred Joint resolution No. 32, entitled Joint resolution to provide for an amendment to the constitution relating to the time of the annual township elections, Respectfully report that they have had the same under consideration, and have directed me to report the same back to the House, recommending that it be printed and placed upon the general order, and ask to be discharged from the further consideration of the subject. Report accepted and committee discharged. On motion of Mr. Moshier, L. HUBBARD, Chairman. The recommendation of the committee was concurred in. The joint resolution was ordered printed, referred to the committee of the whole, and placed on the general order. MAJORITY REPORT. By the committee on railroads: A majority of the committee on railroads, to whom was referred, House bill No. 118, entitled A bill to provide for a uniform assessment of property, owned or controlled by railroad corporations, and for the collection and return of taxes thereon, and to repeal section three, of article three, of act No. 198, of the session laws of 1873, providing for the payment of specific taxes, by said corporations, Respectfully report that they have had the same under consideration. They find that out of 3,253 miles of railroad in this State, 744 miles are owned by companies operating under special charters or contracts with the State. By the terms of these charters these roads are to pay a certain specific tax annually, and are to be "exempt from all and every other tax, charge, and execution by virtue of any law of this State, now or hereafter to be in force. Beyond this, these chartered roads control 540 miles of "branch roads," and own all of the rolling stock on these branches, which would be exempt from taxation under the system proposed by this bill, by the terms of the charters of the roads owning such rolling stock. This bill proposes an entire change in the system of taxing this class of property, and yet it cannot reach the wealthiest and best paying roads in the State, and could only operate, in the opinion of your committee, to the disadvantage and injury of the poorer roads, by imposing a different and more burdensome system of assessing and collecting taxes than is imposed on the better paying roads operating under charters. Your committee think that one uniform system of taxation should apply to all railroad property in the State. The communities through which the chartered roads run could derive no benefit from taxation for local purposes, as no tax could be imposed, while the communities through which the roads incorporated under the general law run, would have the full benefit of the act, and show equally in the benefits of the specific tax paid by the chartered roads. Detroit, with her hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of railroad property, would not realize one cent from this system of taxation, as all of the nonchartered roads entering that city, do so on the track and under the franchises of some one of the chartered roads. This is but one of the many examples that might be mentioned of the very great injustice which would be done certain localities if this bill were to become a law. But, aside from the great inequality which would exist in the method of taxation under this bill, your committee believe the whole system proposed by it to be unjust aud impracticable. We believe that railroad property should be taxed upon its gross earnings, and not on the estimated "actual cash value" of the property itself. A railroad is valuable as property only when it pays a fair profit on the cost of construction and operation, and yet it may be of immense value to the State at large and the traveling public, when it falls far short of paying even interest on its bonded indebtedness. What criterion should govern a supervisor in assessing a mile of railroad? Should it be the actual cost of that mile? One mile, or the length of the road within his township, perhaps, has no marketable value, and if put up at auction no purchaser could be found. The Detroit, H. & I. R. R. sold last month for $16,000; yet this road is 65 miles in length, and runs through a rich and populous part of the country, costing, with its equipments, over $20,000 per mile. This road is cf vast importance to the people lying along its line, whose subscriptions mostly built it. It is of importance too to the traveling public, and yet it pays so poorly that it is very difficult to find a person or company to operate it, without paying anything for the road bed. And the entire line would not sell in the market for enough to cover the cost of one mile. Many other similar cases might be mentioned, but your committee simply desire to call attention to this point. The proposed plan of direct taxation would not only be unequal by imposing heavier burdens on the poorer roads (which are the only roads it could reach), but as a matter of State policy would be unjust in bestowing the revenue derived therefrom on a few localities to which the road in no true sense belongs, as every road is of value, and to a certain extent belongs to the whole State. For these reasons, as well as many others that might be named, the undersigned members of your committee report this bill back to the House, with the recommendation that it do not pass, and ask to be discharged from the further consideration of the subject. Report accepted and committee discharged. E. C. WATKINS, Chairman. T. D. BRADFIELD, MINORITY REPORT. By the committee on railroads: L. T. REMER. A minority of the committee on railroads, to whom was referred House bill No. 118, entitled "A bill to provide for a uniform assessment of property owned, or controlled by railroad corporations, and for the collection and return of taxes thereon, and to repeal section 3 of article 3 of act No. 198 of the session laws of 1873, providing for the payment of specific taxes by said corporations," having determined to report adversely to the passage of said bill, I ask leave of the House to submit a minority report. House bill No. 118, involves but one principle, namely: that the property of railroad corporations shall be taxed the same as the property of natural persons; shall be placed upon the same basis of taxation. Under the present law, the property of these corporations is not taxed either directly or indirectly, but is entirely exempt. The gross earnings of these corporations pays a specific tax, not equal, however, to the direct tax levied upon the earnings of persons and their property, or the earnings of the property of other institutions. The principle underlying taxation is, that it shall be equal and uniform, falling upon all property alike. Departure from this principle is an exception, and unless warranted by facts and circumstances, both peculiar and cogent, the exception should not prevail. It is not material to inquire whether or not the departure made in the law from the general principle, was, at the time, justifiable, or otherwise. Such an inquiry would be comparatively profitless, as, with whatever result, it would not rectify past wrongs, if any, or shed light upon the principle of the bill in question. It is sufficient upon this point to say, that at the time the exception was established in the law the situation of the country was such that the effect of the discrimination was not materially felt, because the public burdens were light, and it is fair to presume that the question had but limited discussion. It is futile to appeal to these corporations for facts and fair practical suggestions, as to such a revision of the law and change of policy, as will place them on a basis just to them, and to the great body of tax payers, who now bear the burdens of the government, unrelieved by special privileges, and fostering policies, and it is to be