766 Gubernatorial Messages 



in two important particulars. In its essential prin- 

 ciple, that of taxing- franchises as realty, it is right 

 and proper. After much study of the question, I 

 am convinced that in this way we can come nearer 

 to doing justice than in any other which has as yet 

 been proposed. It is no new thing to treat fran- 

 chises as realty. They are so treated in Wash- 

 burn's work on real property, and by Chancellor 

 Kent; but under the laws of New York as they are 

 now a franchise can not be taxed except by special 

 statute, and as a matter of fact this extremely valu- 

 able species of property is in very many, if not in 

 most, cases untaxed or taxed far below its value in 

 comparison with other kinds of real estate. Local 

 franchises are granted for various purposes and un- 

 der varying conditions ; sometimes by special statute 

 and sometimes by the municipal authorities under a 

 general statute. The value of the franchise of 

 course varies widely in different localities, depend- 

 ing upon a variety of circumstances ; but a great part 

 of its value is dependent upon the same causes which 

 operate to make other kinds of real estate more valu- 

 able in one locality than in another. The franchise 

 is inseparable from the property of the corporation 

 in the street, whether this property consists of poles, 

 pipes, or tracks, above the ground, under the ground, 

 or on the ground. The right to lay a railroad track 

 and operate a railroad in a public street can not be 

 separated or dissociated from the railroad itself. 

 This is equally true of the right to lay water and gas 

 mains and the like. The franchise is a necessary 



