The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1873-10-09

e--N~- 10 EoNo MS WISH TO tue tax
gatherer, is fully competent to determine
that question for himself. But few have.
however, yet paid their taxes for the cur
rent year, and unless they have made spe-
cial inquiry upon the subject are ignorant Of
the rate and amount OF taxation under the
present law. In a vain attempt to take adj
vantage Of the want of information on the
part Of the people, l see the State Journal
has Illuminated a lengthy document, cover
ing almost one of Its pages, wherein, after a
dozen sensational headings, il proceeds to
address itself TO the task of proving
by the figures, the horrible fact that
the Thirteenth Legislature increased
rather than diminished taxation. Fig
ures are dangerous tools for Radical
handling, and however much they may be
distorted, the old adage is that they ssiH tell
tho truth. Understanding this, their special
Characteristic one is at loss TO conjecture
what use a Radical can have for them.
1t would be no strange event If taxation
had not as yet, been decreased. The De-
mocracy has been in power, so far as this
question is concerned, not yet one year.
A vast mass of State Indebtedness had been
accumulated by their predecessors, and a
reasonable man would hardly look for a re-
ductiOn of taxation until our State indebt-
edness was wiped out. A State should be
just to its creditors before it attempts to be
generous with its own citizens, and the
| liquidation of Radical debts must necessa-
rily be the work of years. Be that as it
may, somehow or other, our Democratic
Legislature was so foolish as to materially
tighten the burden of taxation upon our
people, the assertions and figures of the
Journal to the contrary notwitf standing.
The article in the Journal starts out prac-
/ 4 Il.
that the Thirteenth Legislature repealed the
exemptions made by the Twelfth, for the
benefit of the mechanic and the farmer,
while it took care to provide that the paint
ing and Stdtuary Of the rich and aristocratic
should be free from taxation; and in a subse-
quent part of its article, it publishes what
1t says is the exemption law passed by the
Twelfth Legislature, and Immediately below
it, the exemption clause of our present tax
act. When / first took up tbs paper,
very naturally supposed that the figures it
contained and the facts it asserted were
probably truthful, and that its conclusions
only were erroneous. l confess, was not
prepared to believe that even Radical
newspaper would deliberately misstate our
laws for party effect-and that too, when
there was certainty of detection. But
when made examination of the exemption
question, 1 found that the author of the
article in the Journal had deliberately pub
lished as the exemption law of his own Leg
islature, statute Which had been expressly re-
peaLed by that same body.
The exemptions which he claims as made
by the Twelfth Legislature are contained
in an act approved August 10, 1870, and to
be found in General Laws 1870, pages 30
212.
This act was repealed by their own Leg
islature on the twenty-second April, 1871
(See Laws 1871, 1st session, page 56.) The
exemptions were too liberal, even for them.
Money did not pour into the treasury with
sufficient rapidity. The poor man was then
forgotten, and on the twelfth May, 1871,
they passed another exemption act which |
may be found in General Laws 1871, first
session, page So. The journal says never a
word about this law, when in truth and fact,
we lived under it and our property was
taxed under it fr- m its date, Mey 10, 1871,
until June 3, 1878, when our present tax
law was approved and took effect. In order
to carry out my purpose to allow each reader
to compare the acts of the two bodies, each
for himself, have here given the Radical
tax exemption law, and our present law
upon the same subject Immediately beneath
it. The latter may be found in General
Laws 1878, pages 2O5-2O6.
EXEMPTIONS FROM TAXATION UNDER RADICAL
LAW.
l. All buildings, furniture and libraries !
used for educational or religious purposes,
together with the land upon which the same
is situated not to exceed ten acres.
2. All buildings furniture, libraries, phil
osophical apparatus and lands attached, not
exceeding ten acres, dedicated to charitable
or literary associations.
3. ALI lands not exceeding twenty acres
used as a cemetery.
5. Two hundred and fifty dollars worth
of household or kitchen furniture or farm
ing utencils to each head of family.
5. All machinery, steam engines, ETC.,
used by fire or hook and ladder companies,
together with building sufficient to house
the same.
EXEMPTIONS FROM TAXATION UNDER DEMO
CRATIC LAW.
l. Three hundred dollars worth of house
hold and kitchen furniture to every head of
family.
2. All products of the soil of the pre-
vious and current years. growth while in
hands of the producer.
3. Books, pictures, paintings, statuary
and works of art belonging to the family.
4. Institutions of learning, their property,
books and apparatus.
5. City or county hospitals, their grounds, |
medicines furniture and fixtures.
6. All church property.
z. Notes and accounts.
Let each reader say for himself which /
law is the more liberal, even to the poor
man. Under Radical law the corn which /
the poor man retained for his bread and the
bale of cotton which he was holding for
better price was subject to taxation. Not
so under Democratic law. Radicalism ex
empted two hundred and fifty dollars worth
of Household and kitchen furniture. Democ-
racy three hundred dollars worth.
The restriction of ten acres is not laid by
Democratic law upon institutions of learn
ing, churches, hospitals, ETC., but ALL their
property is exempt True, Democracy ex-
empts from taxation our family pictures,
and thank God that it does. Radicalism
points to it with fendish malignity and en-
deavors thereby to conjure up in our State
a spirit of fell agrarianism
Is it so lost to all sense Of decency, that
It would send its tax gatherer to the humble
cottage of the poor widow and there wiring
from her, a tax upon the picture Of her
dead husband2 1t seems so from their pub
Iished uttergnces.
But this article is already too extended
In my next, propose to examine the ques-
ton of taxes in full / have a suspicion
that the record will disclose the fact that
Radical taxation was just about 0ze hundred
and thiTty-thres per cent. higher than Dem
Ocratic. Perhaps / may be mistaken, but
we shall see. MADISON
NUMBER EIGHT.
In closing my last article, stated that /
had G suspicion that the rate Of taxation
authorized by the Twelfth Legislature was
about one hundred and thirty-thTee per
cent higher than that authorized BY the