The Portland daily press., 1872-12-03
BY What Warrant?
To the Editor of The Press:

To the Editor of The Press:
The towns of Norway and Paris, in Ok
ford County, have recently voted large per
cent. OF their valuation in aid of manufac-
lures. We do not know the exact nature of
the aid granted, but it is certain that the re-
turns from the investment are to come back
to the town and its people, only indirectly
through the prosperity of the manufacturers
who are to be helped to srealize from ten to
twenty-five per cent on their investment
In all these cases the great central principle
is that of the Sprague subsidy in Augusta
naked gratuity of thousands of dollars to
men already rich in the hope that some of it
may come back again to some or mann of
the citizens taxed to make the rich richer.
Without stopping to argue against the pro-
priety ofsuch action on ethical grounds and
without showing, as might be done, that this
is substantially the very method by which
the aristocracy of Eng land gained its present
wicke / monopoly of lands and every form of
wealth, it is well worth while to inquire by
what warrant towns raise money by taxation
to invest in manufacturing enterprises. Is
there general law authorizing it? We can
not find it in the Revised Statutes And, if
there were such a law the Supreme
Court Of this State in 1871, in response to a
request for information from the Legislature,
unanimously decided that it is not within the
scope Of the powers granted by the Constitu-
ton 20 that body to pass such acts. In 9TH
er words, the Constitution states specifically
the purposes for which taxes may be levied.
and manufacturing is not among them. If it
were proposed that a given town should en-
gage in business for itself, controlling and
managing any branch of manufacture by its
municipal officers, and receiving into its treas
ury the profits derived therefrom, even that
would be SO far in contravention of the Con-
sttution that no Legislative act could legal
ize it. a |ortiori it is not lawful for town
to raise money as bounty to manufacturers
over whose business it has not the smallest
control and whose profits seek far other des-
tinations than the town treasury.
But the towns which vote money to aid
manufactures do not even await the made
quate authorization of special acts of the
Legislature Dazzled by the prospect of gain
they rush on, needless Of the danger of in
validating the entire assessment of taxes by
the inclusion of illegal items. Perhaps they
do not await Legislative action because they
expect their illegal action to be cured by some
retrospective law. But it is hardly probably
that they can now obtain such legislation.
We do not know that the Legislature during
the past few years has passed even special
laws allowing towns to speculate in the way
proposed The opinion of the Supreme
Court may be ignored by municipalities that
have for the time gone mad with the passion
to be rich. but it cannot well be ignored by
the Legislature that evoked it, But hasn't
this thing gone far enough? How much
longer will the Constitution and laws be re-
spected in any quarter, if it is understood
that they may be disregarded, where money
is at stake?