George Shiras, Jr.

“ When the taxpayers of one state perceive that they are subjected to competition by the importation of articles made in another, or that they are contributing continually to the prosperity of foreign corporations, what more natural than that they should demand that some share of the public burdens should be put upon such corporations? ”

“ The American Refrigerator Transit Company is a corporation of the state of Illinois, engaged in the business of furnishing refrigerator cars for the transportation of perishable products over the various lines of railroads in the United States, and receives as compensation for he use of its cars a mileage of three-fourths of a cent per mile from each railroad company over whose lines said cars are run. ”

“ The difficult task of the lawmaker is to meet that natural and proper demand without infringing upon the freedom of interstate commerce, or depriving those engaged therein of the equal protection of the laws. ”

“ The constitution of the state of Colorado provides that all corporations in the state, or doing business therein, shall be subject to taxation on the real and personal property owned or used by them within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax ”

“ The expense involved in the manufacture of some of the common articles in daily use, and in their transportation, is so great as to be beyond the means of individuals, and has rendered necessary the aggregation of capital in the form of corporations. ”

“ The cars were continuously and permanently employed in going to and fro upon certain routes of travel. If they had never passed beyond the limits of Pennsylvania, it could not be doubted that the state could tax them, like other property within its borders, notwithstanding they were employed in interstate commerce. ”

“ Usually such corporations, though organized under the law of one state, make their profits by doing their business in several or all of the states, and, while so doing, receive the protection of their laws. ”

“ Denver & Gulf Company reported to the board of equalization that he had on the line of the railroad which he was operating within the state of Colorado 42 refrigerator cars belonging to the American Refrigerator Transit Company on December 31, 1894. The board thereupon assessed to the transit company said 42 cars, at a valuation of $250 each, and distributed said assessment to the different counties through which the line of said railroad extended. ”

“ Pennsylvania, 141 U.S. 18, 11 Sup. Ct. 876) , or such a proportion of the whole value of the capital stock of a telegraph company as the lenght of its lines within a state bears to the length of its lines everywhere, deducting a sum equal to the value of its real estate and machinery subject to local taxation within the state (W. U. Tel. Co. v. Taggart, 163 U.S. 1, 16 Sup. Ct. 1054) .
'Doubtless there is a distinction between the property of railroad and telegraph companies and that of express companies. The physical unity existing in the former is lacking in the latter ”