m HOW AFFECTS THE INTERESTS OF THE CITIZENS OF PENNSYLVANIA. PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED BY RINGWALT & BROWN, 34 SOUTH THIRD STREET. 1861. HOW AFFECTS THE INTERESTS OF THE CITIZENS OF PENNSYLVANIA. i V 0 . PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED BY RINGrWALT & BROWN, 34 SOUTH THIRD STREET. 1861. f, , , '*«■ 11 « -■ 5 complicate^, and consequently was worked at too great an expense, ibis the intelligent business men in every portion of the State soon discovered, and the necessity of an uninterrupted railroad, leading from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, through the heart of the Commonwealth, was considered imperative. On the North, two lines of railroad were being constructed, and on the South, the Baltimore and Ohio had become more than mere fancy. The condition of this Commonwealth was at that time anything but enviable. All her projected and completed improvements had, to a certain extent, failed. She was burthened with a heavy debt. Her credit abroad had been destroyed; and, as a writer on this subject remarked, “the commercial injury thus inflicted upon her was beyond all calcu- lation. Thirty years had been lost in the race for the Golden Fleece of the West — lost to Pennsylvania but gained to New York, making the commercial progress of the latter the most brilliant in the world, and that of the former merely an inglorious struggle to keep up appearances.” It was in the midst of this depression that a Convention of those favorable to the construction of a railroad through the centre of Pennsylvania, was called. That Convention assembled in Harrisburg, on the 6th of March, 1838. Delegates were present from twenty-seven counties of this Commonwealth, including Philadelphia and Pittsburg. Nearly the first business trnsacted was the adoption of the following resolution : “ Resolved, That a committee be appointed to inquire into and report in reference to the expediency of an immediate survey of a continuous line of railroad, by the most practicable route, between the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburg.” On the second day of the session of the Convention, a me- morial was adopted, addressed to the Pennsylvania Legislature, which concluded as follows : “ In asking the attention of the Legislature to this subject, (the construction of the proposed road,) your memorialists can not refrain from dwelling, with pleasure, on the prospect of that vast and thriving population which is destined at no distant day to fill the fertile regions bordering the lakes and rivers of the West, nor from remarking, with equal pride and satisfaction, 6 *. <•„, . *«• rr!° If. ““ vZ- munity already establish in 10S t ^ e ^ r pro duce, and a delphia is the first choice as a mar P ;fes{ source of their of this to the citizens of other Sta es memorialists tribute to the integrity o our merchants, y o ^ ^ feel assured that their fellow-citizens Legislature, an Union will find in the wW *• SS^rr^Lr own interests, has ever distin - sylvania Railroad. T , passed, hut the action the law incorporating that Comp y . f suoh an Of a. t.4 improvement to the a en ^ ^ vor t wa s commenced, prejudice, were placed as stum ° , s of the gtate that the "li: £ rata, i».. the h««* civilization, with nmnterr p dg f a roa d of the tr.pi..^ho«ldU.^^»™ hm ic0 „ m0 „ in which every citisen o y ^ of these two grel t interest and a common pm • ^ agricultural and ehies, it ™ »a Ud auiiuate 71“,:::“: «-- - * -"■« * life manufacturing enterprises of tail T h. effects produced by «.«c.»— « orjgi . been such as were predicted but n P J has «»p* »> been imposed upon its traue / 7 energies, injures its reputation, and operates to the advantage of its rivals. The pledge of liberality which was published to our sister States when this great railroad project was originated, has been forgotten ; and instead of inviting the respect and confidence of their people, we have labored to drive them away. It is time that we should calmly and earnestly think upon these things. It is time for us to ask whether the course we are pursuing in taxing the business and trade of our own citizens, and those of neighboring States, is fair and honorable — is dictated by a wise policy, and is consistent with the immutable laws of justice and equality. Let us reason together on these questions. THE DESIGN OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD — WHAT IT COST, AND WHO CONSTRUCTED IT. We have already stated that the design of the Pennsylvania RaM was to secure to the State that liberal proportion o the trade of the West to which she was, by her . .i_ It was not intended to rival any hnproTCinent'owned hy the' Commonwealth. No portion of the mL Line of Public Improvements was productive, save ? ihe Columbia Railroad, and to this the Pennsylvania w as tribu- tary From the day it was opened Hollidayshurg, it brought an increased travel to thc easte^ end of the Main Line and put money m its purse, was acknowledged by the Canal Commissioners in their repoi 1852 wherein it was shown that almost the entire mciease th. S...., ~ tke OolmH* “XLhe »« in his message to the Legislature of 1858, says tn p„fii TJ Columbia Railroad lor « 1»« “ double the amount of the net revenue from all the othe branches of the public works.” This one fact shows that the rivalry of the Pennsylvania Railroad never resulted in any injury to the Commonwealth by decreasing her re™ from the Main Line. On the contrary, that line was aot ™^ * more productive hy the construction of the load. The may which had destroyed the Main Line of Pennsylvania Impiove- existed »Lul. of this SU.o. I. ™ *. ( 8 ) 9 New York and Maryland, which States had constructed avenues of trade around Pennsylvania, more expeditious and economical than any within her borders. The Pennsylvania Railroad was constructed for the purpose of bringing hack to our limits a trade that had been drawn away from us by enterprising rivals — for the purpose of regaining a treasure which had been lost by had management on our own part. From the day that the engineers went upon the line, the work steadily progressed until it was completed. The honor of Pennsylvania was at stake, and nobly was it upheld in the construction of this great work. It is well to glance here at the opposition which this road met with from the citizens of rival States. In New York reports were industriously circulated that the Alleghenies could not he crossed without the use of inclined planes, and, as these were considered dangerous, the road could never become popular and he made to pay. The grades, it was declared, were too heavy to permit of a remunerative freight business ; and a thousand other “weak inventions of the enemy ’’were spread to the winds. Baltimore was more merciful, but she sneered at us ; and the New England States swelled the chorus of detraction. Still the work progressed. When money was needed, it was always forthcoming ; and it is a subject for just congratulation that most of it came from the pockets of our own people. At length the line was completed, and our self-styled metropolitan rival discovered that she had a real competitor for the trade of the West. She prepared herself for the contest by repealing the tax on tonnage which had been imposed on the roads run- ning in competion with her State Canals. On the 10th of July, 1851, just at the time when our road was going into operation, her Legislature passed a law which provides that “ it shall not be necessary for any railroad company in this State, (New York,) to pay any sums of money into the treasury of this State on account of the transportation of property on any railroad on and after the first day of December, 1851.” We had joined in the race of competition, hut our rival still pre- served the advantage. 