expected that an effort in this direction will be met by these corporations in their usual spirit of uncompromising hostility. An indebtedness of colossal proportions rests upon the country, and its pressure warrants the closest enquiry into the laws which direct upon whom, on what property, and in what proportions its burdens shall fall, and then, after the nicest adjustment of taxation, it will be a difficult task for the country to discharge its financial responsibilities. If, upon examination, therefore, these laws are found radically defective, or partial in their operation, then justice, and urgent necessity, demand their revision. Entering upon this enquiry, we find that these corporations have grown up in every section of the country, and by subtle logic secured in the law a status of extraordinary exemptions and privileges to lessen their burdens and facilitate their acquisitions; that in the aggregate they now control an immense proportion of the real, and millions of the personal property of the country; that as their wealth increases they are restive under restraint, aggressive in power, and united in policies which converge toward a status above the control of the law; that the end sought, as demonstrated by these policies persistently pursued, and accompanied by remarkable incidents in their own history, and the history of the country, is entire exemption from the burdens, and freedom from the control, of government, and combined, it is a serious question whether they are not now as strong as the government itself, while to maintain a position so dangerous to the government and detrimental to the great body of the people, they employ throughout the country an army of trained and clamorous experts, active in propagating theories deduced from exceptional circumstances, and conclusions based upon vicious combinations of facts. There are three main questions to be considered in connection with the bill providing that the property of these corporations be taxed the same as the property of other citizens, and those are the present status of these corporations under the existing tax laws, their ability to pay taxes, and the justice of their paying equally with others. Their present status in the tax system of the State is the payment of specific taxes upon their earnings and no taxes upon their property. The statute imposes upon them a specific tax, based upon gross earnings, and leaves it to them to report what those gross earnings are. It is not difficult to conceive that the peculiar talent employed in the operation of railroads would readily devise a business schedule by which the specific tax thus seemingly paid was charged back to the patrons of the road and included in their freight rates. Experience does not furnish any ground for the presumption that this is not done, nor are there salient points in the character of railroad officials to rebut the presumption that the reports of gross earnings are conformed to this purpose. The most that can be said upon this branch of the subject is that under this system of taxation the matter is left entirely in the hands of the several corporations, a principle which, if applied to all other persons and property, would terminate the revenues of the government. Besides, the property of citizens and the money it earns or produces are both taxed, while these corporations are, at most, required to pay taxes upon the earnings of their property. Thus the property itself, which produces the earnings, is entirely exempt. Certainly no one can, upon principle, successfully vindicate this system. Passing to the question of the ability of these corporations to pay taxes, it may with propriety be observed that as to all other persons the law does not stop to inquire upon this point, but arbitrarily demands the tax, and clothes its officers with power to extort it in all cases, leaving no discretion to consider circumstances or listen to the cry of distress, or the plea for mercy. Even the widow and the fatherless have no attributes to turn aside the law in its demands for revenue. It is only the various corporations of the country, and conspicuously the railroad corporations, who are objects of the government's tender solicitude in this respect, in whose behalf exemptions and remissions are urged with unction and pathos. These corporations are the owners of, and now hold nearly all the public lands of the nation,-an area of country large enough to constitute a nation by itself,-and this to the exclusion of the poor class of our citizens, who, to procure a farm from the unoccupied domain, must purchase it at a comparatively exorbitant figure from them. Their landed estates, aside from the realty used in the operation of their roads, and their personal property, amounts to countless millions. For all purposes, except the discharge of the public burdens common to other citizens, they have money in unlimited amounts. It is not exaggeration to say that millions are used by them annually to maintain their exceptional privileges, drift new measures into their peculiar policies, and debauch the public morals. By the power incident to their immense endowments, vast and comprehensive relations, and unlimited supply of money, these corporations have become a terror to the people and the government. No class of citizens or institutions are so well prepared financially to discharge he full burdens due to civil government as the railroad corporations of the country, and there are none upon whom such burdens can be laid with more wholesome and salutary effect. It remains to consider the justice of placing these corporations on the same basis of taxation as other citizens; of taxing their property in the same manner and to the same extent. The argument of the proposition is contained in its statement. Intrinsically it is no more in need of demonstration than the proposition that the property of natural citizens should be taxed under laws just and impartial in their operation. But this phase of the subject can be sufficiently examined in connection with some of the reasons, so-called, usually advanced in support of the exemption of the property of those corporations from the operation of the uniform tax laws of the State. It is said that railroads are a great public benefit This is true, and it is ually true that the various manufacturing and industrial pursuits are great public benefits, and yet they are not for this reason exempt from equal taxation. It is also said that railroads have performed a great work in opening up the country. Is it not equally true that the farming and laboring classes have done a great work of the kind, and without which the work of the former could not have been done? Yet a philosophy to exempt the latter from full taxation has not been invented. Au inquiry into the circumstances attending the opening up of country by railroads is instructive. By this we learn that in nearly every case the country opened is very heavily mortgaged to build the road, and thereby becomes merely an appendage of the road, and its people converted into "hewers of wood and drawers of water," whose utmost effort is barely sufficient to pay the taxes due to the railroad and the government, with a doubtful prospect of relief. To them the opening up of country is not altogether profitable, if, when opened up, it belongs to the road, and if the conclusion of the difficulty is to be reached by the country being closed up through the same instrumentality. It is further said that the railroad statistics of Michigan show that several of the railroads of the State are not paying dividends, and perhaps not expenses. If this were true, it might be asked in reply, whether the government exempts any other business interest, or property, from taxation, simply because it is not |