Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 2.djvu/895

 888 FEDERAL REPORTER. �' ehall be taxed, the only limitation upon that discretion being that the tax shall be imposed by a general law, and be uni- form as to the class upon which it operates. �In the case of The State Eailroad Tax Cases, 2 Otto, 575, the supreme court of the United States says, at page 611: "As to section 1 we need not inquire very closely whether the mode adopted by the statutes, and the rules of the board of equalization, produces a valuation for railroad companies dif- ferent from that of individuala, though, as we have already said, it does not appear to us to produce any inequality to the prejudice of the companies. But we need not pursue that inquiry very closely, because the latter part of the section, in express terms, authorizes the legislature to *tax persons and corporations owning or using franchises in such manner as it shall from time to time direct, by general law ;' and the only restriction on the power, as applied to this class, is that it shall be 'uniform as to the class upon which it operates.' �"There can be no doubt that ail the classes named in this clause, including peddlers, showmen, innkeepers, ferries, express, Insurance and telegraph companies, are taken out of the general rule of uniformity preseribed by the first clause, and the only limitation as to them is that of uniformity as to the class upon which the law shall operate ; that is, innkeepers maybe taxed by one, ferries by another, railroads by another, provided that the rule as to innkeepers be uniform as to ail innkeepers, the rule as to ferries" be uniform as to ail ferries, and the rule as to railroad companies be uniform as to ail railroad companies." �At page 6Q2 it says : "It is obvious that, while a fair as- sessment under these two descriptions of property (real estate and track) will include ail the visible or tangible property of the corporation, it may or may not include ail its wealth — there may be other property of a class not visible or tangible which ought to respond to taxation, and which the state bas the right to subject to taxation. * * * This element the state of Illinois calls the value of the franchise and cap- ital stock of the corporation — the value of the right to use this tangible property in a special manner, for the purpose ����