10 The Pennsylvania Railroad Company has now it | successful operation 360 miles of road, which cost the sum of $30,000,000. This sum may be divided as follows : Individual subscriptions, Philadelphia subscription, - Allegheny county subscription, Purchase of Main Line from State, Bonds, Total, $7,300,000 6,000,000 1,000,000 7,600,000 9,200,000 $30,000,000 Add cost’ of Harrisburg and Lancaster Road, forming part of the line, - $l,8b-,4o Total cost of road, $31,882,450 Of the individual subscriptions, amounting to $7,300,000, nearly all are held in Pennsylvania, and are divided among a very large number of citizens representing all classes of society. It will thus be seen, that of the thirty millions of dollars directly invested in the Pennsylvania Central, over twenty millions are held in this State— a much larger proportion than can be show , it is believed, by any other railroad of the same magnitude in the United States. It may, therefore, be most emphatica y termed a Pennsylvania Railroad. It Will not be pretended by any man that the city of Phila delphia, or the county of Allegheny, embarked in this enterprise higher objects in view than the mere construction of admdend paying improvement; and if this is unquestionably true of them, ^ may it not also be said of many of the individual stockholders? They looked upon the road as a necessity a an indispensable requisite for our future prospent y _and great- ness as a Commonwealth. In the language of the Philadelphia Councils, they “advanced their money to make the improve- ment, mainly^for the important benefits they expected to deme indirectly, from the developed resources, the augmented tr , and the stimulated industry of the State. And this is the object they still eherish, and for which they are Mans to have the duty taken off the tonnage of a road, which is the 11 chief means by which we can reasonably hope to withstand a fierce competition with rival communities for the carrying trade between the Atlantic cities and the West.” These facts are worthy of serious consideration. To relieve the Pennsylvania Central from this onerous burthen will prove beneficial to our own citizens, who will thus be enabled to extend the field of their industry and enterprise by being brought in closer contact with the people of sister States. WHAT THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD HAS A - READY DONE POR THE STATE, AND WHAT IT CAN DO HEREAFTER, IF LEFT UNTRAMMELED. business centre. Hie Main uiw 0 f through accomplish these desired results. For P P , . ri z“r»4 *« *• >»•>■»« »• ,h - c -"“- x " — , » :fz - s -i- - ( 12 ) 13 facts, we submit the census of the counties on the line of the road for the years 1850 and 1860 : COUNTIES. POPULATION, 1850. POPULATION, 1860. INCREASE. RATE PER CT. Dauphin, - - 85,754 48,640 12,886 36 Perry, - - 20,088 22,940 2,852 14 Juniata, - - - 18,029 16,300 3,271 25 Mifflin, - - - 14,980 16,378 1,398 9 Huntingdon, - 24,786 26,167 1,381 5 Diair, - 21,777 27,785 6,008 27 Cambria, - - 17,773 29,313 11,540 66 Indiana, - * 27,170 33,869 6,699 24 Westmoreland, 51,726 54,020 2,294 4 Allegheny, - - 138,290 180,074 41,784 30 365,373 455,486 90,113 25 Ar Add the Counties on Harrisburg and Lancaster and Colum- bia Railroads, both of which are now under the management of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company : COUNTIES. POPULATION, 1850. POPULATION, 1860. INCREASE. RATE PER CT. Lancaster, - - 98,944 116,621 17,677 17 Chester, - - 66,438 74,749 8,311 12 Philadelphia, - 408,144 568,304 160,160 40 573,526 759,674 186,148 33 Av. Here we have a total population, residing on the direct line of the Pennsylvania Road, of one million two hundred and fif- teen thousand one hundred and sixty souls, (1,215,160,) almost one-half of the total population of the State. And these counties and cities have, during the past ten years, shown a per centage of increase greater than that of any other tier of counties in the State, excepting only those in which great mineral developments or other extraordinary discoveries, have been made. u We might refer here to the towns and villages eieete through the instrumentality of this great improvement. We might point to the capital of the State, and show the vast in- crease of business and population brought there by the libei - ity and enterprise of this Company. We might cite the eases of Bridgeport, Altoona, Cresson, Johnstown, and manj ’°^ ex ‘ 2 °“* ’ where this Railroad Company has not only invested hundred^ of thousands of dollars in improvements calculated to . develo P the resources of the Commonwealth, but has induced individual ‘vtL.. «. invest millions »«.- W. h« = dwell upon these themes. As Daniel Webster « a d of M “ Sa chusetts : “ There they are ! they speak for themselves . The return of the tax assessor has made them known to the common ™ry of the people, and the traveller through Pennsylvania —be he prince or peasant-looks upon the teeming evl en ??. of our energy and enterprise, spread along the lme o great Railroad, with feelings of admiration, not unmingled wi h ^Lettrigain resort to those stubborn arguments, figureMo show what the Pennsylvania Railroad has done 01 ^ by increasing the trade brought through its centre from West to find an outlet at Philadelphia. We take the value tonnage moved on the Pennsylvania Railroad for the “ loW1 “S years, as it appears in a pamphlet published in 1859 by the Philadelphia “Corn Exchange Association: 1853, 1854, 1855, 1851, 1857, $4,617,784 7,551,334 12,413,554 14,845,245 16,379,650 The years that have elapsed since the publication of this table show a still greater increase of the value of trade than is otltb” i. W.k.» no. ‘I- quire into all the advantages derived by our P00P e f ' 0 " ^ !reat trade. We leave it to the intelligent reader to deduce from these facts the natural results— results that have a e to the activity of our manufactories; have increased our com- 15 merce ; have rendered agriculture more profitable by creating a certain demand for all the produce of the soil ; and have, in a most remarkable degree, enhanced the value of our mineral lands by causing their rich treasures to be developed. In regard to the impetus given to the mineral resources of the Commonwealth by the Pennsylvania Railroad, we quote some extracts from reports made by officers of that Company. On the 15th of January, 1852, Mr. Herman Haupt submitted a report to the President and Directors of the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company, “ exhibiting the injury that must result to the trade of the State by a continuance of the Tonnage Tax.” In that document he shows, “from the Canal Commissioners’ re- port of the preceding year, that the amount of coal shipped at Hollidaysburg — representing the produce of the Allegheny mines — was only about 50,000 tons.” This was at a time when the State imposed a tax upon all coal carried over the Pennsyl- vania Road of three mills per ton per mile. Under the opera- tion of that law, the coal trade, was almost prohibited over the railroad, and, as a natural consequence, it languished in a most profitless condition. But on the Tth of May, 1855, the Tonnage Tax on coal and lumber was repealed, and what was the conse- quence? In the tenth annual report of the Directors of the Company, dated January 31, 185T, we find the following lan- guage: “ Since the repeal of the Tonnage duty on coal, the transpor- tation of the bituminous variety, which abounds along the line