OCR Text |
Show t ! WHY HAMMER THE RAILROADS. If the coming session of the legislature .would let the railroads alone and get at something substantial the people would be the winners. win-ners. Taxation is the most important problem confronting the people of Utah to-day. The railroads arc not preferred creditors in taxation either, as the tax rolls show their burden in this respect re-spect is very heavy indeed. There are classes of property, however, how-ever, that arc enjoying preferential rights through constitutional provision, and it is this class that should receive special attention. ' Now that the matter of railroad regulation will in all probability proba-bility be made a matter of federal control and supervision why should the legislature while away its time on a question that may soon be entirely out of its jurisdiction, and especially when the railroads rail-roads of our state are already on a par with other classes of taxable tax-able property. Is it not reasonable to suppose that these great inter-state industries will be supervised by the federal government, just as other inter-state concerns are supervised? Then is it not opportune that the legislature devote its attention to inequalities, abuses, and preferences so prevalent within the state, rather than to permit these abuses and inequalities to continue, while it devotes its time to inter-state affairs? Let the railroads alone, and clean up affairs within the state. |