of our road, has become an important branch of the Company’s business. In consequence of the distance of the mines from the seaboard, the charges of freight must necessarily be light, to permit its introduction to market in competition with that brought from the mines of Maryland and Virginia, from whence most of this description of coal, consumed in Philadelphia, has heretofore been obtained. The rate charged for its transporta- tion is deemed profitable only in connection with other business, and with a view of keeping the rolling stock of the Company fully employed during that portion of the year when there is a scarcity of freight of other descriptions. After the superior quality of the coal of the region traversed by our road shall 16 have been fully established, it is believed it will command a price in tbe market sucb as to afford more remunerative ° f “sti to follow this subject further, and see tbe beneficial effect tbe repeal of tbe Tonnage Tax on coal important branch of Pennsylvania industry. Pio P of the Central Railroad Company we learn that the shipments of coal over their road during the year 1856, was 1857, “ 1858, “ 1859, “ - 100,844 tons. - 258,013 “ - 340,538 “ - 421,625 “ Here we have unmistakable evidence that this road has actually built up a coal trade > °f ““^^““ind^t this r . - »,»»» of .1. .u* ft. «.t. h» .1 a. s: * ”7, hut recently required to the State of out through the great Mississippi v^ley from th 17 score of sovereign States— each a mighty empire within itself- are tributary to it, as the main artery through which must ulti- mately flow (if a liberal and just policy is exercised by Penn- sylvania) a great portion of the commodities bought and sold for the use of their people. We do not intend to follow these connecting roads in their wanderings through the cities and towns of the Great West. We are writing as a Pennsylvanian to citizens of Pennsylvania, and it is to State pride, State in- terest, and State honor, that we appeal. The bill prepared for the commutation of the Tonnage Tax provides that the rates for transportation shall be reduced for all local shippers equivalent to the tax now chargeable on their trade, and that a sum equal in amount to the tax that has ac- crued since the 1st of August, 185T, shall be contributed by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to the completion of the following roads : 1. Pittsburg and Steubenville Railroad. 2. Chartiers Talley Railroad. 3. Fayette County Railroad. 4. West Pennsylvania Railroad. 5. Ebensburg and Cresson Railroad. 6. Tyrone and Clearfield Railroad. 7. Tyrone and Lock Haven Railroad. 8. Hopewell and Bedford Railroad. 9. Penn’s Valley Railroad. 10. Chambersburg and Bedford Railroad. These ten railroads will afford direct communication be- tween the counties of Washington, Butler, Lawrence, Clear- field, Centre, Bedford, and Fulton, and the cities of Philadel- phia and Pittsburg, and will offer increased accommodations to the trade and business of Huntingdon, Cambria, Mifflin, Frank- lin, Allegheny, and many other counties. The complete de- velopment of the resources of these localities, many of which have been neglected for years to the great injury of their people, is a subject of the greatest importance, and should be carefully considered by the Legislature. The extension of a B 18 •, A tr. nm Ohambersburg to Bedford, will place the bitumi- railroad f Pennsylvania in direct communication with a nous coal fields ot y requires considerable market now enti rely cut off “i™ a Xhich must steadi- quantities of that vane y besides, afford facilities for !y a ^ ra ^ ’^stly^lebrated Bedford Mineral Springs, which - K-ys -I continue to langu s , artifici al advantages, progress rs sr l::.i but a few J°^ rS b^ greatly'enhanced in value; and, reasoning kets, would soon b g y fiye g after these roads from analogous case , talu0 of taxa bl e property shall he complete , ^ ^ int0 the State treasury suf- 'would bring an am amply compensate for ficient to satisfy all reasonable men, And this the repeal of an c b eer fully, because it would represent trade. THE GENERAL POLICY OP TAXING TRADE, AND THE PARTICULAR INJUSTICE OF SUCH IMPOSI- TIONS UPON OUR CITIZENS WHO USE THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD, CONSIDERED. All writers on political economy agree, that the imposition o governmental burthens of any kind on internal trade is an objectionable and erroneous policy. The progress of modern civilization and enlightenment has shown itself in nothing more than in removing burthens from the industry and ingenuity of mankind. In the dark ages, and even in modern times, in countries cursed by despotism, what were called “monopolies” were sold, giving to the purchaser, or to the favorite of a tyrant he exclusive privilege of making or selling a useful and neces- sary article. But those restrictions upon free industry passed away with many other relics of barbarism, and it will not be denied that the world was the better for their extermination. Labor was first enfranchised in the free cities of Europe, which by purchase or pertinacious resistance, wrung from tyrants the right to toil, and to enjoy its results. Labor brought wealth- wealth power; and power the greatest scope for the exercise of the natural faculties and rights of man. The seed planted in weakness, and protected amid great perils by untiring vigilance and energy has grown into a tree that covers the earth. Its trurt is whatever valuable we possess in wealth, in art, in religious and political freedom, and in social life. It has been of en repeated as to become an axiom, that power is “con- tinually passing from the many to the few; ” and it was only by continued vigilance that the blessings gained by the indus- trious Lowlanders were saved to the people everywhere. Rulers are a pt to « govern to much . and ^ J not w power of government is wielded by a despot or by representa- ( 19 ) 20 the to»g« i. .1~J» » *»» »' *» “' l “ ,fc ° ritJ keing »f rm*. » ,.™lJ * *T« j! and hence the imposition of restrictions upon local pU T iP - Lod of taxing the results of that trade— the wealth it U Wuceiis not a sound principle of governmental might produce ell ] mown that the invention of policy. For ^stance it s j revolutionised the the Cotton Jenny by Sir A g , ^ ^ ZZZu . o iL Of po.pl. -1» hod tote. b.«« plenty anu opu fpniq invention was an Uf»g » oi“<* »f ».i» 8 improvement— -a grea^ ’ W as erBe ded, and the hTimpIod f e.ttiolioo> upon » ■>«» J ^ tolvV tad ' “ :"s ;-,d 11 “ r, ” ,ed - manufacturing that cotton into clot “- mot restrictions. before the present century, of J^P distilleries markets on the many barrels to one, by which they "Ir/et for the one as and the same price rnment interfered with this process, for the many. T » continued to resist, and the and the people rehelle • Cases of this kind “ restriction upon tiade “embargo have not been confined to our own State. 21 laws ” of the general government, passed at the commencement of the present century, were resisted in New England until they were obliterated. Similar instances have occurred in all parts of the country, proving clearly that the principle of taxing processes — of imposing unfair restrictions upon industry and trade— has never received the approbation of the free people of America, when the nature of the burthen was clearly comprehended. It is alleged that the tax on tonnage carried over the Pennsyl- vania Railroad was imposed for two purposes : First, to protect the State Canals and Railroads against competition; and Second, to produce revenue for the liquidation of the indebtedness of the Commonwealth. The first of these purposes has ceased to exist, because the State has now no canals or railroads to protect. The second remains, and it is to this that we must devote some attention. Let us, then, consider the Tonnage Tax as a revenue measure ; and in connection with this considera- tion, glance at the financial condition of the Commonwealth. The imposition of a tax upon tonnage tends to drive away trade from any line of transportation. This is a self-evident, indisputable fact. No law can be passed compelling a shipper of goods to select a certain channel of transportation. If two, four, or six routes of trade or travel are open by which he can reach a given point, he will take just which one he pleases, and the Legislature cannot restrain him in his choice. He can carry his produce to market in an ox-cart, a Conestoga wagon, a canal boat, or a railroad car, just as suits his fancy or conve- nience. But the Legislature can offer inducements to him to choose a certain route, or it can impose restrictions which will drive him from it. Suppose, for illustration, one million tons of freight are to be shipped from Chicago to the cities on the Atlantic seabord. This freight can reach its destination by the Canada route, the Boston route, the New York route, or the Pennsylvania route. Suppose the regular railroad charges between Chicago and Boston, New York, or Philadelphia to be the same, the chances for all the routes leading to those cities are then precisely equal. But in this case the Legislature of Pennsylvania interposes, and says to the Chicago shipper, “ If 22 you bring your freight through our State you must pay into the treasury, in the shape of a Tonnage Tax, one do liar per ton for every ton you carry between Pittsburg and Philadelph a, are the Chances then equal? Assuredly not. A restriction has been imposed which must drive this freight to another channel of trade. As an inclination of one inch per mi e gnes a decided impulse to the flow of water, so a cent per ton often decides whether freight in the interior of Ohio, or Indiana o Illinois, shall come to Philadelphia, or be f'y V Mississippi to New Orleans, or find an outlet at New lork, Boston, or Baltimore. But the taxing of processes is not a politic revenue measure, because, as we have just shown, it tends to keep from us the products of distant regions, which, if brought to our manufac- turers, would produce an amount of wealth incalculably more beneficial to the State than the small sum derived from the original restriction. For example: Suppose a tax of hve dollars per ton to be placed upon a cargo of black walnut coming from Indiana. The effect of such a tax would be, either to prevent its exportation altogether or to send it to other markets. Once brought to our own, it is no unreasonable supposition to estimate the values into . which it ^ might be com verted by tbe skillful bands of our artisans at §50,000. A tax of one per cent, on this sum, and which would be easily and cheerfully paid, would yield ?500-a sum greater, perhaps than the first cost of the raw material. By an unwise mode o taxation we banish from us the very means of creating values, and of giving employment to our workmen and to our commerce. By taxing results alone, we not only gain our object— a revenue but we attract instead of repel the products which form the basis of our commerce and manufactures, and consequent y wealth, and which supply the greater portion of the food we '"we admit that, as a general rule, “ comparisons are odious,” and that they are particularly so when instituted to show the relative progress of New York and Pennsylvania yet we cannot avoid calling attention to a few facts bearmg upo this part of our argument. Hon. Charles Gibbons, in a speech 23 before the Committee of Ways and Means of the Pennsylvania Legislature, gave some interesting statistics showing the pro- gress of the towns and cities in the State of New York. Speaking of the opening of the Erie Canal, in 1825, he says : “ There was not then a town of importance, in that State, west of Albany ; and Albany, chartered in 1682, and in direct communication with the city of New York by means of a navi- gable river, had grown so slowly that in 1820, at the ripe age of one hundred and thirty years, it contained but 12,600 inhabitants. The population of Buffalo, which was originally laid out by the Holland Company, in 1801, was 2,500. Within five years after the opening of the canal, the population of Albany was doubled, that of Buffalo trebled, and Utica and Bochester became cities, each containing 9,000 inhabitants. The New York Central Railroad, afterwards constructed, and following the line of the canal, added its influence in the development of the country which it spans, and now Albany with a population estimated at TO, 000, Utica at 28,000, Auburn at 15,000, Syracuse at 35,000, Bochester at 50,000, Lockport at 20,000, and Buffalo at 80,000, besides a number of towns and villages, rising from the path of those improvements, attest the wisdom of a Clinton, and pay tribute to the State of New York. The city of Troy, only six miles distant from Albany, contained in 1820 about 5,000 inhabitants. The Erie and Champlain Canal, and the railroads that connect her with the North and the West, have since become the sources of a pros- perity now shared by her population of near 50,000 souls.” The control of the trade of the Great West was the stimulant on which those inland towns and cities grew so great. The wealth of that teeming region, watered by the tributaries of the Mississippi and washed by the great Lakes, sought an outlet at New York, and on its way passed at their doors and paid tribute. Will any one pretend that New York, as a State, would have been benefited more by taxing this great trade than she has been by permitting it to pass free, and build up towns and cities by the score on its channel ? Has not a greater revenue been derived from the permanent wealth thus created than could have been gained by a tax imposed upon all the 24 tonnage which rolled through from Lake Erie to Long Island ; Look, now, at our own State, and see the advantages it possesses, hut which have slumbered, like Rip Van Winkle, while progress was all around it. What natural favors are enjoyed by Troy, Syracuse, Utica, Auburn, and Portland, that Harrisburg, Lewistown, Johnstown and Huntingdon do not possess? Our mineral wealth is greater than that of New York; our soil is as rich; our climate more genial. Why should not we, then, have a chain of cities, rich, S* eat > I ll0 ' : ' perous _connecting Philadelphia and Pittsburg? Why should not Pennsylvania be the manufacturing centre for the Rortti- West, and its commercial mart as well? Let ns pro t y t e example presented in New York; and, in the true spirit of liberal and generous enterprise, enter the lists for the great ■prizes of wealth and power. . •, Pennsylvania has, for years, been clamorous in her deman s for a protective tariff. Her statesmen have made eloquent appeals on the floors of Congress for legislation that would enable her mineral wealth to be thoroughly developed and protect those engaged in the manufacture of iron and the mining of coal from ruinous foreign competition, bhe has pointed to her many silent forges and deserted furnaces— to the sad record of bankruptcies and failures presented by those who have engaged in the iron and coal business-and has begged of her sister States for relief and encouragement. O late, a deaf ear has been turned to her appeals; and those who have sneered at her most, and have shown the least disposition to extend to her aid and comfort, were the States of New lork and those comprising the great North-West The J hav ® not been blind to the contracted policy which burthened then trade as it passed though our limits. The fact that we taxed their products when seeking a market on our own soil, has not been unknown to them ; and more than once have our appeals been answered by a reference to our own want of liberality and justice. We have now millions of dollars, invested in non manufacturies, which is not as productive as capital m this new country ought to be. The largest establishments of this kind on the American continent are within our borders, and year after 25 year our people are humiliated and distressed by seeing them abandoned and idle — the fires dead ; the machinery still ; the honest laborers, dependent upon them, out of employment and suffering for the necessaries of life. Much of this is justly to be attributed to the selfishness of portions of the Confederacy, which, haying no interest in protective revenue laws, deny them • to those whose very life depends upon the fostering care of government. But the policy of our own laws hangs over many of those iron manufactories as a depressing cloud. Thousands v of tons of iron, manufactured in the interior of Pennsylvania, are shipped annually to Pittsburg, and other points in the West, to be sold or worked up into articles of trade and domestic use. Every ton of this iron is taxed , by our own Legislature , for passing over our own soil. The manufacturer in Berks, Lebanon, Dauphin, Perry, Pluntingdon, Blair, Cambria, West- moreland, and other counties, who ships his iron by railroad to the West, is compelled to pay three mills per ton per mile into the State Treasury for the privilege of doing so. Every ton of railroad iron made at the great Cambria Works— works that are an honor to our State — is compelled to pay a tax before it can reach its destination in Western States. Can we ask for protection from the General Government when we thus prey upon ourselves ? It is time that those of our citizens interested in the iron trade of Pennsylvania — -and who among them all is not ? — -should seriously demand a more liberal policy from their own local government. We come now to the consideration of the second proposition presented at the commencement of this division of our subject, viz: The particular injustice of taxing the tonnage of the Pennsylvania Railroad. And here let us briefly revert to the origin of this tax, that our position now may be clearly ascer- tained. At the time the Company was incorporated for the purpose of constructing a railroad from Harrisburg to Pitts- burg, the State owned and operated the canals and railroads connecting those two points. The construction of a railroad parallel with this line of improvements, it was contended would destroy their value — -they produced no profits to be destroyed. To make amends for this, a tax was imposed upon all tonnage 26 carried by the railroad. Under this restriction the road was built. It was not then argued that the Tonnage Tax was intended as a revenue measure: it was imposed merely to protect the State Canals and the Portage Railroad, in which improvements the Commonwealth had invested many millions of dollars. But whatever argument might have been used in favor of this tax while the State owned and operated the Main Line, certainly ceased when that line was sold. The reasoning then, if sound before, had, logically, a re- verse application. If the object of the tax on the railroad was to protect the canals, when the canals no longer needed protec- tion, the tax should cease, because the reason for its imposition had ceased. Especially is this view sound in this case, inas- much as the Railroad Company having purchased the canals, they could not need protection against themselves, and the canals and railroads, having now a common owner, a tax on one was a tax on both, and thus, what was pretended to have been originally imposed as a virtual premium to the canal, be- came ultimately an actual burthen on it, or rather on all citi- zens using it. The Legislature which directed the sale of the Main Line of the public works, recognized this view by providing, that if the Pennsylvania Railroad Company became the purchasers, they should, under certain contingencies, be forever discharged and freed from the Tonnage Tax and all other taxes, with cer- tain specified exceptions. The Supreme Court held that this was too broad, inasmuch as it amounted to alienation of State sovereignty, and was to a certain extent void as a contract to bind future Legislatures. But the legislative declaration of public policy, and of what justice to the Company demanded, was complete, and thus the Company purchased the canals and connecting Railroads. An implied moral obligation therefore rests on the Legislature to carry out, to the extent of their power, the intentions of their predecessors of 1857 , by repeal- ing this Tonnage Tax, unless in doing so they would clearly vio- late their duty to their constituents. There can be no argument used in favor of the continuation of this tax, in view of the facts above set forth, except that it is 27 a revenue measure necessary for the credit of the Common-* wealth. In reference to this, facts and figures can be produced sufficient to satisfy any unprejudiced mind. The last report of the Board of Revenue Commissioners of Pennsylvania, made to (Governor Packer on the 2d of March, 1860, states that (( from the evidence before the Board, it would appear that the aver- age valuation of the assessors of the several Counties of the State is from fifty to sixty cents on the dollar— probably less.” Under the action of the present Board, the whole amount of real and personal estate made taxable for State purposes, is $569,049,995 00. It will be readily conceded, that the real estate of Pennsylvania for exceeds, in value, that of Ohio, and both the real and personal estate of Pennsylvania falls $72,- 868,156 00 short of the assessed value of the land only of Ohio. (e the State of New York, also, under a different mode of assessment, the real and personal property of the State is valued for the last year, at a fraction over fourteen hundred millions of dollars. Their system of assessments is far prefer- able to our own, so far as reaching the cash value of property, but this may not be so desirable as uniformity in value.” Here we have unmistakable evidence, from the highest authority, that the valuation of taxable property for State pur- poses, is not over one-half of its real value, and that, in com- parison with neighboring States, it is extremely low. Yet we find that even on such a valuation the rate of taxation could be reduced, three years ago, half a mill, and the Revenue Board recommending a further reduction of half a mill, making the rate of taxation for State purposes two mills on a dollar at an assessment of one-half the value of property, or one mill on the dollar at cash value ! Surely the financial condition of the Commonwealth is not desperate when this rate of taxation is all that is required. But this report furnishes other facts and arguments bearing upon our subject. We quote : 66 revenue arising from the adjusted valuation established by this Board, of the property subject to two and a half mills, at two mills on the dollar, will amount to the sum of $1,127,- 155 59. To this add the sum available from the one and two 28 per cent, classes, and tbc tax on watches, and it amounts to $1,197,661 56. “We recommend to the Legislature the reduction of a half mill on the property subject to the two and a half mill tax. This item is chiefly made up of land. During the last fiscal year the sum of $849,289 60 was appropriated by the Commis- sioners of the Sinking Fund to the cancellation of the debt of the State; nearly a million of dollars. Under the present ad- justed valuation by this Board, the sum arising therefrom, to- gether with the other sources of revenue, will pay the interest on the State debt, the expenses of government, and leave avail- able to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, applicable to payment of State debt, a half million of dollars annually. Is not this sum sufficient for us to pay annually on our debt, con- sidering that the present generation has had a more grievous burthen to sustain, in the way of taxation, than any preceding one, or any that will in all probability follow it ? The Consti- tution has put a limit to the increase of the State debt. It cannot be enlarged except under extraordinary circumstances. It is to be hoped that they may not arise. If they do, let the day and the time provide for the emergency. “If the Commonwealth can he relieved of her indebtedness, at the rate of a half million of dollars annually, it is making all the progress which should he required. It would he wise to pay at once if we had the means. But this cannot he done without absolute oppression to the people. At the reduction of a half million a year, we will have done our part. Let us have partial rest, at least. Let our children cancel a part of the mortgage, for though their inheritance will come to them en- cumbered, there will be no danger of foreclosure ; with half the industry and perseverance of their fathers, they can meet the remaining instalments. “There is another view in which this subject is to be consid- ered. An overflowing treasury is a bad thing. It were far better to have only money enough to meet the pressing and urgent demands on it, than to have one cent of surplus. So long as there is unappropriated money in the treasury, there will be ways and means devised to get at it. This is the inevi- 29 table conclusion of each day’s experience ; sucb has been the result of the past, and such will mark the future. Of this we speak as a principle ; we design no reflection upon our legisla- tive body; it is the farthest from our thoughts. But States are like men ; if the money is not in the pocket it cannot be spent, and so with the treasury of the State. It cannot be reached if not there, because the fundamental law of the State has reared a barrier against the increase of the public debt.”* Surely no one will contend, in the face of all this testimony, that the financial condition of the Commonwealth requires the imposition of a tax on all tonnage carried over the Pennsylvania Bailroad. If it is not, then, a necessity, it must be imposed upon principle, and where is the justice of a principle which taxes one line of railroad exorbitantly and permits all others to *Since the above was written, the last annual message of His Excellency, Governor Packer, has been sent to the Legislature, and it is gratifying to find in that able document, confirmatory evidence of the prosperous financial con- dition of the Commonwealth. His Excellency says, “that during the past three years the State has not only met all her ordinary liabilities, including the expenses of government and the interest on her public debt, but has dimin- ished her actual indebtedness the sum of $2,286,882 15.” He also shows that there was an available balance in the Treasury, on the 1st day of December, 1800, of $681,488 08. His Excellency still further states: “that for the past three years the tax on real and personal estate has been but 2$ mills on the dollar— that for the past two years and six months the State has received no part of the tax on tonnage due from the Pennsylvania Rail Road Company — and that since July, 1859, the interest on the bonds held by the State against the Sunbury and Erie Rail Road Company has remained due and unpaid,” and congratulates the Legislature on the fact that, “without the aid of these impor- tant sources of revenue, so great a reduction of the public debt has been accomplished in comparatively so short a period.” These statements clearly show that there is no necessity for continuing this burthen upon the people who use the Pennsylvania Railroad. If the State can reduce her debt, as the Governor proves, at the rate of over $750,000 per annum, without the aid of the “extraordinary revenue” derived from a tax on the business of a large portion of our citizens; with a rate of taxation on real and personal estate of only 2 J mills on the dollar, on a valuation of less than one-half the actual value of the real and personal estate of the Commonwealth; and with a source of revenue recommended and urged upon the Legislature by himself and by the Treasurer of the State, by which the sum of $300,000 can justly and fairly be brought into the Treasury annually, in addition to that now received, it would certainly be the part of justice and wisdom to relieve those oppressed people from their burthens. 30 go free ? What reason can be assigned for imposing this tax upon the Pennsylvania Central that will not apply with equal force to the Reading ? to the North Pennsylvania ? the Alle- gheny Valley? and every other road in the State? If rail- roads are to be taxed for purposes of State revenue, in the name of justice and honor, tax them all alike. Let not one or two be singled out to bear all the burthens of such a policy. It is gravely contended by some who oppose the repeal of this tax, that it is the result of a contract with the Common- wealth, and that no matter how burthensome it may be, the railroad must submit to it, because it accepted the charter with this provision in it. An argument of this kind is hardly worth consideration, and would be passed by in silence were it not seriously urged by men of intelligence. History informs us that the laws of the Medes and Persians were irrepealable— that once enacted they remained unchangeable, no matter what evils might result from them. These opponents of the repeal of the Tonnage Tax argue upon the same principle. Notwith- standing the reason for the imposition of this tax has passed away: notwithstanding the financial condition of the Common- wealth is such as to admit of an odious restriction upon trade being removed ; yet these gentlemen contend that it ought to remain forever. Never, since our government existed, has a session of the Legislature passed without laws being enacted “for the relief” of something or somebody. Have these laws all been wrong in principle, because they almost invariably re- leased the object of their favor from some agreement with, some responsibilty towards, the Commonwealth? Pennsylvania has always heretofore pursued a liberal policy towards public improvements of all kinds. There is not a nook or corner of her territory in which she has not spent money to construct roads or canals, build bridges, improve water-courses, or assist in some improvement intended for the public good. What has she received in return for all this ? Where is the improvement in which she held stock that has paid back the amount of the original investment ? Railroads are now in pro- fitable existence in which she once held stock which was sold at one dollar per share, when the par value was fifty dollars. In 31 I the last annual report of the Auditor-General we find a state- ment of the amount of stocks held by the Commonwealth in sundry incorporated companies, on the 1st of December, 1859, which shows an aggregate of $1,746,545 62. Of all this sum the probabilities are that she will never realize the odd thou- sands, perhaps not even the hundreds. If she could be thus liberal years ago, when she was poor and needy, can she not be just now? The amount of revenue derived from the Pennsylvania Rail- road annually, exclusive of the Tonnage Tax, is greater than the amount paid by any three other railroads in the Commonwealth, while the capital stock of that Company is not equal to the capital stock of the Reading Railroad Company. We annex a statement of the amount of tax paid to the State, (exclusive of the tax on tonnage,) by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, during the past four years : 1857, - 1858, - 1859, - 1860, paid and estimated, - $74,857 82 - 67,669 96 - 75,674 99 - 80,748 27 Total, - - - $298,951 04 The amount of Tonnage Tax paid by this Company up to the time of the purchase of the Main Line of Canals and Railroads, was $724,579 90. These figures show that the Commonwealth has no reason to complain of the revenue derived from this Company. But because it has found the Pennsylvania Rail- road thus profitable to the public treasury, shall it continue to cry, like the horse-leech’s mother, “Give? give!” and never be satisfied ! Surely, such a policy will not mark the golden days of prosperity of the Old Keystone State. THE RIVALRY BETWEEN EASTERN CITIES EOR THE TRADE OF THE WEST— THE DUTY OF PENNS YLV ANI A— CON CLU SION. Independent of the Canada route, which has been constructed at an immense outlay of capital, and which taps the Lake trade at different points, there are three great competing routes for the commerce between the Atlantic seaboard and the West, viz : The New York Railroads ; the Baltimore and Ohio ; and the Pennsylvania. These lines have their eastern termini at New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia; and those cities may, therefore, appropriately be considered as the com- peting rivals for a trade which is now counted by hundreds ot millions annually. _ Of the geographical position of those cities, with reference to this trade, it is unnecessary to speak at length here. Every- man who glances at a map of the United States will see, that if Philadelphia is not a principal outlet for the products of the West it must be attributed to some cause aside, from her loca- tion • and if he turns to her own record, he will observe that her course has been shaped so as to encourage, in the most liberal manner, this great trade. That city has aided most mu- nificently the construction of various railroads calculated to de- velope the resources, and enhance the interests, of the Common- wealth. In the language of Mr. Gibbons, when addressing the Committee of Ways and Means of the Legislature, “ she. pays into your treasury one-third of all the revenues collected m the State. She pledged her credit to the extent of five millions ot dollars to aid the construction of the Central Railroad, b le invested one million four hundred thousand dollars in the stock of the North Pennsylvania, seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars in North Western, and five hundred thousand dollars in ( 32 ) 33 the Hempfield Railroad Companies. [To this may be added two millions two hundred and fifty thousand dollars subscribed to the Sunbury and Erie Railroad.] Her citizens have sent millions more into the interior to be employed in improvements and enter- prises of various kinds, from which the State is receiving daily benefits in the development of her wealth.” Her commercial * apathy must, therefore, to some extent, at least, be attributed to the illiberal policy pursued by the State Legislature. While New York State does all in its power to advance the * commercial greatness of the city of New York, Pennsyl- vania has, for years, dealt with Philadelphia, and the com- mercial interests of the Commonwealth, as though they deserved no favor or protection. The tax imposed upon the trade which she now has with the West is conclusive evidence of this. It cramps her energies, destroys her enterprise, and injures her business reputation. In a former part of this argument, we quoted from a memo- rial of the City Councils of Philadelphia, to show that the Pennsylvania Railroad was not constructed as a mere dividend- paying speculation, — that the objects of those who aided most liberally in originating and completing it, were higher and nobler than the mere realization of so much per centum upon the capital invested. They hoped to see great benefits derived by the people of all parts of the State from this improvement. They desired to attract, by offering inducements for it, a liberal portion of a lucrative trade through our territory, knowing that such a consummation would benefit all classes of the commu- nity : the merchant, by increasing his commerce ; the manufac- turer, by creating a demand for the productions of his skill ; the farmer, by enhancing the value of his land ; and the laborer, by rendering honest toil more lucrative. To a certain extent these dreams have been realized : not in the fullness and completeness that should have crowned them, but still realized. In olden times, tradition tells us, it was customary to place a bushel of corn in one end of a sack, with rocks in the other end to balance it, and thus compel the poor pack-horse to bear a double burthen on his weary way to the mill. Ingenuity had not then discovered that the bushel of corn could be divided so as c 34 to balance itself. The law-makers of Pennsylvania have pursued a course similar to this. They placed an unnecessary burthen upon a great improvement, and have hitherto insisted that it should be borne. They did not perceive that this burthen in- creased the price of every barrel of flour— every cargo of pork every bushel of gram brought from the West and consumed by the people of the East ; and when their attention was called to the oppression, they answered, as the Italian peasant an- swers when asked why he plows his land with the bent bough of a tree, “ Thus our fathers did!” Our people, then, who reside in Philadelphia, Pittsburg, and other portions of the State, have not only the great object they had in view in constructing this road defeated, to a certain degree, by an illiberal State policy, but they find that this same policy increases directly the price of every article they pur- chase for their use or comfort. They are compelled, by an onerous system of taxation, to do less business than their natu- ral advantages entitle them to, and at the same time pay higher rates for the necessaries of life. While other cities, which do no more for the States in which they are placed than Philadel- phia does for Pennsylvania, receive encouragement and assist- ance from the rural districts, our chief metropolis is denied even justice ; and in return for her liberality in developing the resources of the Commonwealth, she receives oppression and wrong. But this tax upon the business of the principal railroad in the State, lays its iron hand upon citizens who live outside of Philadelphia. Every farmer, merchant, and manufacturer who transports goods a distance of twenty miles over the Pennsyl- vania Railroad, is compelled to pay this tax; and thus the profits on what he sells are diminished, while the cost of what he buys is increased. The Tonnage Tax is, therefore, a bui- then upon every citizen of the Commonwealth who does business over the Pennsylvania Railroad, and upon our citizens alone. In laying this tax, the law declares that it shall be upon all ton- nage, but the Company cannot assess it upon freight carried from points in the West, where the transporter has the choice of • routes for reaching the Eastern markets. If they did this, 35 business would be driven from their road, and would necessarily seek an outlet by way of Baltimore or New York. To secure a fair share of the trade of the West, the Pennsylvania Bail- road must carry the produce of the West at as low rates per mile as other roads will carry it ; and how can this be done if, in addition to the actual cost of transportation, a heavy State tax has to be paid upon it? At first glance, the additional imposition placed upon the local, and not upon the through freight, might seem unfair .on the part of the Company, but a little consideration will convince any intelligent man that no other course could be pursued by them. They must either drive all through trade from the road and from the State, or they must carry it as low as it can be transported through New York or Maryland. The oppression which our citizens using the road have to bear, and which those in other portions of the State are exempt from, is not therefore inflicted by the managers of that improvement, but by the law-making power of the State. If the State will remove the tax, the Company will at once reduce their rates of transportation. This they did when the restric- tion was removed from coal and lumber ; and this they stand pledged to do now on all articles transported over their road subject to present taxation. The discriminations against our own citizens which we have pointed out, and which a little reflection will convince any one are not imaginary creations for the sake of argument, are so manifestly unjust as to excite surprise that they have been so long quietly submitted to. The patience with which they have been borne can only be accounted for by the pre- sumption that their burthens have not been fully comprehended by those upon whom they were inflicted. No wise and just Legislator will desire to continue upon our statute books a law which thus draws distinctions between the citizens of a great Commonwealth — citizens who, be they high or low, rich or poor live they on the shores of the Delaware, the Juniata, the Schuylkill, the Conemaugh, or the Allegheny, are entitled to equal rights and equal privileges. There is another aspect in which the necessity of a liberal policy on the part of Pennsylvania presents itself, that, however 36 unpleasant it may be, should not be shut out from our minds. Prudence dictates that the shadowy warnings of dire events, no matter how uncertain they appear, should not be unheeded by any people. Many instances might be cited to show that clouds, no larger than a man's hand when they came upon a nation’s horizon, have spread until they overshadowed every- thing, and the storm which burst from them swept the institu- tions and customs of years away, as the rushing tide obliterates a writing on the sands of the seashore. Just now there is a cloud gathering over the hitherto bright sky of our own beloved country. How long it may continue, or what may flow from it, human perception cannot foretell. Every patriot hopes and trusts that it may pass away and leave no sign, but it is not well to remain inactive in this desire. As citizens of a great State, centrally located, and uniting within our limits the waters of the two great oceans, we should pursue such a course now as will prove advantageous to ourselves and our posterity, come what may. It is possible that a few years, nay, even a few months, will see the mouth of the Mississippi river closed to the free and uninterrupted commerce of the great North-west. It may be that a hostile power will place itself upon the Father of Waters and demand tribute for the right of sailing down it to the trackless ocean. In such a contingency, what route of communication betw r een the West and the Atlan- tic coast could compare with that through our own State, if the restrictions now placed upon it were removed ? A wise policy on the part of our Legislature — a policy which looks beyond the petty gains wrung from an oppressed community would elevate Pennsylvania into a position of commercial and produc- tive importance which the revolutions of centuries could not destroy. A liberal course on our part tov T ard the States lying in the head of the Mississippi Valley — States settled by our brethren, and wdiose institutions are modelled after our own would link them around the old Keystone in a bond of fraternal union that fanaticism could never destroy. In view of all these facts, present and contingent, is it not time that our discriminating and restricting policy were changed? Is it not time that our own people were relieved 37 from burthens upon their industry and enterprise, and those of sister States be given to understand that Pennsylvania intends to use, properly and liberally, the many advantages she enjoys. Our system of railroads will soon, after years of trial and labor, he perfected. New York sees this, and she is exercising all her ingenuity to overreach us again, as she has in times past. From a pamphlet lately printed in that city, and devoted to the inte- rests of the Erie Railroad, we learn some of the gigantic schemes in contemplation by which a monopoly of the Western trade is to be maintained. The writer assures the citizens of New York that they “make a very great mistake in regarding the New York and Erie Railroad as having been completed. * * * It is not enough that this road should be made to reach the borders of the West. It must penetrate, cross, traverse the West. It must be able to reach out and grasp the products of Ohio from the river to the lake. It must have its tributaries in Indiana— -they must radiate from Chicago, and it must meet the commerce of the Mississippi and Missouri at St. Louis. This was the great idea , the comprehensive philosophy, the funda- mental principle of the broad theory to which this road owes its origin, and to the wisdom of which every day’s observation, and every year’s experience testifies. Works that to some extent are to effect all this, are now constructed, or in process of con- struction.” Surely it is enough for Pennsylvania Legislators to be ap- prised of these efforts on the part of our business rival to rob us of a just share of trade, to induce them at once to take such measures as will save us from further humiliation. We have shown that the interests of Pennsylvania will all be subserved by the repeal of the Tonnage Tax — -that the bill asking for that repeal is so drawn as to secure to a large portion of the State immediate and great advantages. We have shown, from official records, that the financial condition of the Commonwealth is such that the continuation of that unjust tax is not required as a source of revenue. We have shown that it operates to the in- jury of our foreign and domestic trade — of our manufacturing, agricultural, and mineral interests, and to the detriment of our reputation as a great Commonwealth. Can any further argu- 38 ment be necessary? Will a blind prejudice be sufficient to cause justice to be withheld from a great improvement, built by the money of our people for their mutual advantage ? W e think not. The time for such narrow prejudice has passed by ; and hereafter, it is to be hoped, our Legislators will not ask, “Is this measure for the interest of my county? Will it prove of immediate advantage to my constituents?” but that they will act on the great and noble principle of legislation proclaimed by Daniel Webster, that “one who possesses too little comprehension, either of intellect or feeling— one who is not large enough in mind and heart, to embrace the whole — is not fit to be entrusted with the interest of any part. 4